Epilogue: After the Storm

One Year Later

Location The Borderlands Sanctuary

The world didn’t end.

It just… softened.

They built it slowly stone by stone, vow by vow.

Not a kingdom. Not a throne.

A home.

Far from Crescent’s rigid towers.

Far from Red Moon’s bloodstained soil.

A sanctuary carved from peace.

Silas knelt by the garden bed, fingers sunk in the warm earth. His bond mark was still there but it didn’t burn anymore.

It pulsed like a heartbeat.

Like a reminder.

Ethan emerged from the cabin, shirt loose, hair wet from the spring, holding two mugs of wild mint tea.

“You’re still planting lavender?” Ethan asked with a grin.

Silas smirked. “She said it’s good for wounds.”

“She also said I’d lose my left arm. And yet…” Ethan raised his arm, flexing playfully.

Silas rolled his eyes and took the tea. “Miracles happen.”

They sat on the porch together shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee. The forest beyond their land whispered with life.

No guards.

No politics.

No fear.

Just the wind.

And them.

Letter Fragment – Selene Hati to Silas Hati

Brother,

The council still stumbles without you but they’re trying. Crescent now listens more than it commands. Maybe that’s enough for now.

I found Mother’s ring. It fits. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m wearing it anyway.

Tell Ethan I’m still better with a sword than he is.

And thank you for choosing to live, even when dying would’ve been easier.

With fire and blood (and forgiveness),

Selene.

Dusk at the Sanctuary

As the sky turned lavender, Ethan wrapped an arm around Silas’s waist.

“Do you think the Moon still watches us?” he asked.

Silas leaned his head against him. “Maybe.”

“But we’re not waiting for it to speak anymore.”

Ethan smiled. “Good. I like being unpredictable.”

They laughed. Quiet, content.

And when the first star blinked through the clouds, Silas whispered

“Let them write stories about warriors. About Luna-blooded heirs. About curses.”

“But not us.”

Ethan kissed his temple.

“No.

Let them write about the ones who chose peace.”

Chapter 28: Trial of the Fallen

Bonus Arc The Rebuilding Era – 1

Selene’s POV – Crescent Courtroom, one year later

The new hall wasn’t built for blood.

No weapons allowed. No collars. Just air, sunlight, and a high circular ceiling where the sky could pour through.

Justice, not vengeance.

Selene sat at the center. Not as ruler.

As a witness.

Lucien stood in chains before her.

Still proud. Still upright.

But the light in his eyes the rage that once scorched the room was now smoke. Ash.

The Crescent Elders lined the arc behind her. Marcus at her left. Arden at her right. The room was full of tension that wouldn’t fade, no matter how many treaties they signed.

Selene raised her voice low but firm.

“Lucien Hati. You’ve been brought here to answer for crimes against both the Crescent and Red Moon Packs.”

A pause.

“For attempted regicide. Bloodbending. The theft and alteration of prophecy. And the slaughter of innocents.”

Lucien tilted his head. “You forgot betrayal Of my own blood.”

Selene’s jaw tightened. “That part goes without saying.

Marcus’s POV – Watching Her

He should have felt .

This was the man who warped their bloodline. Who lied to his mother. Who tried to twist Silas into a blade.

But watching Lucien now…

He felt only grief.

Not for Lucien.

But for what could’ve been.

He turned as Selene stood. No crown. No armor. Just moon-colored robes that shimmered like morning fog.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” she asked.

Lucien smirked. “Would it matter?”

Selene stepped down from the high seat.

“You think this is still a war.

It’s not.”

She held out the old, cracked pendant the one Silas bled onto at the altar.

“This was the last command of prophecy. You twisted it to control others.”

Lucien didn’t look away. “And what will you do now, child of the eclipse?”

Selene’s Voice Cut Through the Room

“I won’t execute you.”

Gasps. One elder even stood in protest.

But Selene lifted her hand. Calm. Controlled.

“I won’t repeat your sin.”

Instead, she turned to Marcus.

“By Crescent law, exile is a path reserved for those who no longer belong but still live.”

Marcus stepped forward.

His voice was rough. “You’ll go to the Silent Wastes.

One meal a day. No magic. No speech for a year.”

Lucien smiled bitterly. “Still merciful.”

Selene locked eyes with him.

“No. Still better.”

Ethan’s POV – Outside the Hall

He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, listening through the slit in the stone.

He didn’t need to watch.

He trusted Selene now. Fully.

She’d become the very thing they all feared didn’t exist…a new kind of leader.

Silas stepped beside him.

“You okay?” Ethan asked.

Silas nodded. “It’s just strange… seeing justice without a sword.”

Ethan looked down at their intertwined fingers. “This is what peace looks like, remember?”

“Feels fragile.”

“Most precious things are.”

Selene Alone in Her Chambers

She stood before the old mirror in her mother’s room.

The prophecy was over.

The war was over.

But in her reflection, she didn’t see a victor.

She saw a girl… still learning to be whole.

On the table behind her lay an old letter. One her mother had written years ago.

Selene finally opened it.

The ink had faded, but the words were still sharp.

“If you ever read this, it means you survived.

That’s enough.

Don’t become me.

Become something the world hasn’t seen yet.”

Selene closed her eyes.

And for the first time since the eclipse…

She let herself cry.

Because justice wasn’t loud.

It was quiet.

Like healing.