Noctis Lucis Caelum Novels & Stories

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.

A voice in the night, cold and low, speaking words in a language that prickled my skin. "You can’t hide forever, Seraphina. The darkness has found you." I spun around, scanning the empty clearing, but there was nothing there. Just silence, pressing in close, as though the night itself were watching. The next morning, we discovered that several of our scouts and patrol leaders had disappeared, their posts abandoned, their scents trailing off into the dark woods. A message was left in their place, carved into the bark of an ancient oak: "The cycle is broken, but the darkness remains."

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.

"I won't become you." She turned toward the altar. "The choice belongs to the Moon." The silver light intensified. Noctis's darkness began disappearing. His ancient armor cracked. The crimson fire in his eyes faded. For the first time in centuries, he looked tired. Very tired. He whispered, "I don't remember what peace feels like." Lynnek looked at him. "Then perhaps it's time you learned." The final seal descended. A brilliant flash filled the chamber. Then everything went quiet. --- Outside, the red sky slowly returned to its natural darkness.

"Elena... tell that piece of trash to look out his terrace window right now." I flicked my amber eyes toward the high glass panels of the conservatory pavilion. Through the dark night sky, tracking over the silhouette of the massive cascading waterfalls, a sudden, bright crimson light flared against the northern ridge. A single, high-velocity Northern illumination flare arched across the sky, exploding into a blinding white canopy directly above the Verdant Palace grounds. The light was so intense it illuminated the entire white-marble fortress like broad daylight, casting a massive, heavy shadow of Kaelen's artillery units directly over Tristan's valley.

She looked at Caelum, seeing the man who had fought through hell, darkness, and war to stand by her side. "Together!" Lyra cried out, squeezing Caelum’s hand with every ounce of her remaining strength as she gave one final, legendary push! A blinding pillar of white-gold and silver-purple light erupted from the center of the bed, shooting straight through the vaulted ceiling of the Sovereign Spire into the midnight sky! At that exact moment, the celestial alignment of the Solstice reached its absolute peak. Above Obsidian Ridge the dark clouds split wide open to reveal a magnificent silver full moon wreathed in a glowing golden halo!

"Luna, Domina Noctis, mater lucis et umbrae, ad te venimus sub caelo tuo argenteo." "Hic stat servus tuus, qui fefellit fidem, sed cor eius nunc patet ante te. Munda eum, Dea, igne tuo frigido, laverunt aquae tuae peccata eius." "Ignosce, Luna, ignosce. Si non dignus est amplius portare nomen tuum, elige, Dea, alium, ostende nobis successorem tuum, qui te servire dignus sit."

“Shadow resonance is dense here! This whole country is one giant sensory hazard!” “It’s beautiful,” Ianthe said, forehead leaning on the glass. “Like someone decorated nightmares with starlight.” Lyra Vanis, their Noctis liaison, stood rigid near the center console, hands clasped behind her back. “Stay inside the designated route. Noctis wards are active tonight. Stray too far, and the shadows will react.” Kael scoffed. “Let them react.” “No,” Alessia said. “They’ll react to me.” Kael’s smirk faded.