Semua Bab Lunaborn at Moonridge Academy : Bab 21 - Bab 30

CHAPTER 21Lila’s POV It was spontaneously past 3 a.m. The only other thing present was the rhythmic chirping of crickets. Silence enveloped the whole pack house like a dense avalanche. The aged wooden structure of the house walls produced random creaking sounds. I collapsed onto my bed while my eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.“What the f-ck is Elara doing out at this time?” I muttered, sitting up. I checked my phone for the millionth time: no notifications, no missed calls. “She’s supposed to be closed by 1 at the latest… and this is 3: 07” I muttered to myself, as fear crept down my throat, wriggling and writhing itself into my rib cage like a stubborn weed.Sprung from bed, I pulled my sweater around my nightdress. Padding along on the balls of my feet, I shuffled towards the window. The moon hovered high above as sickly pale silver colors spilled across the front yard. Everything was so quiet. So still. Too still. “Elara never stays out this late… Not when it’s almost mornin

ELARA POVMy eyelids swung open to reveal two figures hovering above me. Their form was unrecognizable and hazy. The pounding headache coupled with a burning throat sensation led me to believe wild horses had trampled my entire skeletal structure. Each time I moved slightly in my seat I felt a sharp stabbing sensation travel up my spine.“Elara!” Lila called. I blinked. The searing fog that clouded my brain subsided enough for me to see Lila and Nina standing directly in front of me.I wanted to speak. I wanted to ask where I was, what had happened. I just wanted to know. My chest heaved with violent coughs as I worked up enough saliva for my first words.“Don’t!” Lila panicked her hand on my lips. “Don’t do that! Please, stop. You’re coughing up blood.” I gave a nod while permitting her to grasp my head in her hands. Nina wiped my face with a damp cloth. My body ached from top to bottom. My stomach growled, my muscles begged for rest and my heart? Oh my heart just wanted to stop.

ELARA POV “I choose Elara.” Silence. My name. Loud. Clear. Said by him. Necks craned around the room. Even Lila’s mouth dropped. “Did he just—?” “I’ll pair with her,” Kael said again, taking a step closer like he was ordering someone to do something instead of asking.Mr. Rayburn arched an eyebrow. “Mr. Vireon, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but students are randomly—”“I insist,” Kael said. Resolve. Steel. Command. Kael had it. He had the sort of command that even Mr. Rayburn didn’t dare cross.And before any of us could do anything but watch.It was done. I stood slowly, a million eyes boring into my back as I walked to the front.Kael stepped to my side, a low voice beside me that only I could hear.“I need to talk to you. After this.” I said nothing. I couldn’t. Because my heart was pounding and the silver symbol on my shoulder was glowing.--- Later That Day: The Accident It happened during the prep hour. We had been tasked with setting up obstacle flags in the old sp

ELARA POV Instead, they moved forward in unison. The three of them walking in step with each other, each of them grasping something in their hands — sticks. Wooden. Thick and knotted. Not casual walking sticks. Not for support. For damage. Dryness filled my mouth. “Is this some kind of joke?” Ivy cocked her head. “You shouldn’t be here, Elara.” “Excuse me?” I kept my voice as even as possible, despite the growing prickle on my skin and the tingling of the mark on my shoulder under my shirt.“You don’t belong here,” said the one on the right. Face was blank but knuckles white around her stick. “You’re making waves you don’t comprehend.” An internal knot tightened within my being as if an old string were getting plucked by invisible hands “Are you threatening me?” One of them took a step forward. And Ivy spoke again. “He chose you. That was your mistake.” My thoughts scrambled. Kael… Could this be about Kael? “I didn’t choose this,” I retorted. “You think I asked for any of t

Seraphine POVThe earth was whispering again. Soft. Weak. As though the world was uncertain whether it wanted me to return.I was adrift, in that space between sound and silence, between this life and the next. But now… it has changed. Something has moved. Someone. They had been near. A sensation ran through my skeleton similar to undulations swimming across an old lake. Skirting the outer reaches of my mind. One of them wore the smell of prophecy—moonlight and wolf blood. The other smelled of rot. Of sand and power stripped from holy places.And one of them had touched the tomb.My tomb. I shifted. The chains around my soul creaked, ghostly and heavy, wrought long ago by hands of both God and demon. Not even the centuries had turned them completely. Not yet. But they had begun to fracture. She was the cause. Elara. The name slid through me like a wisp of smoke. I had seen her—gleaming in that in-between world, poised at the veil like she was meant to stand there on both si