ARIA POV
"Thank you, Moon Alpha," it hissed, its voice now crackling with stolen power. "We have been so hungry."
"Aria, what's happening?" Mira shouted from behind our fallen log.
I couldn't answer. Through the Moon Alpha network, I felt Elena's terror as she watched the same thing happen to the Forgotten Ones attacking her land. Every time we used our strength against them, we made them stronger.
"You still don't understand what we are," the thing said, standing taller now. "We are not just your enemies. We are your enemy. Where you make, we consume. Where you heal, we drain. And where you shine with moon magic..." It pointed to its burning eyes. "We devour it."
The horrible truth hit me like a punch to the stomach. "You're not trying to kill us for payback. You're farming us."
