She Who the Moon Forgot

Chapter Six: The Capture

Arielle's POV

The forest that had felt like a sanctuary suddenly became a cage..

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, but the Wardens were relentless. Their silver sigils glowed faintly in the dim light, cutting through the shadows like knives. Every footfall of theirs behind me made my chest tighten, made the air feel heavier. My heartbeat thundered so loudly I thought they could hear it.

“Faster,” the boy murmured behind me, shadow at my heels, urging me without touching. His presence was a lifeline, but even he couldn’t outrun numbers this large.

I stumbled over a root, skin scraping against rough bark. The pain barely registered. The Wardens were close enough now that I could see the cold, sharp lines of their masks. They didn’t hesitate, didn’t falter. Nothing human lingered in them, only duty, obedience, and something cruel buried deep inside.

I twisted my wrist, summoning the forest like I had the past nights. Roots lashed from the ground, coiling around tree trunks, tripping a Warden. A stone lifted from the earth and rolled toward another. My magic felt alive, hungry, but wild.

“Careful!” the boy hissed. “Don’t lose control!”

Too late. One Warden caught the edge of a root, stumbled, and I saw the flash of pain in his eyes. My stomach dropped. I hadn’t meant to hurt anyone. Not like this. Not yet.

“Aríelle!” His voice cracked, fear under the calm. “Keep moving!”

I obeyed, heart hammering, hands trembling. But the forest had limits. It bent and thrashed, but it couldn’t stop their numbers. The Wardens pressed closer, cutting off paths, predicting our movements.

Then it happened.

A sharp cry split the air. A branch I had raised to block them snapped under an invisible force, and I fell hard. Pain shot through my side, stealing my breath. Before I could scramble, hands grabbed me, strong and unrelenting.

“Aríelle,” the boy shouted, reaching for me, but another Warden’s staff slammed against his shoulder. He staggered, cursed, and the world seemed to tilt sideways.

I was lifted effortlessly. The Wardens’ grip was iron. I struggled, but it was useless. Magic sparked beneath my skin, flaring, but it wouldn’t break them. Not yet.

“You belong to the Moon Court,” one of them said, voice low and certain. “No place in this forest can hide you.”

I gasped, rage and fear mixing into something hot and raw. “I don’t belong to you!”

The boy lunged, but they pushed him back with a wave of energy. He hit the ground, rolling to his feet. His dark eyes locked with mine for a heartbeat, a silent promise in their depth.

Then they took me.

We ran for what felt like hours, but I was carried, held, dragged along. My hands clawed at air, at leaves, at branches, at nothing. The forest whispered, twisting around us, but it could not save me entirely. Not when the Wardens were so many, so relentless.

Finally, they stopped.

I was thrown to the ground at the edge of a clearing, sunlight piercing through the dense canopy above. My knees scraped, my palms bleeding, my breath coming in sharp, painful bursts. They circled me, staffs planted firmly in the earth, eyes gleaming behind silver masks.

“You are coming with us,” one said. “The moon has plans for you, whether you like it or not.”

I lifted my head. “I’m not afraid of the moon.”

A ripple of laughter, dry and sharp, echoed through the clearing. “You will learn fear,” another said. “Soon enough.”

I looked toward the tree line. The boy was gone. He hadn’t followed, not yet. My stomach clenched in sudden panic.

“Where… where is he?” I demanded.

“They cannot interfere,” the lead Warden said, voice like steel. “He is not your concern.”

I swallowed hard, trying not to panic. My hands tingled, magic stirring under my skin, hungry and impatient. But without him, I couldn’t control it. The roots trembled, the stones quivered, but they remained harmless, restrained by my fear and exhaustion.

The Wardens lifted me to my feet. Every step toward them felt heavier, each glance toward the forest a reminder of what I could not reach. Roots trembled beneath me, stones quivered, but I could do nothing to fight them. Exhaustion and fear pinned my magic down like chains.

I swallowed hard, chest tight. My hands tingled, alive with power, but it refused to act. I was trapped, and the Wardens moved with a certainty I had never faced before.

The boy’s figure had vanished into the shadows of the trees. I could just barely see him slipping between trunks, silent, impossible to track. My stomach twisted. He was still there. Watching? Waiting? I didn’t know. I couldn’t see his face, and he gave no sign of his intentions.

All I knew was that I was alone now. The Wardens’ grip was unyielding, their steps echoing like hammers on stone. My heart pounded, and for the first time, I felt the weight of being truly powerless.

The forest whispered around me, silver light filtering through leaves, but it was only a faint tug. A warning, a reminder, but not enough. Not enough to shield me.

I refused to cry. I refused to beg. I lifted my chin, forcing my eyes away from the looming figures. The moon hung above, pale and indifferent. I did not belong to it. I had never belonged.

And yet, the real fight was only beginning.