Noctis Lucis Caelum Novels & Stories

My gaze snapped toward the northern horizon. And my blood turned cold. Lights. Silver lights. Hundreds of them. Moving through the forest beyond Blackthorn's borders. Not torches. Not vehicles. Something else. The lights moved with unnatural precision. Perfect lines. Perfect formations. Like stars descending through the trees. Kael stopped beside me. His expression hardened immediately. "What is that?" Nobody answered. Because none of us knew. Then Lucien stepped forward. And for the first time True fear appeared on his face. Not concerned.

“In three nights the moon will fall red. Every shadow he commands will rise with it.” Three nights. My chest tightened. Three nights until his voice grew loud enough to break walls. Three nights until his hand reached for me more than ever. Three nights until Lucian’s vow might be tested beyond breaking. Below us, the fortress was alive with frantic motion. Wolves trained until their throats were raw. Scouts returned breathless from patrols, reporting movements along the borders fleeting shadows, strange cries, distant howls that weren’t ours. Fires burned bright against the night, but even flames seemed fragile under the looming eclipse.

The name tasted of ash and forgotten ghosts, of a past that refused to stay dead. She turned back to Lucian, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. “What exactly are we looking for?” Lucian’s gaze darkened. “A book.” Vesper stiffened beside her. “A book?” he repeated, suspicion laced in his tone. “You want to drag us into cursed ruins for a book?” Lucian’s smirk returned, but this time there was no humor in it. “Not just any book. The Codex Noctis.” Elara inhaled sharply. Even Vesper’s expression shifted, his features taut with unease.

She opened it discreetly, and the words were brief, sharp, and immediate: “Run before the blood moon rises.” Her heart lurched. The blood moon was only hours away, a celestial alignment tied to magic, heightened abilities, and the very pulse of Caelus. Whoever had sent this note had power, foresight, or both. Her instincts screamed, Caelus growling beneath the surface, claws itching for release. Lucien noticed her stiffening immediately, eyes narrowing as he read her expression. “What is it?” he asked, his voice a growl beneath the mask, edged with danger.

Its form shimmered, shifting between beast and spirit, eyes glowing with an unnatural light. The deity’s influence hummed louder, almost deafening now, and I knew: This was what the prophecy had warned about. This was the force that would decide the fate of Silverclaw. Lycus laughed, drunk on the chaos. “You’ve doomed us all, Luna. The end begins now.”

The garden was unrecognizable beneath the silvery gaze of the full Hunter’s Moon. Once vibrant flowers now drooped and curled as though wilting under the weight of Erika’s apprehension. Clouds rolled sluggishly across the sky, dimming the moonlight. Rows of darkly clad Lycans gathered, their golden eyes gleaming like embers in the shadows. The air was thick with expectation, and Erika’s skin prickled with an uneasy awareness of every gaze trained on her.

I figure that's good enough. I tilt my head down and look through my camera's viewfinder again. The sight immediately makes me hold my breath for a second. The almost-full moon is there in all its radiant splendor. Its silvery glow weaves a spell over the night, and finally I reach forward to click the shutter. As I lose myself in the rhythmic trance of capturing lunar beauty, a distant wolf's howl becomes a haunting melody through the woods. Abruptly, the lens darkens, and for a second I wonder if a black cloud has suddenly obscured my view. When I pull back to check though, I gasp.

The green glow seemed anything but lucky. If Cameron found it distasteful, she'd have one more reason to divorce him. Cade frowned. Lucian had awful taste. Indeed, one couldn't expect much from Lucian's gifts. Lucian had a look of consideration. "It glows in the dark. You won't have trouble seeing the time when you're out and about in the dark. That way there won't be a delay in operations." "... I didn't know it could glow." Cade couldn't help but splutter expletives.