Moondust By Jaymes Young Novels & Stories

Chapter Four: Whispers in the Flame The wind in Moonshadow smelled of pine and smoke. Lyra stood barefoot in the Circle of Embers—an ancient clearing ringed with smooth black stones and flickering torches. The sky above was black velvet, pierced with stars. Tonight marked the new moon. A time for rebirth. For truth.

“Every day, I will prove it. No excuses, no regrets. Just… love. Always love.” As night fell, a soft silver haze blanketed the garden. The moon rose, its light stronger than the stars, casting pale shadows across the fountains and walkways. Aria paused, sensing the familiar presence of the Moon Goddess. She lifted her eyes to the moonlit sky, feeling the whisper of energy threading through the night.

I walked to the center of the stage and accepted the microphone, then calmly swept my gaze across the hall. "Good afternoon, everyone. I am Stardust, creator of 'Moonfall on Leviathan.' And my real name is Maeve Rosethorn." The hall erupted in an uproar. Danika staggered back, looking ashen-faced, while Alder's thoughts hit me like a massive, crushing tidal wave. [Maeve is Stardust? How is that even possible? [The legendary, genius artist I spent six months trying to track down, who I was willing to pay any price to work with, was sleeping beside me this whole time!]

half-hers, half-Velise’s: Find the beginning. Before the Moon chooses for you. Darius stepped closer, his hand trembling as he brushed her cheek. “I can’t lose you,” he said hoarsely. “Not again. Not like Velise.” “You won’t,” Ember whispered. “But you have to trust me. I need to go.” Darius swallowed hard, pain flickering behind his eyes like a storm trying to break through. Then…. A deafening crack exploded outside. The Blood Moon flared brighter. And something ancient began to wake.

“You cannot fight it, child. Let it guide you—or the Moon will die. And with it, all of us.” Nyxara’s gaze shot to the Moon itself. The fissure had grown wider, thin veins of silver spilling across the sky, painting the clouds like molten silk. Every pulse of light echoed in her chest, a heartbeat that was not entirely hers. “Oh, brilliant. Just brilliant,” she muttered, dry humor cracking through the panic. “Apparently I’m a Moon whisperer now. Fantastic. Truly what I wanted to be when I woke up today.” Kaelion’s wolf snarled, stepping closer, energy crackling violently around him. “Do not joke. Do you understand me?”

Kael replied. “Helpful explanation.” He gave her a small smile. “They tell the story of the Twenty Moons.” Luna ran her fingers across one of the glowing carvings. The moment she touched it, a powerful wave of energy rushed through her. Her vision exploded with light. Suddenly she wasn’t standing in the stone circle anymore. She was somewhere else. A massive sky stretched above her. Twenty enormous moons filled the darkness, glowing in different colors—silver, blue, violet, gold.

CHAPTER TWO. Nova’s POV Cassian had taken me in while his men worked on my car. Kept me in a room that I haven’t had the privilege of exploring. I had assignments to do. Things to take pictures of. Documentary to film. That was what brought me to the dessert. I held my camera tightly with my elbow and stepped out. The Crawl moon clubhouse doesn’t look like much from the road.

I was hesitant but DJay vowed that he would keep a safe distance and flee if the trick failed at any point. I held my breath as I waited for DJay to make himself look like a hapless maiden. He gave himself a wound that was not life-threatening but would trick the Afanc into thinking the blood scent was of the maiden. He handed Lee the flashlight and then slowly, he stepped out so that the Afanc could see him.

He gulps the last of his water, crushes the empty bottle in his hand until it scrunches into a ball, then hurls the fisted plastic into the farthest depth of the forests beyond us at inhuman speed. The baritone in his voice drops a notch below. “We’ll end him.” I'm about to ask what the plan will be in detail, when my mind drifts to the date of the next full moon. Only a few days away now, the date coincides with… the night of the School's Winter Formal. Shane balls both his hands into fists, inhaling, then stares up at the reddening sky. “Dreadborn will fall on the next full moon. I'll make damn certain of it.”

We came from the heavens in the form of dust. That is what made us the humans we are today. The knowing where we come from only is known to a select few. The ones who dream of the stars and planets so far away. The ones who know we will always be Star Dust in the end. Katherine Thomas Chapter 1