✨ Chapter 37 – The Moon Before the War
The council meeting ended in a storm of orders, assignments, and hurried footsteps.
Students rushed out in clusters, whispering frantically.
Only Ariana, Kai, Seraphina, and the Pillars lingered behind, the weight of the coming battle pressing on their chests like a boulder.
Ariana felt dizzy from the connection she'd forced herself out of.
The voice still echoed faintly in her skull.
"Moonborn… bring us your light…"
She pressed her fingers against her temples.
Kai was at her side immediately.
"Ariana?"
His voice was soft, terrified, protective.
"I'm okay," she whispered.
"No," Kai said, shaking his head. "You're not."
He gently took her elbow.
"Come on. You need air."
Outside the Council Chamber
The air outside was cold, crisp, and biting.
But Ariana breathed it in like she'd been drowning.
Kai stood close to her, arms crossed tightly, trying and failing to hide the panic simmering under his skin.
"You scared me," he said finally. His voice was low, rough. "More than in the tunnels. More than the breach. More than the door."
Ariana blinked up at him.
"Kai—"
"You were just… gone," he whispered.
"I kept calling your name. You didn't hear me."
His voice broke.
"For a moment I thought—"
Ariana stepped closer.
"Kai… I'm here. I didn't leave."
Kai exhaled shakily.
Then, surprisingly—
he didn't hide.
He didn't pull back behind humor or growling or protective commands.
He let the fear show.
"Ariana," he said quietly, "if they ever take you… I won't survive it."
The words stunned her.
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
"Kai…"
His hands were trembling slightly.
Without thinking, Ariana gently took one.
"You won't lose me," she whispered.
"Not now. Not ever."
They stood like that for a moment too long—
hands intertwined, breath mingling, the world fading around them.
Kai's heart hammered so loudly she heard it.
He took a small step closer.
"Ariana…"
For a second—
just a second—
it felt like the world paused.
Then—
Seraphina's voice broke through the air.
"Ariana!"
Ariana and Kai jumped apart.
Ariana turned, mortified.
Kai glared at the ground.
Seraphina jogged toward them, breathless.
When she reached Ariana, she didn't smirk or toss her hair or glance smugly at Kai.
She looked… terrified.
"Something's happening outside the barrier," Seraphina said breathlessly.
"You need to see it."
At the Forest Edge
Students crowded near the invisible shimmering barrier that stretched around the academy.
Seraphina pushed Ariana and Kai to the front where the Pillars already stood.
Zane pointed.
"Look."
Ariana stared out past the trees.
At first she didn't see it.
Then—
she did.
Red veins.
Not lightning.
Not magic.
Roots.
Thin, corrupted roots creeping like skeletal fingers beneath the soil.
Rylan cursed under his breath.
"They're spreading from outside the perimeter."
Calen knelt to examine the ground, frost shimmering around his fingertips.
"This isn't an attack," he murmured.
"This is preparation."
Ariana felt her stomach twist.
She pressed her fingers lightly against the barrier's surface—
—and gasped sharply.
"Something's wrong," she whispered.
"It's… thinning."
Kai stiffened.
"What?"
Ariana closed her eyes, focusing the way she did when sensing her wolf.
A faint vibration thrummed across the barrier like a dying heartbeat.
It was small, fragile—
but real.
"A crack," Ariana whispered.
"A tiny one. But if they hit that spot…"
Zane cursed.
"They'll tear the barrier open like paper."
Seraphina stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly with charm magic.
"I'll mark the weak point," she said. "I'm good at aura threads. I can make it visible so the Professors can reinforce it."
Ariana blinked.
"That's… actually brilliant."
Seraphina smiled faintly.
"I can be useful too, you know."
Ariana laughed softly.
"I never said you weren't."
Seraphina hesitated—then gently squeezed Ariana's hand.
"After the full moon," she whispered, "when all this is over… I want us to be friends."
Ariana blinked in surprise.
Then nodded.
"I'd like that."
Kai made a choking sound behind them.
Seraphina smirked.
"And maybe you can tell Kai to stop glaring at every boy who looks at you."
Kai spluttered.
"I don't— I wasn't— I don't glare!"
Ariana bit her lip to hide her smile.
Rylan shouted from behind:
"You glared at Ashen so hard he apologized to Ariana the next day!"
Kai glared at Rylan instead.
Ariana couldn't stop laughing.
Even if fear gnawed at her stomach, the warmth of these people—
these friends—
held her together.
The Corruption's New Signal
As the professors arrived to reinforce the barrier, Ariana felt a faint tug in her chest.
Her breath hitched.
Another whisper.
Not as clear this time.
More distorted.
Like the corruption was speaking through water.
"Three nights…
Moonborn…
Shine…
We hunger…"
Ariana staggered.
Kai grabbed her instantly.
"Ariana? Hey—look at me."
She clutched his shirt.
"They're close," she whispered.
"Not here—but close."
Zane stepped beside her.
"Where?"
Ariana pointed eastward.
"They're building something."
Calen frowned.
"A ritual site?"
Loren cursed.
"Of course they are."
Ariana nodded.
"They're preparing the battlefield. And when the moon is full—"
Kai finished.
"—they'll hit every weak point at once."
Everyone fell silent.
The first-years nearby trembled.
The seniors stood rigid.
The middle ranks muttered nervously.
Seraphina exhaled shakily.
"We have three days to prepare."
Ariana nodded.
"And when the time comes…"
She looked around at everyone:
The Pillars.
Kai's clique.
Seraphina.
Loren.
The younger students behind them.
"…we fight together."
Kai touched her wrist lightly.
"And you're not leaving my side," he said quietly.
Ariana's wolf hummed in agreement.
"Together."
She smiled faintly.
"Fine. But you're not leaving mine either."
Kai's smirk was soft, warm, and a little breathless.
"Never."
Later That Night
Ariana tucked Aster into bed, brushing soft curls away from her face.
Aster's eyes cracked open.
"You saw it," she whispered.
"The crack."
Ariana nodded.
"Yes."
Aster's lip trembled.
"Moon-sister… the corruption knows you can see things others can't."
Ariana froze.
"What does that mean, Aster?"
Aster squeezed Ariana's hand.
"It means… they're watching you now. Not the door. Not the school."
Ariana's stomach dropped.
Kai, standing in the doorway, stiffened.
Aster whispered with fear:
"They're watching you."