Blood On The Moon
802 Words
✨✨✨
The Courtyard of Blades, Blackfen Fortress – Midnight
The air was crisp. Cold. Tense.
The moon hung low over Blackfen like a silver eye—watching, waiting. Its light bled across the stone courtyard, casting sharp shadows over the polished floor of the training arena.
Elara stood at the edge, cloaked in black, arms folded beneath the thick fabric. Her heart thudded against her ribs, louder than the clashing of blades before her.
A sparring match raged in the center.
Two warriors danced—fangs bared, claws drawn. Fast. Brutal.
They weren’t just training. They were displaying. For her.
And she knew it.
Since the mark began glowing openly, the fortress had changed. Guards stiffened around her. Servants whispered more boldly. And the warriors—Kael’s trusted soldiers—they watched her with the kind of reverence reserved for ancient legends... or dangerous weapons.
A figure approached.
Amira, breathless and wide-eyed.
“My lady... you’re not supposed to be out—”
“I need to see,” Elara said softly. “I need to understand what I’ve been dragged into.”
Amira hesitated, then nodded. “The King will be here soon.”
“Elara.”
The voice echoed across the courtyard, deep and familiar.
Kael.
He walked toward her like the night itself had formed into flesh—dangerous and deliberate. Dressed in dark armor, the edges of his pauldrons glinted in the moonlight.
Behind him trailed Thorne and three more of the King’s elite. But Kael’s eyes were locked solely on her.
“You should be resting,” he said.
“I’m not a child.”
“No,” he murmured, stopping inches from her. “You’re something else entirely.”
The warriors in the ring paused and bowed low as Kael gestured for them to clear.
He turned to Elara. “Come.”
Her brows furrowed. “What?”
“Step into the ring.”
She blinked. “You want me to fight?”
“No,” he said, his voice softer now. “I want you to feel your instincts. Trust what’s inside you.”
Elara looked around.
Whispers rippled. The girl with the mark. The Moonbound.
Some eyes burned with awe. Others with challenge.
She stepped forward.
The stone beneath her felt colder somehow. The moment she crossed into the center, a strange hum filled the space between her ears.
She faced Kael. “And if I fail?”
“You won’t.”
He didn’t attack her.
Not at first.
He moved slowly—circling. Testing. Watching.
Then, without warning, he lunged.
Fast as lightning.
But she moved before she could think.
Duck. Twist. Step behind him.
The crowd gasped.
Kael turned, satisfied. “Good.”
This time, he came harder—faster.
Elara felt her heartbeat slow, her body move in a rhythm she hadn’t learned, but remembered. Like her blood was guiding her limbs.
His hand came down to catch her shoulder—
A pulse of silver light exploded from her body.
Kael was flung backward across the ring.
Shock rang out through the crowd.
Elara stood alone at the center, her eyes wide, glowing faintly silver. Her skin crackled with energy. The crescent mark on her wrist burned bright like a brand.
Kael stood up slowly, eyes wild but not angry—impressed.
Thorne stepped forward, drawing his weapon halfway.
Kael raised a hand. “Don’t.”
“She just blasted you—”
“She awakened,” Kael said simply. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
The fortress had gone still. Breathless.
Elara felt the silence press on her chest.
She looked down at her hands—still shimmering faintly.
“What... what was that?” she asked.
Kael crossed to her, slowly, carefully.
He touched her cheek, and the silver glow began to fade.
“That was only the beginning.”
---
Later that night, Elara stood alone at the edge of the fortress wall, overlooking the dark forest beyond. Her skin still tingled where the energy had sparked from her veins.
The moon was high. Watching.
Just like the whispers.
She wasn’t just Kael’s mate anymore.
She was something more.
And now... everyone knew.
She turned as soft footsteps approached.
Amira again, holding something in her hands. A folded note.
“What’s that?”
“It was left for you.”
Elara took it and opened it, her fingers trembling slightly.
The handwriting was elegant. Sharp.
> “Power attracts blood. Be careful where you shine, little moon. Not every shadow here is loyal to the throne. —V”
Elara’s breath caught.
Her fingers clenched around the parchment.
They weren’t just afraid of her awakening.
They were planning something.
And the blood on the moon tonight… it was only the first drop.
---
- Writer
