Mag-log inCHAPTER 43: MEASURES
MIRALuna said we were going to die. She said it like it was a fact while I was getting ready for a fight. "You know that right? Fifty ancient family hunters against us? We do not stand a chance."I looked at her. Said, "Then we need to find more people to help us." I checked the blade Elric had given me. It was special only people with blood could use it without getting hurt.Lunas friend Ash laughed. "Who is going to help us? Most peoCHAPTER 60: RECRUITMENT DRIVEWe made it through the ambush. Just barely. I spent the drive back to Shadowfang trying to make sense of everything that had happened. I was also keeping pressure on Elric's wound. He got hurt protecting Adrian from a hunter's blade.Adrian was quiet for most of the trip. He just stared at his hands like they might suddenly catch fire again. I knew how overwhelming this must feel for him. He went from a normal life to supernatural combat in just a few hours."They've been watching him," I said again. I was still trying to understand what it meant. "That means they've probably been watching every hidden Moonborn we don't even know about.""Which means we need to find them," Dante said grimly. He was tired. Adrenaline was still pumping through him. "Before Corvinus can hurt them. Use them against us."That night I looked at Nelly's journal. I studied the locations she had written down. We had less than two days before Judgment Day. We couldn't ignore the ne
CHAPTER 59: THE BROTHERI looked at the address on the paper Kira had given me a while back. It was where she said my half-brother was sent when he was a baby. I kept wondering if I was really ready for this. Could I handle finding out about another family member I never knew existed?Elric told me I did not have to do this."You have a lot going on," he said gently. "You can do this later."He was watching me pace near the car we were going to take to the city.I knew I had to do this."If Kira is right, if he is there living a normal life and does not know what he really is, then every day we wait is another day he is in danger."I stopped pacing. Looked at Elric."We have to tell him."Dante joined us. He looked excited and nervous at the same time."Another brother," he said slowly. "I am still getting used to having a sister. Now I have another sibling.""Half-brother," I corrected him.It did not feel like it mattered that much, though. Not after everything we had been through a
CHAPTER 58: SHIFTING ALLIANCESWord spread fast after Ragnar's declaration, faster than I expected given how isolated we'd been keeping ourselves during preparation for judgment day, and by the time we organized the summit three days later, I could feel the entire balance of power shifting beneath us like ground shifting during an earthquake."Corvinus is furious." Theron reported it during our morning briefing, his expression grave despite the positive momentum we'd been building. "They've declared total war, no negotiations, no mercy. Losing two families to your cause apparently pushed them past whatever restraint they were maintaining before.""And Ashenheart?" I asked, watching Dante pace near the window, watching him process information the same way he'd been doing constantly since we'd started this whole impossible campaign to fracture our enemies."Split." Theron's expression turned complicated. "Some want peace, recognize the shifting tide. Others lost family members during th
CHAPTER 57: TRIAL BY COMBATI stepped into the arena. My chest felt tight. Thousands of people from every faction were watching me. I was walking toward what might be the fight of my life. I told myself to keep breathing and not let panic take over.Ragnar was standing across from me. He had a lot of scars on his body. He moved like fighting was just a part of who he was."So this is the Moonborn everyone's talking about," he said. His voice was curious, not mean like I thought it would be. "You're small for someone who's supposed to be powerful.""Size isn't everything," I said. I tried to sound confident. My hands were shaking. I was scared. My hands were on fire with flames."We'll see," Ragnar said. He raised his sword. It looked like it had been used to hurt a lot of people. "Let's see if you're worthy of the fear my family has of your kind."The fight began. I was in trouble right away. Ragnar was really good at fighting. I was just trying to defend myself. I threw fire at him,
CHAPTER 56: THE THORNHEART CHALLENGE The messenger who brought the Thornheart challenge was very direct. He did not use flowery language. He just stated the terms like he was reading a sentence that would decide our fate. "Trial by combat," he said. His voice did not show any emotion. "Our champion, Ragnar, who has not lost a fight in two hundred years, will fight your champion. If your champion wins, Thornheart will leave the alliance against the Moonborn. If your champion loses, all Moonborn will have to give themselves up to be executed." I felt my stomach drop because I knew who they were talking about. I knew the challenge was for me even though the messenger did not say my name. Elric spoke up. "That's crazy," he said. "You cannot be serious about this." The messenger kept talking. "The ancient councilors have already agreed to this. This is not a request. This is a challenge that must be answered before judgment day." After the messenger left, I sat there trying to unde
CHAPTER 55: INTERNAL DEMONS I found Dante sitting by himself near the training grounds. He was staring at nothing. He looked like he was struggling with something. I thought he might be fighting the feelings I had been fighting since Isolde told me some things about myself. "Are you having trouble sleeping?" I asked him. I sat down next to him, pulling my knees up to my chest. "I have not really tried to sleep," Dante said. He did not look at me right away. "I keep thinking about things that I probably should not be thinking about." I felt my chest get tight because what he said sounded a lot like what I had been trying to avoid. It sounded like the darkness that Isolde had shown me was inside my mind. "What kind of things are you thinking about?" I asked him. Dante was quiet for a time. I watched him struggle with whether to tell me the truth or not. "I have dreams about hurting them," Dante said finally. His voice was very quiet. "I want to make them suffer like they made Riv
CHAPTER 2 – THE MARK OF A MURDERER & EXILE The moon hung low the next night, blood-tinged and eerie, as if the heavens already knew what was coming. I stood before the stone hearth of the Council Hall, wrapped in a borrowed cloak, the Luna mark still burning against my skin. I hadn’t slept. T
CHAPTER 1;THE MOONBRAND LUNA “You were never meant to lead.” I had spent twenty-six years trying not to be a burden. Keeping my head down, doing what I was told, avoiding the kind of attention that led to consequences. In our pack, girls like me didn’t get seen—we served, we obeyed, we endured.
CHAPTER 4 – “WE WERE HOPING YOU'D SAY THAT.” They led me through the woods at dawn. I walked between Elric and Elara, silent, my pulse beating like a drum. My thoughts were heavy with what I’d read in that hidden book: Mira of the Lost Line. The girl who could either save or destroy. Was that
CHAPTER 3 – “WE NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOT A DESTROYER.” The Wasted Vale stretched for miles—silent, decaying, endless. I walked for two days without food, my body trembling, my thoughts looping the betrayal like a curse. I was Framed, Casted out and Forgotten. Only Nelly’s words kept me goi







