Elena’s POV
The silence after the threat was almost worse than the moment itself.
I stood at the window long after the cloaked figure had vanished into the trees, Lucien’s warmth at my side the only thing grounding me. My heartbeat hadn’t returned to normal. My hands still trembled, though I clenched them into fists to stop it.
I had faced shadows before—memories, doubts, fear—but this one stared back.
A warning.
Or a test.
Either way, something had shifted, and I felt it in my bones like a distant storm vibrating through the earth. The awakening had changed me. Not just my senses or my connection to the Moon, but the very center of me. There was a fire inside now, coiled and waiting, no longer content to be silenced.
Lucien hadn’t said much since the figure disappeared. He was paci
