Shadows Beneath the Surface
805 Words
The forest beyond the academy was silent.
Too silent.
Ivy stood at the edge of the eastern barrier with Professor Velar and two senior enforcers, eyes locked on the scorched line of earth left behind by whatever had broken through the wards.
Not a creature stirred. No birds. No wind. Just the sharp tang of ash and the low hum of unstable magic vibrating in the air.
“What is it?” she asked, her voice tight.
Velar crouched and ran his fingers along the blackened soil. “This is no ordinary trespass. This thing moved through protective runes like they were mist. Only one type of creature could do that.”
“A Shadowborn,” Ivy whispered.
Velar nodded. “It was drawn to the blood flare. Your blood.”
Back at the academy, Kael paced the war room like a caged wolf. His Beta, Jax, stood across from him with crossed arms.
“You’re too close to her,” Jax said. “Everyone sees it.”
Kael growled low. “That’s none of their concern.”
“It is when the council’s watching your every move. They don’t want a Luna with unknown bloodlines, Kael. And Sorenna isn’t subtle about her intentions.”
Kael slammed a fist into the table. “Sorenna is a political pawn.”
“And Ivy?” Jax asked, raising a brow.
Kael turned away. His voice dropped. “She’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Meanwhile, Ivy sat in the library, flipping through ancient scrolls about Moonborne hybrids. Most were torn, censored, or blacked out with enchanted ink. The little she found all pointed to one truth:
Moonborne weren’t meant to survive.
They were feared, hunted, and erased from history.
She was a living threat to that silence.
And someone—or something—wanted her gone.
Later that night, a commotion outside Ivy’s window jolted her from sleep.
She rushed to the balcony—and gasped.
The eastern barrier was glowing red.
Flashing.
Breached again.
She ran barefoot down the stone halls, ignoring the guards yelling after her. Outside, enforcers circled the forest's edge, weapons drawn, runes glowing across the field.
Kael was already there—shirtless, tattooed runes on his back glowing silver under the moonlight.
She reached him just as something burst through the trees.
Tall.
Twisted.
Eyes like burning coal. Its form shifted like smoke and flesh, not quite real, not quite physical.
The Shadowborn.
It didn’t attack.
It looked at Ivy.
Like it knew her.
Like it had been waiting.
Kael moved to shield her, claws out, power crackling around him.
But the creature tilted its head... and whispered her name.
“Ivy.”
She froze.
That voice.
It wasn’t monstrous.
It was familiar.
A child’s voice. A boy’s voice.
“Did you miss me?” it asked again.
The Shadowborn stepped forward—and Ivy’s palm blazed with fire.
Not a spark.
Not a flicker.
But a roaring flame that burst out of her like a wave.
The creature hissed and vanished into black mist.
The forest fell still again.
Everyone stared at Ivy.
Even Kael.
Hours later, the council called an emergency meeting.
Ivy wasn’t invited.
But Kael was.
Inside the chamber, the Elders’ voices echoed:
“She’s a threat—”
“Or a weapon.”
“No human should wield fire like that.”
“She is not human.”
Kael stood, fists clenched. “Then what do you want me to do? Reject her?”
Silence.
Then Elder Malric spoke. “You must choose, Kael. Your future as king... or the girl with cursed blood.”
Back in her dorm, Ivy sat in silence. Nora hadn’t said much. No one had.
Not since the creature spoke her name.
Not since she’d burned the earth with a single breath.
She stared at her hands.
“I’m not just Moonborne,” she whispered.
“I’m something else.”
There was a knock at the door.
Kael.
His face was pale, jaw tight.
“They’re giving me 48 hours.”
She looked at him, confused. “For what?”
“To choose,” he said. “You… or the crown.”
The words hit like a slap.
Her throat closed. “And what will you choose?”
Kael didn’t speak.
Instead, he walked over, dropped to his knees in front of her, and pressed his forehead against hers.
“I don’t know how to be a king without you.”
Then he kissed her.
Slow.
Desperate.
Wounded.
She kissed him back, clutching his shoulders, feeling his power leak into her like wildfire. The mark on her palm glowed gold.
For a moment, there was only them.
The bond pulsed between their hearts like a second heartbeat.
He broke the kiss, breathing hard.
“I’ll choose you. Every time.”
- Writer
