All Chapters of The Abandoned Luna's Return : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Up on the surface, the world was screaming.Silas Vane felt the moment Elara’s heart stopped. It wasn’t a guess; it was a physical rip in his soul. The bond they had started to form—that invisible thread of violet and shadow—snapped like a dry twig.He collapsed to his knees, his hands digging into the dirt and ash. A sound left his throat that wasn't human. It was the sound of a god losing the only thing that made him want to stay alive."Elara..." he whispered. The name felt like broken glass in his mouth."She is gone," the Moon Goddess said from her chariot of light. She held the golden key up, watching as the glow inside the metal faded into a dull, dead grey. "The parasite has been purged. The world can finally be quiet again."Fenris Thorne let out a jagged, pathetic laugh. He was still bleeding on the ground, but his eyes were wide with triumph. "She died? Good! If I couldn't have her power, no one should! She was always a defect!"Silas turned his head. His eyes weren't purpl

The air in the vault smelled like rotting meat and burnt sulfur.I stared at the thing that used to be Fenris. He was twice his normal size now, his body a disgusting mix of matted fur and oily, black scales. The golden key was buried deep in his chest, glowing like a cursed coal. Every time it pulsed, Fenris grew larger, his muscles tearing through his skin only to be replaced by armor."Look at me, Elara!" Fenris roared. The sound was a jagged mess—half wolf’s howl, half dragon’s hiss. "I was always meant for greatness! You were just the ladder I had to climb!""You're a mistake, Fenris," I said, though my voice caught in my throat. I tried to summon my fire, but only a few purple sparks danced on my fingertips. The Eclipse above us was still sucking the life out of my magic. "You’re a puppet for a key that doesn't belong to you.""A puppet with the power to crush you!"Fenris lunged. He didn't move like a wolf anymore. He moved like a shadow, blurring across the stone floor. He sla

The violet moon hung in the sky like a bruised jewel. Every time I looked up, I felt a sharp tug in my chest. Silas wasn't dead, but he was unreachable. He was up there, trapped in the cold silence of the stars, while I was down here in the mud and the ash.The man in white armor—the one who called himself the Herald—stood by the shimmering Star-Door. The portal looked like a vertical lake of liquid diamonds. It hummed with a sound that made my teeth ache."You have one minute, Elara Vance," the Herald said. "The door only opens when the Moon is at its highest point. If you stay, you remain the Queen of this world. You can rebuild your pack. You can live in peace. But if you step through... you become a trespasser in the Heavens."I looked back at the ruins of the Blood Moon Pack.I saw my father, Alpha Vance, sitting in the dirt with his head in his hands. I saw the surviving wolves looking at me with wide, fearful eyes. They wanted me to lead them. They wanted me to fix the world I

The air in the garden was too perfect. That was the first thing I noticed.In Aethelgard, the air always smelled of something—damp earth, pine needles, or the metallic tang of approaching snow. But here, the air was like a dream. It was sweet and still, as if the world were holding its breath.I sat on the grass, my fingers digging into the green blades. They felt real. I looked at my hands. The violet veins were gone. The scars from the Alpha’s punishments were gone. My skin was smooth, tanned by a sun that felt warm and kind, not harsh like the Moon Goddess’s light."Silas?" I whispered.He was still sitting next to me, staring at his own palms. He looked so different without the shadows. Without the glow of the stars in his skin, he looked like a man in his late twenties. He was handsome—painfully so—with a sharp jawline and deep, chocolate-brown eyes that looked startled."I can't hear it," he said, his voice cracking. "The hum of the void. The call of the shadows. It’s all... sil

The silver drones didn't howl like wolves. They screamed like jet engines.I stood on the edge of the laboratory’s broken window, the wind of the dying city whipping my hair across my face. Below us was a drop of fifty stories. In front of us were a dozen mechanical hunters. Behind us was a lab full of terrified scientists."The White Fire," Silas shouted over the roar of the drones. He stood close to me, his hand gripping my shoulder. "Can you use it to fly?""I don't know!" I yelled back. "In the simulation, I had wings. Here, I just have... me!"The lead drone-wolf lunged. It didn't wait for a conversation. It shot forward, its metal claws extended.Instinct took over. I didn't think about code or biology. I thought about the heat. I reached out and caught the drone by its mechanical throat. The metal was freezing cold, but the moment my fingers touched it, the White Fire flared.The drone didn't melt. It short-circuited. Blue sparks flew from its eyes, and its engine died with a p