Chapter 5: The Blood Moon Vision
547 Words
The old ruins stood deep within the forest, hidden beneath moss and ivy, long abandoned by wolves who had forgotten their purpose.
“This place…” Ayla whispered. “What is it?”
“A temple,” Corvin said, his voice echoing faintly. “Built for the Moon Goddess by your ancestors. Wolves once came here to be blessed, to awaken their true power. Before the bloodlines were hunted. Before the flames died.”
Ayla’s eyes drifted to the stone altar at the center. Carvings lined its edges—wolves howling beneath moons of fire, a woman with silver hair and burning eyes, and at her feet, wolves bowing.
The image tugged at something in her chest.
Corvin lit a circle of blue fire around the altar with a wave of his hand. “Sit. It’s time.”
“Time for what?”
“To see.”
Ayla hesitated, but the pull was too strong. She stepped into the circle and sat on the cold stone. Corvin knelt beside her, placing the silver flame-and-moon pendant in her hand.
“Close your eyes,” he said softly. “Breathe. Let the fire guide you.”
She obeyed.
Darkness.
Then—heat.
A burning wind swept through her mind. Her heart raced as the world melted away.
Suddenly, she was standing in a clearing bathed in blood-red moonlight. Shadows stretched like claws across the ground. Wolves snarled around her, circling, their eyes glowing crimson.
She spun around. Kael stood at the edge of the field, blood on his hands, pain carved into his face.
“Ayla,” he whispered. “Run.”
But she couldn’t move.
A roar split the air—a great beast rising from the trees. Not a wolf. A dragon. Its scales shimmered with fire, its wings blocking the moon. Flames licked the sky as it descended.
Then—
The ground cracked.
Ayla fell through.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
She gasped awake, clutching the pendant. Sweat dripped down her back. Her lungs heaved.
“What… what was that?” she choked.
Corvin's eyes were grim. “The Blood Moon Vision. A glimpse of what may come if your power remains unclaimed. The prophecy is moving faster than I thought.”
Ayla’s voice trembled. “There was a dragon.”
“Yes,” Corvin said. “The Firebound. The guardian of your bloodline. It awakens only for one chosen by both flame and moon.”
“But it felt so real.”
He nodded. “Because it was. The line between vision and fate is thinner for you. You’re connected now. To something ancient.”
Ayla stood, her legs still shaking. “Then I have to learn more. I need to control this before it destroys me.”
Corvin placed a hand over hers. “And you will. But know this, Ayla: others have seen your light. And not all will want you to rise.”
She looked up at the blood-streaked sky.
Somewhere, Kael still thought he’d done the right thing by letting her go.
But Ayla was beginning to understand something dangerous.
She wasn’t just born with power. She was born to claim it.
And no one—not the rogues, not the council, not even Kael—was going to stop her now.
- Writer
