The Blood Moon Awakens
855 Words
The crimson moon bled across the night sky, staining it like a wound.
A chilling silence settled over the Moonborn Kingdom, and then the earth started to shake.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Thousands of footsteps rolled through the mountains like thunder.
“They’re here,” Draven murmured.
From atop the palace walls, Nysera peered into the darkness.
Countless red eyes ignited in the forest.
An army unlike any she had ever imagined was advancing on the kingdom.
Shadow wolves.
Dark sorcerers.
Monstrous beasts clad in black armor.
Their ranks vanished into the distance, beyond the reach of sight.
Lady Selene clutched the palace railing.
“There are at least fifty thousand.”
Nysera’s breath caught.
“How are we supposed to stop them?”
Draven placed a steady hand on her shoulder.
“We don’t.”
She turned to him, stunned.
“We survive.”
The palace courtyard was swiftly transformed into a war room.
Generals crowded around a huge map of the kingdom.
“The eastern walls won’t hold for an hour.”
“The western forest has already fallen.”
“Our scouts haven’t returned.”
Unease rippled through the commanders.
Nysera said nothing.
She could still hear the Shadow King’s words.
Ask Draven what really happened the night your mother died.
She glanced at him.
He looked away.
When the meeting ended, she trailed him into the royal gardens.
Moonflowers shimmered faintly all around them.
“Tell me the truth.”
Draven stopped.
“I promised your mother I would never tell you.”
“My mother is dead.”
“So is the promise.”
He let out a long, burdened sigh.
“That night…”
“We were not enemies.”
Nysera frowned.
“What?”
“Your father and I fought together.”
Her chest tightened.
“The palace was attacked by someone far more dangerous than either of us.”
“Who?”
Draven turned slowly.
“I don’t know.”
“I never saw his face.”
“He wore a silver mask.”
“The fighting ruined everything.”
“I woke up surrounded by flames.”
“Your mother was dead.”
“You were gone.”
“And your father blamed me.”
Nysera searched his face.
There was no anger there.
Only sorrow.
“You’ve lived with this for twenty-one years?”
“I deserved to.”
“No.”
He looked at her, confused.
“You deserved a chance to explain.”
For the first time in years…
Draven smiled.
Then suddenly..
A piercing scream shattered the calm.
“My Queen!”
A young guard sprinted toward them.
“The prison!”
“They’ve escaped!”
Draven’s face turned cold.
“What escaped?”
“The prisoners taken during yesterday’s battle.”
The three of them hurried to the underground cells.
The iron doors had been torn clean off.
Unconscious guards were scattered across the floor.
Every cell stood open.
Except one.
Inside was an old woman in ragged robes.
She smiled as Nysera drew near.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“You know me?”
“I knew your mother.”
Nysera stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
The woman slipped a hand through the bars and gently touched Nysera’s hand.
At once…
Another vision surged through Nysera’s mind.
She saw three ancient rulers standing beneath the first Blood Moon.
One governed light.
One ruled darkness.
The third…
Vanished.
The old woman’s voice echoed through the vision.
“There were never two royal bloodlines.”
“There were three.”
Nysera’s eyes flew open.
“What does that mean?”
Before the woman could answer—
An arrow struck her chest.
Nysera gasped.
The old woman gave a faint, sorrowful smile.
“They found me…”
She coughed up blood.
“Find…”
“The Silver Heir…”
Her body dissolved into glowing dust and disappeared.
“No!”
Nysera lunged forward, but there was nothing left.
Only a single silver pendant remained on the floor.
Outside the prison…
The palace bells rang in frantic alarm.
The enemy had launched their assault.
The enormous gates shuddered under relentless blows.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Soldiers hurried into formation.
Archers took their places along the walls.
Healers prepared for the injured.
Draven unsheathed his sword.
“It begins.”
Nysera tightened her fingers around the silver pendant.
For a brief instant…
It glowed.
Then another voice whispered in her mind.
You are not the last Moonborn Queen.
She went still.
“What?”
The voice returned.
The true heir is already inside your kingdom.
Before she could warn anyone—
A violent explosion ripped through the palace gates.
The ancient doors collapsed inward.
Thousands of Shadow soldiers poured into the capital.
At their head stood the Shadow King.
He lifted his sword toward Nysera.
Then, to everyone’s shock…
He knelt.
“My Queen,” he said.
“I’ve come to take you home.”
The battlefield fell completely silent.
Even Draven stood motionless.
No one had expected the dreaded Shadow King…
…to kneel before the woman he had come to war against.
- Writer
