All Chapters of Blood Moon Rising - The Lumenwild Trials: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

(Elara’s POV)The forest was too still.Even the wind held its breath, as if the world itself feared what came next. Blood still slicked my palms, dark and half-dried, and I couldn’t tell if it was mine or theirs. The Red Tear Drop had sealed more than just a pact and it had split something inside me clean in two.Kyren was the first to move. His blade was still in his hand, the edge humming faintly with residual power. The silver runes along the steel dimmed, then died, leaving only the ghost of their light reflected in his eyes.“Elara,” he said quietly, voice roughened by the storm of magic that had torn through us. “You need to breathe.”“I am.” The words came out thin, sharp. A lie in the shape of a defense.Riven crouched beside me, his usual grin gone. His hands hovered close but didn’t touch. He knew better. “You bled through the bond,” he murmured. “All four of us felt it. Whatever that ritual did, it tried to break you.”“It didn’t.” I swallowed hard, tasting copper. “I won’

(Elara’s POV)The forest never truly ended, it only changed its face.What had once been tangled roots and silvered bark shifted to ash and bone, the air growing colder with every step. The soil beneath our boots pulsed faintly, veins of red light threading through it like buried lightning. The Tear Drop’s magic hadn’t just marked me but it was spreading through the land itself.Riven whistled low under his breath. “Pretty sure the ground’s not supposed to breathe.”“Don’t talk,” Silas said, his tone sharper than usual. “Every word you speak here feeds it.”“Feeds what exactly?”Silas didn’t answer, but the look in his eyes said enough.We were walking on the corpse of something ancient. Something that still dreamed of blood.Kyren moved ahead, his sword drawn, its edge faintly humming with light. The runes that slept along his arm flared with each step, reacting to the magic that thickened the air. “We’re close,” he murmured. “The second seal is near.”The wind stirred, carrying whis

Elara’s POVThe tunnel ahead smelled of iron and earth, the faint hum of magic still lingering in the air. Every breath I took felt thick, charged, as if the very walls were watching us. The red light flickered against the stone like a pulse, echoing the Tear Drop’s rhythm, now quiet but still insistent.Kyren’s hand didn’t leave mine. He guided me forward, slow and steady, but when our fingers brushed, my chest clenched with a warmth that had nothing to do with the magic. His thumb traced the back of my hand, a silent promise, and for a moment, the weight of the seals, the chambers, the fight and all of it had fell away.“Stay close,” he murmured, voice low, rough with concern. “I won’t let anything take you.”“I know,” I whispered. I wanted to say more, wanted to tell him how that brief pulse of his touch made my knees weak, but words felt too fragile in the shadowed passage.Riven fell into step beside us, his usual grin soft, almost hesitant. “You’re glowing less scary now, Elara

( Elara’s POV ) The tunnel twisted ahead, walls narrowing as the red veins of light pulsed faintly, echoing the heartbeat of the Tear Drop against my chest. Every step forward felt heavier than the last. The remnants of the Third Seal’s energy hummed faintly beneath the stones, a reminder that even broken, the Seals left their mark.Kyren stayed close, his hand brushing mine whenever I faltered. That touch had become a lifeline, one I couldn’t, and didn’t want to let go of. But I could feel the tension building between us all. Riven’s fingers kept brushing mine, soft and grounding, while Silas’s low hum of magic threaded through the air, protective and insistent. Ashen lingered at the edges, silent, his silver eyes never leaving me, and I felt the weight of his presence like a tether I couldn’t escape.The silence of the tunnel pressed against us, broken only by our footsteps and the faint pulse of the Tear Drop. I sensed it and the magic, the subtle ripples in the air, that we were

The chamber’s air thickened, heavy with the scent of smoldering runes and the raw pulse of our bond. Ashen’s arms tightened around my waist, his chest a furnace against my back, each breath syncing with mine. I felt the hard line of him pressing into me, deliberate, unapologetic, and my body answered with a liquid heat that pooled low in my belly.Kyren’s kiss broke, but his lips hovered, silver eyes molten. “Elara,” he rasped, voice frayed with restraint. His wings arched, feathers brushing the bed’s edge, cocooning us in shadow. I reached for him, fingers curling into the silken fall of his hair, and pulled him back. This time, I kissed him like I was hungry, open-mouthed, tasting the storm on his tongue, the salt of his need. He groaned into me, the sound vibrating through my ribs, and his hands slid down my sides, thumbs tracing the curve of my waist with reverent pressure.Silas watched, pupils blown wide, tail lashing once before he prowled closer. “You’re glowing,” he murmured,