The light that exploded from the Moon Path lingered, burning like a silver fire across the ruins of the Eclipse Court. The forest groaned. The shadows writhed in fury. Noctaria was no longer silent—it screamed.In the heart of it all, Aelin stood radiant, the sigil glowing at her sternum. Her hair floated around her like a crown of starlight. Her voice echoed with more than one presence now. She was still Aelin—but she was more.Ivy gripped her daughter’s hand, breath ragged from the ordeal. “Are you still with me?”Aelin blinked. “Always, Mama.” Her eyes shimmered back to silver—soft, childlike, for a moment. “But he knows now. He knows I chose you.”Jayden stepped forward. “Let him come.”Nyxara appeared, her white robes stained with ash. “He will not wait long. The eclipse ends at dawn. And when the light returns, the final gate will open. He will rise to claim the throne.”“What throne?” Ivy asked, steadying herself.“The Blood Throne of Noctaria,” Nyxara said. Forged by the first
Noctaria was alive in ways that defied reason.The trees whispered secrets. The sky pulsed with a heartbeat none could hear—but all could feel. The air tasted like metal and prophecy.Jayden had fought in wars, stood against rebellion, and faced treason and death, but never had he felt more out of control than he did now. The land itself seemed to recognize Aelin. Worse—it welcomed her.They were escorted through a forest of obsidian trees. The bark glinted like glass, but if one listened too long, one could hear soft cries from within them, as though the trees had once been people.Jayden kept Aelin close, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Ivy walked on her other side, gaze sharp. Seraphine lagged just behind, muttering incantations as she studied every rune they passed.The pale-robed woman, who called herself Nyxara, the Shadow Herald, led them through the path.At last, the trees broke. Before them stood a ruined palace, blackened by fire and time. Its spires curved like talons,
Silver More had always been a kingdom of towering peaks and glistening forests, a land watched over by moonlight and ruled by the bond between wolf and crown. But what lay beyond its borders—beyond the reaches of maps and memory—was a mystery even Jayden, now King, had barely begun to uncover.Until now.Jayden stood beside Ivy in the war chamber as Seraphine unfurled a new map across the obsidian table—this one older, frayed at the corners, and drawn with ink that shimmered faintly under candlelight.“This map isn’t one I share lightly,” Seraphine said. “It belonged to the last Lunar Seer. Before the Purge.”The council chamber had emptied hours ago. Only Jayden, Ivy, Seraphine, and Caelan’s former Beta, now loyal to Jayden, remained. Silence clung to them like frost.Seraphine pointed to a jagged stretch of blank parchment east of the Ashlands. “This region was erased after the war with the Forsaken Bloodline. But the land still exists. They called it Noctaria—The Hidden Kingdom.”J
Aelin tossed and turned in her room, covered by a cozy blanket of soft furs. The young girl frowned, her tiny hands gripping the crescent symbol hidden under her pillow. Her breath caught as her mind was pulled into something far deeper than a dream.A realm of silver mist and starlit darkness opened before her.She stood without shoes on a large stretch of dark burned ground. Two moons shone above her—one was bright and silver while the other was red and had cracks spilling light like blood. The winds called her name in many different voices, some she recognized and others that sounded frightening.Then came the whisper.“Daughter of prophecy…”Aelin turned, heart pounding. Shadows gathered around her forming tall figures dressed in worn-out robes with their faces covered by skull-like masks. In the center stood one, unlike the rest.He wore a crown of dark thorns, and his voice was deep, echoing with power.“Luna's child will choose the path.”“Who are you?” Aelin whispered.The cro
The winds of Silver More gently flowed through the tall towers of the palace bringing with them the smell of burnt wood blood and a feeling of hopeful magic from the moon. The dawn spread over the horizon like a wound slowly healing filling the sky with a warm amber light that fell on the castle walls where the guards now relaxed. The fighting has ended.Jayden, the new King of Silver More, stood on the highest balcony looking out over his damaged kingdom. He no longer wore his ceremonial armor; instead, he was dressed in the dark silver and black robes of the current Alpha King. However, he held onto the stone railing with his hands tightly clenched. Peace had come, yes—but peace was a fickle thing. It trembled under the weight of choices yet to be made.Behind him, the great hall was prepared for another sacred ritual—the Luna’s Oath.Ivy.His Luna.Her name rang like a vow in his chest. She was no longer a rogue, nor a threat, nor a secret. She was his queen. The mother of his chil
The ruins of Silver More still smoldered when Jayden stood at the foot of the Moonlight Throne.Ash covered the marble steps like fresh snow, and fragments of the once magnificent palace were spread out like shattered bones throughout the courtyard. The flags that used to display the royal family's emblem were turned to ashes in the last fight. The blood of both traitors and heroes still marked the broken stones under his feet.But it was over.Caelum was dead. Elias’s treachery had been avenged. The wolves who remained had knelt. The realm had chosen its king.Jayden took a breath, his chest heavy not with weariness, but with everything that had been lost to reach this day. His father. His brothers. Cassian.Cassian.A sharp ache pierced him as he thought of the last glance his once-rival gave him before the fire consumed him and the assassin’s blade meant for Aelin. The man had died saving the very child Jayden had once accused him of hiding.He would never forget that sacrifice.“J