moonlight academy

The night she was born, the moon disappeared. Not behind the clouds. Not because of an eclipse. It simply vanished. For three terrifying minutes, the entire kingdom of Nocturne was swallowed by darkness. Vampires stopped in the middle of their hunts. Werewolves lifted their heads toward the empty sky. The dead stirred beneath the earth, their ancient bones trembling as though something had called their names. And deep inside a small village at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a child took her first breath. Her mother screamed. Not from pain. From fear. The midwife stared down at the newborn in her trembling arms, unable to speak. The baby looked ordinary at first. She had soft, pale skin and a tiny mouth that trembled as she cried. A small patch of dark hair covered her head, and her little fists were tightly clenched against the cold air. Then the midwife noticed her eyes. One was blue. The other was gold. She nearly dropped the child. "What... is she?" the old woman whispered. The mother, exhausted and barely conscious, turned her head toward the baby. "What happened?" The midwife didn't answer. Instead, she slowly moved closer to the candlelight. There was something wrong with the child. Something impossible. Tiny white fangs were beginning to form behind her lips. Her fingernails were unnaturally sharp. And beneath the thin skin of her chest, there was no heartbeat. The midwife pressed two fingers against the baby's tiny wrist. Nothing. She checked again. Still nothing. Yet the child was breathing. Her eyes were open. And she was crying. Then the baby suddenly stopped. The room became silent. Her crimson eye glowed faintly. Outside the window, something howled. The sound was so powerful that every candle flame in the room went out at once. The mother stared at her daughter. "What have I given birth to?" Before anyone could answer, a voice came from outside. "Find the child." The midwife froze. Another voice followed. "The prophecy has come true." Footsteps approached the house. Many of them. The mother immediately understood. They had come for her baby. She forced herself upright despite the pain. "No." The midwife looked at her. "You have to listen to me," the old woman whispered. "Whatever happens, do not let them take her." The mother pulled the baby against her chest. "Who are they?" The midwife's face had gone pale. "Everyone." A loud knock struck the door. Once. Twice. Then the entire wooden door shook beneath a powerful blow. The mother looked down at her daughter. The baby had stopped crying. She was staring directly at her mother. For a moment, the woman saw something in those strange mismatched eyes. Not hunger. Not anger. Awareness. As if the child already understood what was happening. "You'll have to run," the midwife whispered. The mother shook her head. "She's barely minutes old." "And that is exactly why you must go." Another blow struck the door. Wood splintered. The mother stood. Her legs nearly gave way, but she held on to the baby. She looked toward the small window at the back of the room. The Forbidden Forest waited beyond it. Everyone in the village knew never to enter those woods after sunset. But tonight, there was nowhere else to go. She kissed her daughter's forehead. "I don't know what you are," she whispered, tears running down her face. "But you're my daughter." The baby's tiny fingers wrapped around hers. "I will protect you." Then the door shattered. The mother ran. She disappeared into the darkness with the child pressed against her chest. Behind her, the villagers screamed. And above them, the moon slowly returned to the sky. But it was no longer white. It had turned blood red. That night became a legend. People would whisper about it for centuries. They would speak of the child born from four bloodlines. Human. Vampire. Werewolf. Undead. A creature that should never have existed. Some called her a curse. Some called her a weapon. Others believed she would bring about the end of the supernatural world. But none of them knew the truth. The girl was not born to destroy their world. She was born to change it. And sixteen years later, she would walk through the gates of Moonlight Academy. That was when everything would begin.