The forest was different here.
The trees were older—twisted, gnarled, their branches whispering secrets as Aria passed. She had traveled for two days on foot, avoiding towns, moving at night, hiding by day. Hunger gnawed at her, but worse was the silence in her chest.
Kael's absence.
Her bond with him, once a steady flame, now flickered like dying embers.
She'd tried to forget the look in his eyes—doubt. The very thing she had feared most.
But worse was the knowledge that he'd hidden things from her. About Seraphine. About her bloodline. About the Voidborn.
And now, with every mile she put between them, her magic grew quieter. Unsteady. As if it, too, mourned the separation.
---
By dusk on the third day, she stumbled into a clearing bathed in crimson light. Not from the sun, but from a strange blood-red crystal jutting from the earth. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
She stepped closer.
Welcome, Moonbound.
The voice slithered into her mind—not the Voidborn, but something older. Hungrier.
Her skin prickled.
A woman stood at the crystal's base. Cloaked in shadow, her hair black as ink, her smile like razors.
"You've come far," she said. "Just as the prophecy said."
"Who are you?" Aria asked, her voice wary.
The woman inclined her head. "I am Valeska. First daughter of the Crimson Gate. And I've been waiting for you."
---
Meanwhile, Kael stood at the edge of a ruined shrine, gripping a map smeared with blood. His silver wolf had scouted north but found nothing.
He shifted back to human form, frustration etched into every movement.
Nyla approached quietly. "We found signs—wolves. But not her."
Kael's jaw clenched. "She's hiding her magic. She doesn't want to be found."
Raekon stepped forward, eyes shadowed. "She's headed east. Toward the Crimson Path."
Kael froze. "That place is cursed."
"She doesn't know that."
Kael turned, his voice a low growl. "Then I'll find her before it consumes her."
---
Aria followed Valeska into a deep cavern beneath the crystal. The walls were lined with ancient runes and bones of things long dead.
Valeska gestured to a pool of dark water. "You seek answers. They lie here."
Aria stared. "What is it?"
"A memory. Not yours. Not mine. But one written in blood and magic. Drink."
Aria hesitated. Then, with trembling hands, she knelt and drank.
The world vanished.
---
She stood in a memory not her own—centuries past.
A woman with red hair knelt over a bleeding man. Her lover. Her enemy.
"I told you we were cursed," the man said.
"And I said I'd break it," the woman replied, tears streaking her face.
"Even if it costs everything?"
She didn't answer.
Then Aria saw her own face in the reflection.
It was her.
But not.
---
She awoke gasping. Valeska stood watching.
"You saw her," Valeska whispered. "The first Moonbound. The one who doomed us all."
Aria staggered. "What does it mean?"
Valeska stepped closer, eyes gleaming. "It means your fate was sealed long before your birth. But it also means you have the power to change it. Or destroy everything."
Aria backed away.
"You'll need allies," Valeska said. "And enemies. Choose wisely, Aria Vale. For when the Moon bleeds next, there will be no second chances."
---
That night, as she slept fitfully in the cavern, Kael tracked her scent to the crystal glade.
He stepped into the clearing—and felt it immediately.
Her magic. Faint but there.
But the glade was empty.
Only the crystal remained, glowing like a warning.
He knelt beside it, pressing his hand to the ground.
"I'm coming, Aria," he whispered.
And the crystal pulsed in response.
To be continued