✨ Chapter 43 – The Hidden Light
The academy awoke to the sound of ringing bells.
Not the pleasant morning chimes—
the red bells.
The ones reserved only for war.
Students scrambled from dorm rooms.
Professors sprinted across the courtyards, activating ward pillars and protective runes.
Ariana felt her heart clench.
Tonight wasn't the battle night.
But the bells meant something had changed.
Something urgent.
Kai appeared at her door, chest rising hard.
"You felt it too?"
Ariana nodded.
"Yes."
But it wasn't the bells that shook her awake.
It was her wolf.
For the first time, the wolf wasn't pacing or growling or warning.
She was… whispering.
Guiding.
"Find light. Hidden light. Your light."
Ariana clutched her chest.
"Kai… something's happening to me again."
Kai's wolf-eyes flickered gold.
"Then we go somewhere quiet. Now."
The Training Meadow – Again
The air shimmered with tension.
The sky hung low and gray.
Even the wind felt watchful.
Ariana stood in the center of the meadow, breathing hard.
Her bracelet pulsed faintly—
but unlike before, it didn't burn.
It felt almost… warm.
Kai stepped close.
"What is it? What are you sensing?"
Ariana shook her head, trembling.
"My wolf keeps telling me… there's more to my magic than I've unlocked."
Kai frowned slightly.
"You mean your other abilities?"
"No." Ariana shut her eyes. "Something deeper. Something old."
Her wolf whispered again:
"Moon-fire. Hidden. Yours."
Ariana gasped.
"My wolf says I have moon-fire."
Kai stared.
"Moon-fire? Ariana, that's— That's a myth. That's—"
Ariana's aura flared.
Silver flames glimmered along her arms—
light, soft, shimmering like burning moonlight.
Kai stepped back in awe.
"Ariana… oh stars—"
The flames didn't burn.
Didn't hurt.
They felt like a second heartbeat.
Ariana whispered:
"This is why the corruption wants me."
Kai stepped closer, voice rough.
"And why I won't let them touch you."
Ariana looked up at him—
—and the moment stretched.
Not romantic.
Not yet.
But deep.
Intense.
A truth blooming between them.
Kai swallowed hard.
"You are light, Ariana. Even the Moonbeast reacts to you."
Ariana froze.
"What?"
Kai hesitated.
Then said quietly:
"Aster… she said something when you were asleep."
Ariana's pulse quickened.
"What did she say?"
Kai exhaled slowly.
"She said the Moonbeast… recognizes you."
Ariana's breath stilled.
"My wolf said that too."
Kai gently took her wrist.
"Why?"
Ariana's lips parted.
"Because my magic is lunar."
Her voice trembled.
"Because the Moonbeast was once a guardian."
Kai's jaw clenched.
"And because corrupted creatures want the purest magic to feed on."
Ariana shivered.
"Moon-fire would be a feast."
Kai shook his head violently.
"Which means we keep you away from the seal. Away from the Moonbeast. Away from anything that tries to pull power from you."
Ariana lowered her gaze.
"Kai… when the full moon rises, I'll need to go near it. The academy will need my light."
Kai grabbed her shoulders.
"Ariana, listen to me—"
But suddenly—
Aster's voice echoed in her mind.
Moon-sister… trouble. Big trouble.
Ariana gasped.
"Aster—?"
Lira, Aster whispered. Lira's aura is cracking. She's losing herself.
Ariana's blood ran cold.
The Infirmary – Lira's Condition
Ariana and Kai rushed inside.
Seraphina was already there—
kneeling beside a trembling Lira, who sat curled in a corner of the infirmary room.
Shadows flickered across Lira's skin.
Red veins pulsed beneath her eyes.
She rocked back and forth, whispering:
"They said they'd fix it…
They said they'd help me…
They said the shadows were safe…"
Ariana's breath hitched.
"Lira…"
Seraphina's voice was broken.
"She's been like this since last night. I didn't know what to do—"
Aster stood nearby, pale and frightened.
"She's being pulled," Aster whispered.
