The Night Before Novels & Stories

“Neither do you.” “Then why are we here?” She finally raised her eyes. “Because only one wins.” I nodded. “And you think it’ll be you.” She tilted her head. “Don’t you?” We stared at each other for a moment. Then I said, “I don’t lose twice.” She smiled. Not kindly. The night before the test, it rained. The thunder shook the window panes, and some of the younger girls cried in their beds. I didn’t sleep. I sat up with my notebook, flipping pages I already knew by heart.

I nodded. "Goodnight, Adrian." "Goodnight." I turned toward the house. Neither of us knew it would be the last quiet moment we shared without doubt standing between us. By morning, the gala would be waiting. And with it, everything Sienna had spent weeks preparing.

--- I spent the next two weeks in bed. Dax brought me books. Micah brought me drawings. Farrah brought me updates from the training ground. "Everyone's scared," she said. "But they're ready." "And Vesper?" "No sign. It's like she vanished." "She's waiting. For the Blood Moon." Farrah nodded. "Then we wait too." --- The night before the Blood Moon, I woke to find Dax standing by the window, staring at the sky. "What are you looking for?" "The red moon. It's not here yet."

The sweet peas were in the jar. The two cups would be out in the morning. He was going to do it properly. She already knew what she was going to say. She fell asleep before midnight. For the night before a significant Thursday, that was a sign of something.

Like time had stretched just to make this worse. Night Before Sleep wasn’t happening. I checked the time. 11:42 PM. Then again. 12:17. Then 1:03. Every minute felt heavier. By the time I sat up, I was already wide awake, restless energy crawling under my skin. I swung my legs off the bed and stood there for a second, staring at nothing. Tomorrow. In less than a day, I’d be standing in front of her again. Not guessing. Not imagining. Actually there.

The night before the wedding, I couldn't sleep. Tomorrow. Marcus and I would stand in front of people. Make it official. Legal. Real. Despite Catherine. Despite The Covenant. Despite everything trying to stop us. I stood at the loft window. Looking at the city below. Lights stretching forever. Somewhere out there, Catherine was watching. Planning. Waiting. Marcus found me at two AM. "You should rest. Big day tomorrow." "Can't. Too wired. Too nervous."

The night before the wedding was the quietest night Mary had ever known. It was not the peaceful quiet people spoke of with longing, not the hush that came after laughter or prayer. It was the silence of a graveyard—thick, oppressive, alive with the knowledge that something had ended and something worse was waiting to begin.

I saw all the posts and liked each and every one of them. Heck, I even took the time to comment on Rhys’ updates. “Don’t forget to burn the sheets I’ve slept on.” By the time I refreshed the page, the post was gone. A minute-long voice note popped up in the family group chat. Instead of tapping to listen, I removed myself from the group chat. It was another day of rehearsals that ended at ten at night. I routinely slapped a pain-relief patch onto my wrist before packing my things to head back to the dorms.

“United, we shall cut into them. We’ll assemble and let them come to us. I think they will be spoiling for a fight before sundown.” Malitus looked up at him. “Why do you say that?” “Because Lammas is near, a holiday for them. I’m sure they will want to be bare assed and drunk by midnight.” Laughter chattered among the officers as the General nodded. Ralta yawned. “There’s the chance they won’t want to engage us at all.” “True,” Malitus agreed. “But I have a feeling, call it a sensation or an inkling they are going to attack.”

I flip the lamp switch on and I glimpse at the alarm clock, “This can't be. What is the probability that this is also a coincidence?” It's 2:00 AM again. I woke up at exactly 2:00 AM the previous night after having a nightmare about the old lady, and today I woke up at the exact time as yesterday after having a nightmare about the same old.