The trees wept crimson, sap turning to blood as darkness spread its roots through the forest. Each leaf shriveled, each branch curled as though retreating from the presence of whatever Caden had unleashed. And yet, he stood in the center of the chaos, untouched, eyes closed, lips moving in silent conversation with the thing that had followed him back.Selene stumbled backward, her breath catching as the screams of the forest echoed through her bones. Agnes gripped her arm, forcing a charm into her palm. "You need to listen to me now," the old seer said, her voice sharp. "What follows him isn’t just a creature—it’s a fracture. A rift in the veil. It will consume everything.""Then why is he still standing?" Rowan demanded, shielding both of them as more of the shadowy tendrils erupted from the earth."Because he thinks he can control it," Agnes spat. "But he can’t. That thing doesn’t bargain. It devours."Selene stared ahead at Caden, trying to piece together what remained of the man s
The cold soil crunched beneath Selene’s bare feet as she stepped into the center of the blood-stained ritual circle. The air thickened, charged with the weight of something vast and sleeping beneath, like lungs poised to inhale for the first time in centuries.“Selene!” Rowan’s voice was urgent, his form already halfway to wolf. “Get out of there—if that seal breaks with you inside—”“I know what I’m doing,” she called back without turning. Her voice carried the weight of her power now—measured, unwavering, like steel wrapped in velvet. “This isn't a doorway. It's a mirror. Caden carved his hatred into the earth. I’m going to carve the truth.”Agnes stood at the edge of the circle, watching with narrowed eyes. “If she miscalculates by a breath—”“She won’t,” Rowan said. But even as he spoke the words, fear laced his tone.Selene knelt, pressing her palm to the blackened earth. Her fingers trembled slightly, but her voice remained steady as she began to speak—not a spell, but a story.
The forest felt different.Selene moved through it not as a hunted creature, but as something reborn quiet, resolute, crackling with energy just under her skin. The moonlight filtering through the trees cast her in silver and shadow, and every step seemed to pulse in rhythm with the earth. She wasn’t the same girl who had fled Caden’s betrayal, or the woman who had screamed through a spirit wolf’s binding. She was more. And that terrified her.Rowan walked beside her, his usually confident gait weighted with unease. He hadn’t spoken since they left the clearing. Selene could feel his thoughts press against her mental barriers, polite but persistent, like rain tapping at a window. He wanted to talk. She wasn’t sure she was ready.Agnes, trailing behind them, said nothing either. The silence was heavy, wrapped around them like fog.Finally, Rowan broke it. “You haven’t asked where we’re going.”“I figured you’d tell me when it mattered,” she replied, voice low.“It matters now.”Selene
The climb took all night.Selene walked in silence, her only companions the wind, the cold breath of stars, and the dagger Rowan had given her. The Summit of Mirrors rose above the cloudline like the broken crown of an ancient god—jagged stone and glittering frost catching starlight in fractured reflections.They said that those who reached the peak could see all their lives at once: who they were, who they could have been, and who they were becoming.And now, it would show Selene the cost of becoming more.Her breath came in quiet bursts. She did not feel pain. She did not feel exhaustion. Her body had long since shifted into something that could endure what her soul was still unsure of.When she reached the top, the silence was absolute.The sky had turned black above her. Not with night—but with eclipse. The full moon now hidden, casting no light, only pressure. The world below forgotten. The stars above sharpened like blades.She stepped into the circle of mirrors.Each one rose l
They found him waiting at the edge of the world.Where the mountains folded into the sky and stars clung to the earth like dew, the child stood with the Book Without a Name tucked under one arm, his bare feet resting on a slab of ancient stone inscribed with no language known to wolves.Selene stepped forward, Rowan at her side.“You brought me here for a reason,” she said. “So speak it.”The child smiled gently. “You remembered yourself. I wasn’t sure you would.”“You gave me a choice,” Selene replied. “That means you wanted me to find my way back.”“Not wanted,” he said. “Needed.”Vera narrowed her eyes. “Enough riddles. Who are you?”Agnes approached, slowly. Her face had gone pale.“I think I know,” she said. “But I hope I’m wrong.”The child met her gaze.“You’re not.”He turned to Selene.“You’ve been told many stories about the Moon Goddess. That she gave you power. That she faded away, leaving behind fragments of herself. That you are one of those fragments.”Selene nodded, ca
The wind shifted the moment they crossed the ridge into the hollow where the last Silver Moon stronghold had once stood.Selene reined in her horse.Beneath her, the ground was silent. But it wasn’t still. There was a hum—low and deep—like the vibration of a drum buried beneath the earth. It echoed in her bones.Rowan noticed it too. “You feel that?”Selene nodded. “It's a memory. Waking up.”They dismounted together and walked into the ruin on foot. Vines had grown through the stone. Trees had begun reclaiming the land. The bones of what had once been their sanctuary were being devoured by time.