The words burned long after the fire disappeared.
The Moon Must Fall.
No one said it aloud.
But everyone had seen it.
And everyone understood what it meant.
⸻
By morning, Moonshadow Academy felt like a different place.
Guards lined the walls. Instructors patrolled in pairs. Students spoke in hushed tones, glancing over their shoulders as if the forest itself had grown ears.
Charlotte walked through the courtyard feeling the shift.
Yesterday, she had been the strange human.
Today—
She was the reason war had knocked on their gates.
Whispers followed her like smoke.
“That’s her.”
“The Moon Heir.”
“Shadowborn don’t attack randomly…”
“She’ll bring more.”
Her chest tightened, but she kept walking.
Head high.
Even though her hands trembled.
Jenna stayed glued to her side.
“Th
