Chapter 005 — The Moon Goddess’s Warning

Ariana POV

“I’m going to get you something easy on the stomach,” Luna announced.

She was still wearing that mischievous expression.

“And before you ask, I promise I won’t tell anyone what happened with Alpha Eryx.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Nothing happened with Alpha Eryx.”

Luna raised two fingers, leaving only a tiny gap between them.

“You were this close.”

I grabbed the nearest pillow and tossed it at her.

“Luna!”

She caught it against her chest and burst into laughter.

“Fine! I surrender.”

She returned the pillow to the bed and gave me a little bow.

“I’ll be downstairs. Call me if you need anything.”

Once the door shut, I finally let myself breathe.

I rubbed my temples.

“What is happening to me?”

The answer came almost immediately.

The mate bond.

That had to be it.

There was no other explanation for the strange attraction I had felt toward Eryx. I had created him. I knew exactly how arrogant, cold, and infuriating he could be.

Yet, for one brief moment, I hadn’t wanted him to move away.

I groaned and dropped my hands.

“This place is going to drive me insane.”

I climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom.

The room looked exactly like something I would have designed for royalty. Pale-blue crystal covered the walls, glowing faintly beneath the magical lights. A massive mirror occupied one wall, framed in silver, while the marble basin beneath it was shaped like a blooming flower.

I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water over my face.

When I raised my head, I froze.

The woman staring back at me wasn’t Ariana.

She was Seraphina.

Long silver hair fell over my shoulders. My eyes were an unnatural shade of icy blue, and my skin looked almost porcelain beneath the soft light.

I touched my reflection.

“This is really happening.”

I had spent months writing Seraphina as the most feared student at Avalon Academy.

The Ice Queen.

The villainess.

The girl everyone hated.

And now I was living inside her body.

“You were supposed to be powerful,” I whispered to my reflection. “You were supposed to make everyone afraid of you.”

A humorless smile touched my lips.

“Instead, I nearly got myself killed before I even found my bedroom.”

A sudden cough interrupted me.

I covered my mouth.

Another cough followed, harsher than the first.

I pulled my hand away.

My stomach dropped.

Blood stained my palm.

“What?”

I stared at it, unable to process what I was seeing.

Then another cough forced its way out of my throat.

This time, several drops of blood landed inside the marble basin.

Panic surged through me.

“No. This isn’t possible.”

Seraphina wasn’t sick.

I wasn’t sick.

At least, I hadn’t been before falling asleep.

I gripped the edge of the basin.

This had never happened in my manuscript.

I knew the story.

I had written the story.

So why was something happening that I had never created?

Before I could find an answer, the mirror changed.

Its surface shimmered.

I stepped backward.

The reflection dissolved into golden light, and a figure slowly appeared behind the glass.

A woman.

She looked otherworldly.

Her flowing silver-gold hair seemed to be made from moonlight. A delicate crown of luminous flowers rested upon her head, and countless tiny stars shimmered across her white gown.

Her golden eyes settled on me.

I knew exactly who she was.

The Moon Goddess.

She smiled faintly.

“You recognize me.”

My throat tightened.

“I wrote you.”

Her expression softened.

“You wrote a version of me.”

“What does that mean?”

“You never knew everything.”

I swallowed.

“So I’m not dreaming?”

“No.”

My heart began pounding.

“I’m actually inside my novel?”

“Yes.”

The confirmation hit harder than I expected.

I stepped toward the mirror.

“Then send me back.”

The goddess didn’t answer.

“Please,” I insisted. “You have to be able to send me home.”

“I cannot.”

My hope collapsed.

“Why?”

“Because your arrival was not an accident.”

I stared at her.

“What does that mean?”

“Your path has already been set in motion.”

“I never agreed to this!”

My voice echoed around the bathroom.

“I didn’t ask to be dragged into this world!”

“I know.”

“Then take me back!”

The Moon Goddess watched me in silence.

When she finally spoke, her voice was almost sorrowful.

