Chapter One – The Night of the Blood Moon
The moon bled red that night.
Aria had always been told that blood moons were rare, beautiful things. But standing on the old Ironwood Bridge, staring up at the enormous red disc hanging in the sky, she felt anything but awe. The moon didn't look beautiful. It looked… wrong.
Like it was watching her.
The wooden planks creaked under her boots as she walked toward the center of the bridge. It had rained earlier, leaving the wood slick and dark. The air was cold enough to bite her skin, the kind of chill that sank straight into the bones, but Aria barely noticed. Her mind was too full, spinning with all the things that had gone wrong.
Her phone buzzed again in her coat pocket.
She ignored it.
It was probably her sister calling for the tenth time. "Aria, come home. Please. We can fix this."
Fix what? Aria thought bitterly.
You couldn't fix a dead relationship. You couldn't fix a mother's disappointment, or the sinking realization that your life had gone absolutely nowhere at twenty-four.
She leaned against the bridge railing, staring at the black water below. Her reflection wavered with the current, pale and hollow-eyed. She didn't recognize herself anymore.
The phone buzzed again. This time, a text message appeared across the cracked screen.
Ellie: "It's the blood moon tonight. Please don't do anything stupid."
Aria scoffed, blinking hard as her eyes burned. The blood moon… yeah, as if the moon cared about her stupid little life.
But then, as if in response to her thoughts, the moon pulsed.
Her breath caught.
She leaned forward, gripping the railing. The glow from the moon deepened, washing over the river. Then something strange happened—the dark water below shimmered, like silver liquid was bleeding into it. A ripple of light spread across the surface, brightening, glowing…
"What the…"
The light grew brighter and brighter until it hurt to look at. It wasn't moonlight—it was coming from beneath the water. It rose in twisting beams, swirling like living threads of fire.
Aria stumbled back, shielding her face.
Then, with a deafening crack like thunder, the light exploded.
Her body lifted off the bridge. The world tilted. She was falling—no, being pulled. Her scream caught in her throat as the river below opened into nothingness, swallowing her whole.
---
When she opened her eyes, she was lying on her back, drenched in cold dew.
Aria sat up slowly, her heart hammering in her chest.
"W…what the hell…"
She was no longer on the bridge. The smell of gasoline and wet asphalt was gone. Instead, she was in the middle of a sprawling meadow under a black sky lit by two moons. Two.
One pale white.
The other, bleeding red.
Her breath caught.
This wasn't Earth.
"Okay, this is a dream," she muttered to herself, rubbing her arms. "A really… weird dream."
The wind picked up, carrying with it a strange metallic scent, like iron and smoke. The tall grass around her bent as if something was moving through it—something large.
A chill ran down her spine.
She stood, stumbling on her shaky legs. She needed to find a road. A house. Something.
But before she could take more than two steps, a shadow fell over her.
Her head jerked up.
A man stood there.
He was tall, taller than anyone she'd ever met, his presence so commanding it made her stumble back instinctively. His long black coat swept the ground, and his hair—silver as moonlight—gleamed under the red glow above.
But it was his eyes that made her freeze.
They weren't human.
They glowed like molten steel, intense and cold, locking onto her like she was prey.
"Who sent you?" His voice was deep, rough, and laced with suspicion.
Aria blinked. "What—what do you mean? I don't even know where I am!"
He took a step closer, and she instinctively stepped back.
"You're not from here," he said, more a statement than a question. His voice was like distant thunder, smooth but dangerous. "Then why do you smell like her?"
"Smell like who? I don't—"
He moved too fast for her to finish. In an instant, a blade appeared in his hand—a black sword wreathed in fire that didn't burn.
Aria's breath hitched.
This wasn't a dream.
"Wait!" she screamed, holding up her hands. "I'm not your enemy! I don't know who you think I am, but I don't belong here! I'm just—"
The man paused, his sword still raised. His glowing eyes narrowed as he scanned her face, as if trying to read something hidden there.
"You… don't remember," he muttered, almost to himself.
She swallowed hard. "Remember what?"
His gaze softened, but only slightly. For the first time, she thought she saw a flicker of confusion—or was it pain?—cross his face.
Before he could answer, the ground shook beneath them.
Aria gasped as a deafening roar ripped through the meadow. The tall grass parted, and from the darkness emerged writhing shadows, moving like living smoke.
"What the hell is that?!" Aria yelled, backing away.
The man's sword blazed brighter. "They've found us."
"They?!"
He grabbed her hand, his grip like iron. "Run."
Before she could argue, he yanked her forward, pulling her into the grass as the shadow creatures lunged.