The Moon's Chosen

AFTERMATH

Smoke.

That’s all I could smell when I woke up.

Smoke and burnt wood and something metallic.

"Kael?"

No answer.

I sat up too fast. My head spun. The cabin was half gone.

The roof had caved in on one side. Ash covered everything.

The fight was over.

The King was gone.

But it didn’t feel like winning.

"Kael!" I shouted. "Lyra!"

Footsteps.

Kael came through the broken door. His face was black with soot. There was a cut above his eye.

"You’re awake."

"Where’s Lyra?"

"Safe. Sister Miriam took her to the caves with the others."

He knelt next to me. Checked my pupils. My pulse. Like he was a healer.

"Don’t do that again," he said quietly.

"Do what?"

"Take a hit for me. Almost die. Scare me like that."

I touched his face. "I’m okay."

"I know." But his hand was shaking.

Outside, people were talking. Moving.

Ashvale was alive.

---

Three days passed.

We didn’t sleep in the cabin. We slept in tents with everyone else.

The whole village was helping rebuild.

I thought it would feel good. That the King was dead.

But it didn’t.

Because he was right about one thing.

"My niece," he’d called me.

On the fourth night, I couldn’t sleep.

Kael was on watch. As always.

"Can’t sleep?" he asked when he saw me.

"Nightmares."

"About him?"

"About what he said. About my mom."

Kael sat next to me by the fire.

"You want me to tell you?"

"Everything."

He was quiet for a long time.

"Selene was the Moon Chosen 20 years ago. The strongest one in 500 years. She was supposed to marry a Guardian and have the next Chosen."

"Me."

"Yeah. But she fell in love with your dad. A normal man. A baker."

"So she ran?"

"She ran. The Council disowned her. Said she was a traitor."

"And the King?"

"He was her older brother. Malric. He wanted the power for himself. When Selene refused to give it to him, he tried to take it by force. That’s when she sealed him with the crystal."

"And died doing it."

"Yeah." Kael looked at me. "You have her eyes."

I didn’t know what to say.

So I just leaned on his shoulder.

---

A week later, Sister Miriam called a meeting.

The whole village gathered in the square. What was left of it.

"We survived," she said. "By the Goddess and by Luna."

People clapped.

I wanted to disappear.

"But," she continued. "Scouts came back this morning. There are more of them."

"More what?" someone asked.

"Shadow Beasts. And men. Wearing the King’s mark."

My stomach dropped.

"He’s dead," I said. "I saw him turn to ash."

"His body, yes," Sister Miriam said. "But he had followers. Lieutenants. And they’re angry."

Kael stepped forward.

"How many?"

"Twenty. Maybe more. Coming from the north."

"When?"

"Two days."

The square went silent.

---

That night Kael and I packed.

"We can’t stay," he said. "Not if they come here looking for you."

"Where do we go?"

"To the Moon Temple. In the mountains. If there are more Chosen, that’s where they’ll be drawn."

"Other Chosen?"

"The mark isn’t unique to you, Luna. There are others. Always have been. Just hidden."

I stopped packing. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because I didn’t know if you were ready. But now..."

He didn’t finish.

He didn’t have to.

---

We left before dawn.

Just me, Kael, and Lyra.

Sister Miriam made us promise to come back.

"The Goddess chose you for a reason," she said. "Don’t let her down."

The mountains were cold.

On the second day of walking, Kael stopped.

"Do you feel that?"

"What?"

"The air. It’s... lighter."

And then I saw it.

On top of the highest peak.

A building made of white stone.

Glowing. Even in daylight.

"The Moon Temple," Kael whispered.

As we got closer, I saw them.

Two girls.

Both around my age.

Both with silver marks on their wrists.

One had red hair. She was sharpening a knife.

The other had black hair and was reading a book.

They looked up when we approached.

The redhead stood.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Luna," I said. "I’m the Moon Chosen."

The black-haired girl closed her book.

"No," she said. "There are three of us."

She held up her wrist.

The mark glowed.

Just like mine.

The redhead did the same.

"Name’s Mara," she said. "This is Nova."

"And you’re late," Nova added. "We’ve been waiting."

Kael put a hand on my shoulder.

"Looks like you’re not alone anymore."

I stared at them.

Other Chosen.

Other girls like me.

For the first time since the mark appeared, I didn’t feel scared.

I felt... hope.

"So," Mara said, grinning. "Are we gonna train or what? Because I heard there’s an army coming."

Nova nodded. "The King may be dead. But his shadow isn’t."

I looked at Kael.

He nodded.

"Then let’s train," I said. "Together."

The three marks on our wrists glowed at the same time.

Bright. Silver.

Above us, the moon was rising.

Full. White.

The fight wasn’t over.

It was just beginning.