The smoke cleared slowly.
Aria blinked against the light pouring from her hands—no, not light. Power. Wild and red, laced with silver threads that pulsed like veins of lightning. It swirled around her like a storm refusing to calm.
Ash lay across the chamber, unmoving.
"Ash!"
She ran to him, her steps heavy, like gravity was stronger here. She dropped to her knees beside him, fingers trembling as they touched his chest.
His breathing was shallow. His pulse, weak.
"No. No, no, no—this wasn't supposed to happen."
She pressed both palms to his wounds, her energy sparking involuntarily. The ground cracked beneath her knees. Torches along the walls flared and died.
I hurt him. I hurt him.
Behind her, voices echoed through the chamber. Rogues approaching. The girl with the raven hair watching silently from the shadows.
"Now they'll all know what you are," she said.
Aria turned to her, eyes glowing unnaturally. "What am I?"
The girl didn't flinch. "The end of the bloodline… or the beginning of something worse."
Hours earlier…
Ash had pushed through a dozen guards, killed more rogues than he could count. He knew he was dying, but seeing Aria again had made it worth it. Her voice. Her eyes. Her warmth—
Then the explosion.
He didn't even feel the hit—just the blast, the air leaving his lungs, then darkness.
Somewhere, deep in his fading consciousness, he saw her. Not the Aria he knew—but something older, more powerful. Her silhouette cloaked in fire and shadow.
She isn't just a Luna, a voice whispered. She was never meant to be.
Present…
Aria rose shakily to her feet.
She needed to get Ash out. She needed to run. But her limbs wouldn't move.
Then she saw it—her reflection in the cracked wall. Her eyes were not just gold… they burned red and silver, flickering like stars in chaos. Her face looked like hers, but more—almost… not human.
She turned back to Ash. His fingers twitched.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking.
A surge of power escaped her skin again. Stone shattered behind her. The sigils glowed and cracked.
If she stayed, she'd destroy everything.
She didn't look back as she ran.
She could hear the girl's voice trailing behind her:
"Run, Luna. But you'll never outrun what you are."
The tunnels blurred around her as she fled the ruins, carrying only the bloodstone—and the knowledge that she was more dangerous than any wolf born.
Later…
Ash woke, barely able to breathe. He reached for her—but she was gone.
The pendant she always wore was left behind, resting beside his hand. Still warm.
He closed his eyes.
"What are you, Aria…" he murmured.
Final Scene
Aria stood on a cliff edge, wind tearing through her clothes, hair wild and tangled. The moon overhead was red—blood red.
She stared at her hands, then at the scar across her wrist—the mark of the bond. It was fading.
She had broken the bond.
Her voice was hollow, broken.
"Whatever I am… it's not just a Luna. It's a curse."
She dropped the bloodstone into the ocean.
Behind her, in the darkness, golden eyes blinked open.
Not Ash's.
Not human.