Chapter 16: The Blood Moon’s Omen
478 Words
Night had fallen by the time they left the cursed village behind, but the unease lingered like a shadow over Aurora’s thoughts.
The stranger’s words echoed in her mind.
“The one who waits in Ravaryn.”
She didn’t know what was worse—the Shadeborn, the cryptic warnings, or the feeling that she was walking toward something she wasn’t ready to face.
Darius led them deeper into the wilderness, his movements careful, deliberate. The silence between them was thick, the weight of what they’d seen pressing heavy on their chests.
It was Lysander who finally broke it. “I swear, if one more ancient nightmare pops out of the dark, I’m quitting.”
Celeste smirked. “Quitting what exactly?”
“Life,” Lysander muttered.
Aurora almost laughed. Almost.
But the moment of lightness faded as something strange happened.
The air shifted.
A sudden pressure pushed down on them—thick, suffocating.
Aurora’s steps faltered. “Do you feel that?”
Darius’s eyes darkened. “Magic.”
Celeste tensed, her hand on her dagger. “Not just any magic. This is…” She trailed off, eyes lifting to the sky.
Aurora followed her gaze.
Her breath caught.
The moon—it was red.
A deep, unnatural crimson, bleeding across the sky like an open wound.
Lysander cursed. “That’s not normal.”
Darius’s expression turned grim. “No. It’s not.”
Then—a sound.
Low, distant, like a thousand whispers threading through the trees.
Aurora’s pulse quickened.
She clutched the book tighter, feeling its warmth beneath her fingertips. The mark on her palm burned.
And then, a voice—low, familiar, cruel.
“The Blood Moon rises, Dreamweaver.”
Aurora’s breath hitched. It was him again. The hunter.
Darius spun, scanning the darkness. “Show yourself.”
The voice only laughed.
“Do you understand now? There is no escape. The path you walk leads only to ruin.”
Aurora’s hands trembled, but she stood her ground. “Why are you trying to stop me?”
A pause. Then—
“Because the moment you step into Ravaryn… he will know.”
The wind howled, and then—silence.
Celeste exhaled sharply. “I hate this. I hate this.”
Lysander ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, someone explain. Who exactly is going to know? And why do I feel like it’s not going to be good?”
Aurora’s stomach twisted.
She didn’t have the answers. But she could feel the weight of them pressing against her, just out of reach.
Darius looked at her, his silver eyes unreadable. “Do we keep going?”
Aurora swallowed hard, staring up at the bleeding moon.
She already knew the answer.
“We don’t stop.”
Because now, it wasn’t just about finding Ravaryn.
It was about who was waiting for her when she got there.
- Writer
