Chapter 17: The Road of No Return
397 Words
The Blood Moon hung above them, casting an eerie glow over the forest path. Everything felt wrong—the air was too still, the night too quiet, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Aurora walked at the front now, her fingers tracing the book’s cover absentmindedly. It had grown warmer, almost like a heartbeat. It wanted something from her.
But she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what.
Lysander sighed dramatically. “You know, when I imagined dying young, I at least thought it’d be in a more dignified way. Maybe a drunken duel or an angry husband chasing me out of his house.”
Celeste smirked. “Ah, yes. A true hero’s death.”
Aurora barely heard them.
The voice—his voice—still echoed in her mind. “Because the moment you step into Ravaryn… he will know.”
Who was he?
And why did it make her stomach twist with fear?
Darius’s voice snapped her out of it. “We need to decide. There’s no turning back after tonight.”
Aurora met his gaze. “We already decided. We go to Ravaryn.”
Lysander let out a long breath. “I hate that you’re so brave about this.”
Darius nodded, unsheathing one of his blades. “Then we move quickly. The Blood Moon isn’t just a bad omen—it’s a beacon. If the Shadeborn didn’t already know where we are, they do now.”
Celeste’s eyes flicked toward the darkened treetops. “Then let’s not be here when they arrive.”
They pressed on, the dirt road beneath their feet turning rougher, older. The trees here were twisted, their roots gnarled like grasping hands.
Something about this path felt… final.
As if the moment they crossed it, there would be no return.
Aurora’s fingers burned.
She looked down at her palm—at the golden mark glowing faintly beneath her skin.
She felt it before she heard it.
The earth trembled.
A distant, guttural roar split through the night.
Celeste cursed. “What was that?”
Darius’s grip on his weapon tightened. “Something that knows we’re here.”
Lysander groaned. “See? This is what I was talking about. Why does it always have to be monsters?”
Aurora’s pulse raced.
They had no choice now.
The Blood Moon had marked them.
And the hunt had begun.
- Writer
