Chapter Seven: Shadows of the Soul
POV: Lira Velasquez
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The night after the Blood Moon Oath didn’t bring peace.
It brought silence.
And silence in this manor wasn’t a comfort—it was a warning. The kind that made your breath catch in your throat and your spine feel too fragile to hold you upright.
I could still feel the burn of the ritual in my veins. A phantom ache where Kael’s blood met mine. The pendant around my neck pulsed, faintly warm, like a second heartbeat. No matter how many times I touched it, it didn’t stop. As if it was alive. Watching. Waiting.
I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t.
Not when the shadows outside the manor walls had started to move on their own.
Not when I could still hear the voice from the mirror.
“The blood moon rises. The oath must be sealed. Or all will