“There are paths even their creator cannot undo.”

A chill passed through me.

“There has to be another option.”

“There is.”

My heart jumped.

“What?”

Her golden eyes became serious.

“You must choose.”

“Choose what?”

“One of the three.”

I immediately understood.

“My mates?”

She nodded.

“One of the Alpha heirs must become your true mate.”

“And if I refuse?”

For the first time, the goddess looked genuinely troubled.

“The bond between your soul and this world is incomplete. You cannot sustain three completed bonds.”

I frowned.

“I don’t understand.”

“You are Ariana. Your soul belongs to another world.”

I glanced down at the blood on my hand.

“So the blood…”

“Yes.”

My heart sank.

“You are already weakening.”

I took a shaky breath.

“How long do I have?”

The Moon Goddess looked directly into my eyes.

“Until your twentieth birthday.”

My blood ran cold.

“If you have not chosen your true mate by then, your soul will fracture.”

“And then?”

“You will die.”

The word echoed inside my head.

Die.

Not wake up.

Not return home.

Die.

I staggered backward until my shoulders touched the wall.

“No…”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

The goddess studied me carefully.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true! I wrote the entire story. I know what happens.”

“Do you?”

Her question silenced me.

“I never wrote any of this,” I whispered.

“No.”

“Then why is it happening?”

Her expression changed.

“The moment you crossed into this world, your story changed.”

My breathing stopped.

“What?”

“You were its author once.”

She moved closer within the glowing mirror.

“But you are no longer standing outside the story.”

Her voice became softer.

“You are inside it.”

A shiver traveled down my spine.

“You are now one of its characters.”

I shook my head.

“No. That’s impossible.”

“Ariana.”

I froze.

She had never called me by my real name before.

“You created this world,” she continued, “but creation does not mean absolute control.”

I couldn’t respond.

“Some destinies exist beyond their author’s intentions.”

She smiled sadly.

“Some stories learn how to continue without their author.”

A loud knock suddenly came from the other side of the bathroom door.

“Mistress?”

Luna.

I spun toward the door.

“Are you all right?”

I looked back at the mirror.

The Moon Goddess was still there.

“Mistress?”

Another knock.

I swallowed.

“I’m fine, Luna. Give me a moment.”

I turned toward the mirror again.

Nothing.

The goddess had vanished.

Only my own reflection remained.

I stared at myself for several seconds before looking down at my hand.

The blood was still there.

I hurried to the sink and washed it away. I scrubbed my palm until there wasn’t a single trace left, then rinsed the basin thoroughly.

I couldn’t let Luna see it.

If she discovered I was coughing blood, questions would follow.

And I had no idea what answers to give.

Once everything was clean, I opened the door.

Luna immediately studied my face.

“You’ve been in here for quite some time.”

“I needed some air.”

“In the bathroom?”

I forced a smile.

“I know. Strange.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“You look pale.”

“I’m tired.”

She continued staring at me.

Eventually, she sighed.

“All right. But I’m watching you.”

I almost laughed.

“That’s comforting.”

“Oh, before I forget,” she said, “Alpha Eryx received a message from the Elders.”

My heart gave an annoying little jump.

“He left?”

“Yes. A few minutes ago.”

I couldn’t decide whether I felt relieved or disappointed.

Why was I disappointed?

I shook my head.

“Get a grip, Ariana.”

Luna tilted her head.

“Did you say something?”

“Nothing.”

I sat down on the edge of my bed.

The room suddenly felt much colder.

The Moon Goddess’s warning returned to my mind.

You have until your twentieth birthday.

I looked at my hands.

Choose one true mate, or your soul will shatter.

But that wasn’t the part that frightened me most.

Her final words were still echoing inside my head.

The moment you entered this world, the story stopped belonging to you.

I stared toward the window.

For the first time since waking up in Avalon, I realized something terrifying.

I knew how my story was supposed to end.

But I no longer knew how my story would end.