The War Beyond the Gates
The moon disappeared.
Again.
But this time, nobody believed it was an attack.
The moon was not stolen.
It was hiding.
The same way a creature hid from a predator.
And that realization terrified even the oldest beings in existence.
Because if the moon itself was afraid...
What hope did anyone else have?
The palace stood frozen.
Kings.
Queens.
Warriors.
Ancient beings.
Enemies who had spent centuries fighting each other.
All stood together, staring at the sky.
The darkness beyond the clouds was different.
It was not the darkness Isabella had fought before.
That darkness had been born from emotions.
Fear.
Pain.
Loss.
This was something else.
Something empty.
Something that had never cared.
Aether looked toward the sky.
For the first time,
