All Chapters of The gifts of the Moon Goddess : Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

Lena’s POVCold air rushed past my face as I dropped. It tore at my clothes and roared in my ears while my body spun helplessly in the darkness. The fall felt endless, a long descent into something that wanted to swallow me whole.I reached out, searching for a wall or a ledge or anything solid to stop the fall. My fingers scraped only air.“Elara!” I shouted as I fell, but my voice vanished into the shadows.The drug still clouded my thoughts. My limbs felt heavy and slow, and for a terrifying moment I could not tell if I was falling through a chute or simply sinking into the floor of my own mind.Then the drop ended.My body slammed into something hard. The impact exploded through my ribs and forced the air out of my lungs. I rolled onto a cold metal surface and lay there gasping, trying to gather my breath while alarms echoed from somewhere above.Lights flickered weakly. The floor vibrated. Machines hummed around me like restless animals.I pushed myself upright.My wrists were st

The house was too quiet. It was the kind of silence that pressed against the walls and made every breath sound loud. Lena stood in the middle of the living room with her fingers curled slightly at her sides. She kept glancing toward the hallway as if something might step out. She knew she was alone, yet the air felt crowded with unspoken words.She had not slept. She had barely eaten. Her thoughts kept spinning and tangling like threads that refused to form a single line. Every time she tried to sit still, Kade’s voice echoed in her head. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the look he had given her before he walked away. She could not decide if it frightened her or if it made her want to run after him and demand answers.When the door suddenly opened, she jerked her head up. Her heart kicked hard against her ribs.Jamal stepped inside with the kind of caution that made her throat tighten. He looked like he had sprinted the entire way, even though she knew he had not. His chest ro

Kade’s POVThe back door burst open, and cold night air rushed in like a living thing. I did not hesitate as I pulled Lena with me, my grip tight around her hand, and Jamal followed a heartbeat later. The sound of boots crashing through the front of the house came almost immediately after. Wood splintered. Voices shouted orders.Too late then we ran.The yard behind the house sloped downward into the tree line and i knew the terrain well enough to move without thinking but Lena stumbled twice, still shaken from what had happened inside. Jamal stayed close behind her, watching our backs while I led us into the darkness.A shot cracked through the air and the sound cut through my nerves like glass.“Down” I shouted, yanking Lena toward the ground just as another shot tore through the branches above us. Bark exploded from a nearby tree.They were not trying to capture us anymore, they were trying to kill.We dove into the forest, weaving between trees, pushing through thick undergrowth.

Kade’s POVThe ground split open with a sound like the world tearing itself apart.I felt it through my feet first, a violent tremor that ran straight up my spine. The forest convulsed as if something ancient had been disturbed, something that had slept beneath the soil for far too long. Trees cracked and tilted. Stones tumbled into the widening fissure that had opened beneath the shadow’s feet.The thing screamed.It was not a sound meant for human ears. It clawed into my skull and scraped against every instinct I had spent years trying to bury. The mark on my shoulder burned like a brand pressed straight into my bone. I dropped to one knee without meaning to, teeth clenched, fists buried in the earth.But I did not look away.Lena stood at the center of it all.Her body trembled with effort, but she did not break. Her eyes glowed faintly, reflecting something deeper than fear. She looked like she was standing on the edge of two worlds, holding them apart with nothing but will.I had