LUNAR ACADEMY: HEIR OF HELL AND MOON

The letter was black. Not navy. Not dark blue. Black like a bruise. Like something left out in the sun too long and rotted. Lena Carter held it between two fingers and stared at the seal. A silver moon, cracked down the middle. Blood dripping from the c***k. “Scholarship to Lunar Academy,” she read out loud. Her voice shook. “Full ride. Room and board included.” Her best friend Maya snorted from the couch. “Girl, that sounds like a cult. Throw it away.” Lena should have. She was 18. Broke. Working two jobs to pay for community college. Her mom was gone 3 years. Her dad? Never met him. Just a name on a birth certificate she wasn’t allowed to ask about. A full ride was a miracle. So why did it feel like a death sentence? The letter pulsed in her hand. Warm. Then the words changed. You are expected. September 10th. Midnight. Don’t be late, Heir. Heir. Her blood went cold. “Did you see that?” Lena whispered. Maya was already scrolling t****k. “See what?” The letter went black again. Normal. Lena folded it and shoved it in her bag. *Midnight. Lunar Academy Gates.* It wasn’t a school. It was a castle made of black stone and silver spires, sitting on a cliff with no city around it. No roads leading in. Just fog and the sound of waves crashing 300 feet below. The moon was full. Too full. It looked close enough to touch. Two guards waited at the gate. Tall. Pale. Eyes silver. “Name,” one said. “Lena Carter.” The guard’s eyes flicked down to a list. Then back up. And his face changed. Fear. “Miss Carter,” he said quickly. “This way.” He didn’t touch her. Didn’t look her in the eyes again. The courtyard was full of students. But it was silent. Girls with wings. Boys with horns. Someone’s shadow moved on its own. And in the center of it all, standing on the steps of the main hall, was him. Damian. Crown Prince of Hell, though Lena didn’t know that yet. All she knew was he was tall, dressed in all black, and looked bored. Hair dark. Jaw sharp. And eyes—gold. Like molten gold. He was talking to someone. Then he stopped. Looked up. Looked right at her. The entire courtyard went quieter. A mark on the back of Lena’s hand burned. She gasped and jerked her hand up. A crescent moon. Glowing faint silver. On Damian’s neck, under his collar, something answered. A flash of the same glow. Black. His gold eyes narrowed. “Well,” he said. Voice low, cold, and amused. “The scholarship student.” He walked down the steps. Everyone parted for him. He stopped in front of her. Too close. She could smell him. Cold air and smoke. He lifted her hand without asking. Stared at the mark. Then he let it go like it burned him. “Wrong school, human,” he said. “I’m not” “You are,” he cut her off. “And you have no idea what you just walked into.” Behind him, the big doors to the hall opened with a sound like thunder. A woman stepped out. Old, but not. Dress in white. Eyes like the moon. “Welcome to Lunar Academy, Miss Carter,” she said. “We’ve been waiting 18 years for you.” Damian didn’t look away from Lena. His jaw ticked. And the mark on her hand burned hotter. Heir of Hell and Moon. She didn’t know what it meant. But she could feel it. Something in the air had just shifted. And Hell was watching.