✨ Chapter 51 – The Eve of the Moon
The sky dimmed early—far too early for a normal evening.
Not sunset. Not clouds.
Just darkness rolling in like a living thing.
The day before the full moon had never felt so much like a countdown.
Ariana sat on the balcony outside the infirmary, wrapped in a cloak Seraphina had enchanted with warming charms. She wasn't cold—her moon-fire kept her warm—but the cloak made her feel steady. Human.
Kai sat beside her on the stone railing, shoulder pressed lightly against hers. He hadn't left her side since she collapsed on the battlefield. Not for water. Not for orders. Not even when the academy staff called for tactical meetings.
He simply stared them down and said, "I'm not leaving her."
Nobody argued.
Ariana sighed.
"Kai… you don't have to glue yourself to me."
"Yes, I do," he said instantly.
Ariana huffed a laugh. "You're impossible."
"Good," he muttered.
A breeze shifted.
The forest groaned.
Ariana's wolf pressed against her ribs.
"Moonbeast rises deeper.
Listen."
Ariana leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing.
The wind wasn't wind.
It was a vibration—pulsing from the ground, through the roots, into the air.
A heartbeat.
A heartbeat far too large.
Kai noticed her stiffen.
"Ariana?"
She swallowed.
"It's awake enough to move its body… not just its eye."
Kai stood instantly.
"Aster said the full rise would only happen at moon peak—"
"This isn't the full rise," Ariana whispered.
"This is the beginning."
Before Kai could reply, Lira stumbled onto the balcony.
Her skin was paler than ever, but her eyes—now faintly silver instead of red—held clarity Ariana hadn't seen since before the corruption took her.
"Ariana," Lira whispered. "I had another vision."
Kai frowned. "Vision or corruption echo?"
"Vision," Lira said firmly.
"It's mine. Not theirs."
Ariana stood and gently took her hands.
"What did you see?"
Lira's fingers trembled.
"Tomorrow night… they won't just try to unseal the Moonbeast. They'll try to take you. They need you near the seal to finish it."
Kai growled softly.
"You're not getting anywhere near that forest."
Ariana looked away.
Kai's breath caught.
"Ariana. Don't even think about it."
She didn't answer.
Lira inhaled shakily.
"The corruption wants her alive," she whispered to Kai.
"Alive and powerful. They'll avoid killing her—they'll focus on separating her from everyone else."
Kai tensed like a drawn bowstring.
"They'll have to go through me."
Lira shook her head.
"Kai… in the vision, you weren't the one they targeted first."
Ariana frowned. "Then who?"
Lira whispered:
"The Pillars."
Ariana's blood ran cold.
"They want to take down your strongest friends," Lira said.
"Especially the ones who always protect you. If they weaken the Pillars, they weaken your line. Then you'll be vulnerable."
Ariana gripped Lira's hands tighter.
"Did you see how they'll do it?"
Lira's eyes flickered with fear.
"They'll use something I've only heard in whispers—
something called Bloodwake."
Ariana stiffened.
"What is that?"
Lira shook her head.
"A forbidden pulse. A corrupted blast of magic that targets bloodlines, not walls. It can weaken abilities… or turn them off completely."
Kai's breath hitched.
"That's impossible."
Lira looked up at him, eyes hollow.
"It's corruption. Nothing is impossible."
Ariana bit her lip.
"Kai… If they use Bloodwake on the Pillars—Zane, Rylan, Calen, Seraphina—"
"They'll still fight," Kai said harshly.
"But we won't let it get that far."
The Academy Prepares Ariana
Professor Vayne and several senior staff members found them an hour later.
"Ariana Sterling," Vayne said, bowing his head slightly.
"We need to begin preparations for tomorrow."
"Preparations?" Ariana echoed.
Solarin stepped from behind him, somber.
"We must attune you to the moonfire without letting it break your body."
Kai stiffened. "You want to activate her powers early?"
Solarin shook his head.
"No. We want to strengthen her resistance. If her body isn't prepared, the moment she breaks that bracelet, she may unleash too much power too fast… and lose herself."
Ariana clasped her wrist involuntarily over the bracelet.
Kai stepped forward.
"What exactly does she have to do?"
Solarin looked at Ariana with grave eyes.
"She must learn to channel pure moonlight for at least one hour."
Kai nearly choked.
"One—one HOUR? That's insane!"
"It is necessary," Solarin said.
"If she cannot hold lunar energy for that long, her full power will rip her open."
Ariana nodded slowly.
"Okay. I can do it."
Kai rounded on her.
"Are you insane?! You just fainted from using it for TEN SECONDS!"
Ariana gave him a soft smile.
"Kai… I have to prepare for tomorrow."
Kai looked sick.
"Ariana, this is torture. They're making you—"
"No," she interrupted gently.
"They're helping me survive."
Kai closed his eyes in pain.
Solarin gently touched Ariana's shoulder.
"The attunement begins at moonrise."
Ariana nodded.
"We'll be ready."
Kai didn't speak for a long moment.
Then he whispered:
"Then I'm not leaving your side for a single second."
The Forest Shows Its True Movement
As the sun dipped, Ariana and Kai stood at the northern edge of the academy grounds.
The forest looked normal—
Then shifted.
Not the leaves.
Not the branches.
The ground.
It sagged downward, then rose again, like a giant creature inhaling.
Ariana clutched Kai's arm.
"It's trying to stand."
Kai's grip tightened around her waist.
"It won't."
But Ariana shook her head.
"Not yet. But soon."
Her wolf pressed its nose against her ribs.
"Fear not.
We will rise together."
Ariana exhaled shakily.
She wasn't sure if that comforted her or terrified her.
Rebirth's Leaders Appear
Later, as Ariana prepared for attunement, a horn sounded from the east wall.
Aster screamed:
"ARIANA! KAI! SOMETHING'S THERE!"
They ran to the balcony over the eastern forest.
And saw them.
Three figures in black cloaks stood at the tree line.
Tall.
Still.
Wrong.
The middle one lowered their hood.
A woman with silver hair braided down her back and eyes black as tar.
She smiled when she saw Ariana.
"Moonborn," she called softly.
"Tomorrow we finally meet."
Kai growled deep in his chest.
Ariana's heart pounded.
The woman bowed mockingly.
"My name is Morwenna.
Leader of Rebirth."
The other two removed their hoods.
One man with bone-white skin and crimson eyes.
One figure whose face seemed to flicker like shadow.
Morwenna lifted one pale hand.
"The Moonbeast wakes.
The seal cracks.
And you… Ariana Sterling…"
She smiled wider—
hungrier.
"…will rise with it."
Ariana shivered.
Not out of fear.
Out of fury.
Kai stepped in front of her, wolf aura blazing gold.
"Over my dead body."
Morwenna's grin sharpened.
"That can be arranged."
Then she vanished—
the forest swallowing her like smoke.
Ariana exhaled.
Kai grabbed her hands.
"Ariana… you ready?"
Ariana lifted her head—
and moon-fire flickered in her eyes.
"Yes."
Tomorrow was the full moon.
And nothing would stop what was coming.