"They're using her like a thread. A thread to stitch the seal open."
Ariana knelt slowly.
"Lira? Sweetheart… look at me."
Lira's eyes snapped open—
—but they weren't her eyes.
They glowed red.
Ariana's wolf snarled.
"Corruption coils. Remove it."
Ariana touched Lira's hand.
Her moon-fire flickered instinctively—
a tiny spark.
Lira screamed—
but not in pain.
In relief.
"Ariana!" Seraphina yelped. "What are you—?!"
Kai stepped protectively behind Ariana, ready to strike if needed.
But Ariana didn't attack.
She just held Lira's hand, moon-fire glowing faintly between their palms.
Lira's trembling slowed.
The red veins dimmed.
Ariana whispered softly:
"You're not alone."
Lira sobbed.
"T-The shadows… they told me they'd help me get stronger… I didn't know… I didn't know…"
Seraphina burst into tears.
Ariana wrapped her arms around both girls.
"We'll save you. I promise."
Lira clung to her desperately.
Kai whispered:
"Her corruption… it reacts to your light."
Aster nodded.
"You can help her… but not yet. You're not strong enough."
Ariana swallowed.
"Then I'll get stronger."
Seraphina stood shakily.
"What do we do now?"
Kai turned to her.
"Now? We prepare for war."
The Academy's Response
By midday, the entire academy gathered as Headmaster Solarin delivered the gravest speech the school had heard in generations.
"Students," Solarin said, voice steady but filled with urgency.
"We found the Moonbeast's seal. It is cracking faster than expected."
Gasps exploded through the crowd.
Solarin continued:
"Rebirth will attack tomorrow night. Not on full moon night. They intend to strike early—and unseal the Moonbeast."
Ariana felt every student's fear like a tide.
Solarin raised a hand.
"But we will not fall."
He looked directly at Ariana.
"Our strongest light rises among us."
Ariana froze.
Students turned to stare at her.
Fear in her chest twisted into pressure.
Kai stepped closer protectively.
Solarin continued:
"Tonight, all divisions will join forces. We will form our first full battle formation in centuries."
Panic spread.
"Are we really fighting tomorrow?!"
"The final battle is early?!"
"We're not ready!"
Solarin lifted his hand.
"We will be."
Seraphina's Moment
After the meeting, Ariana stood trembling at the edge of the courtyard.
The weight of everyone's expectations pressed on her chest.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
She was supposed to be safe at home, living quietly with her brothers.
Kai noticed immediately.
"Hey," he murmured, brushing her knuckles with his.
"You're shaking."
Ariana exhaled shakily.
"I don't know if I can do this."
Kai's voice softened.
"Yes, you can."
"I'm not ready."
"You're more ready than any of us."
"Everyone is counting on me—"
"They're counting on all of us," Kai corrected gently.
Ariana looked away.
Seraphina stepped up then, surprising Ariana.
Her eyes were still red from crying—
but her voice was strong.
"Ariana… you're not alone. Not anymore."
Ariana blinked at her.
Seraphina continued:
"You saved Lira. You saved my family. And if you can stand up there even when you're scared—then the rest of us have no excuse."
Ariana's throat tightened.
Seraphina placed a hand over Ariana's.
"Let us carry the fear with you."
Ariana nodded slowly.
And for the first time, she truly believed it:
She wasn't alone.
The Moonbeast's Breath
That night, as students trained under the torches, Ariana suddenly gasped.
Kai caught her instantly.
"Ariana—?!"
She pointed toward the forest.
Her wolf howled.
Silver fire burst around her.
"I can feel it," Ariana whispered.
"The Moonbeast… it's awake enough to breathe."
Kai's face paled.
"Then we're almost out of time."
Ariana swallowed hard.
"Tomorrow… tomorrow we fight."
Kai pulled her close.
"And tomorrow—I'll be right beside you."
Her wolf whispered the final warning:
"Moon rises.
War comes.
Light must break."
Ariana closed her eyes.
Tomorrow would change everything.