The forest went silent.
Deathly, unnaturally silent.
Then the shadows shifted—slow and deliberate—spreading across the snow like spilled ink.
Aria's breath caught as the shape expanded, swallowing branches and moonlight alike. The Devourer wasn't a creature. Not a beast. Not anything she could understand.
It was darkness wearing a pulse.
Ronan shoved her behind him, positioning his body between her and the creeping void.
"Stay behind me," he growled. "Don't look into it. Don't listen to it."
But Aria felt it anyway—
A cold whisper brushing her mind like fingertips made of frost.
Moonbreaker… you cannot run.
She staggered. "It's speaking again—"
Ronan grabbed her wrist, grounding her instantly. "Ignore it."
But ignoring it felt impossible. The whisper grew stronger, coiling through her thoughts, tugging at her mark.
Snow swirled around them as the Devourer slid closer, consuming light as it moved.
Shouts echoed from behind the trees. Lyra's hunting group burst into the clearing, but they froze instantly at the sight before them.
"Oh Goddess…" one wolf breathed.
Ronan barked, "Stay back!"
His voice cracked through the clearing with Alpha authority.
Lyra stepped forward, eyes wide. "Ronan—what is that?"
He didn't turn to her. "The Devourer."
Lyra paled. "It's real?"
"Yes," Ronan growled. "And if you'd listened to me earlier, you would've known why I tried to get Aria out of Frostfall."
Lyra didn't respond.
Because the shadow moved again.
A tendril of darkness shot outward—
So fast Ronan barely dodged it.
It hit a tree behind them, and the trunk withered instantly, collapsing into dust.
Aria gasped. "Ronan—!"
"It can't touch you," Ronan said fiercely. "I won't let it."
Lyra shouted, "Retreat! We need to fall back—"
But Ronan cut her off. "Running won't matter. It's here for Aria."
Lyra turned, shock and bitterness twisting together. "This is her doing—"
"Say that again," Ronan snarled, "and I'll throw you to it myself."
Aria grabbed his arm. "Stop—this isn't the time—"
Another tendril of shadow lashed out.
This time, aimed directly at her.
Aria froze.
Ronan didn't.
He tackled her to the ground, rolling with her as the tendril struck the snow where she'd stood—
hissing, burning, melting through ice like acid.
Ronan covered her body with his, shielding her completely.
"Are you hurt?" he breathed.
"No—no, I'm okay," she whispered.
He cupped her face briefly, forehead touching hers. "Good. Stay low."
But the air pulsed again—and Aria felt the whisper slide deeper, curling around her mark like a parasite trying to burrow under her skin.
Moonbreaker… awaken.
Come to me.
You were made for this.
Aria cried out as her wrist flared. "Ronan—"
He whipped around, snarling at the shadow, "Get out of her head!"
Another tendril shot forward—thicker, faster, aimed at both of them.
Ronan grabbed Aria and spun her out of reach, but the tendril grazed his arm.
He roared in pain.
"RONAN!" Aria screamed as he stumbled.
Black veins spread quickly across his skin where the darkness touched him.
Lyra gasped. "It's poisoning him!"
Aria's heart dropped. "No—no, no, no—Ronan—"
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself upright. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine—look at your arm—"
"I said— I'm fine!" he snapped, even as the dark veins crawled further.
The Devourer pulsed again—the air thickening, the ground trembling beneath their feet.
Aria's pulse synced with the trembling—
Her wrist glowing brighter
and brighter
and brighter.
The Devourer whispered again.
Break the moon.
Break the world.
Break the bond.
Aria staggered back as her mark blazed white-hot, her entire arm trembling with uncontrollable energy.
Ronan saw it.
"No," he whispered. "Aria, don't let it push you. Don't let it awaken fully. Not now."
"I can't—" she gasped. "It's pulling me—"
"Fight it," he commanded. "You're stronger than it."
The shadow surged again, swallowing the edges of the clearing.
Wolves screamed.
Snow melted.
Trees collapsed into black ash.
And Aria felt something inside her snap—
Not break
Not shatter
But ignite.
Silver light exploded from her wrist.
Ronan shielded his eyes, but the Devourer didn't retreat.
It reached for her.
And her mark answered.
Aria felt the pull from her very bones—
A foreign instinct she didn't understand
A rising power she couldn't control
A force older than anything the world remembered.
The forest shook.
Lyra shouted something Aria couldn't hear.
Ronan grabbed her shoulders. "Aria! Look at me! Not at the shadow—look at ME!"
She ripped her gaze from the darkness—
And saw the fear in Ronan's eyes.
Not fear of her.
Fear for her.
"Aria," he whispered, voice breaking, "come back."
Her breath shuddered.
"Ronan," she whispered faintly, "I'm trying—"
Another pulse hit her body.
Her knees buckled.
And the Devourer lunged.
The shadow shot forward like a tidal wave.
Lyra screamed.
Wolves scattered.
Ronan shoved Aria behind him—
But the shadow passed through Ronan like smoke and slammed into Aria's chest.
Aria screamed as the world went white.
⸻
Aria's Awakening
She fell backward—
Not onto snow
Not onto earth
But into a void of silver light and shifting starlit mist.
Her body dissolved into weightlessness.
She floated in blinding moonlight, unable to breathe, unable to move.
Then—
A figure stepped through the fog.
Tall.
Graceful.
Hair like liquid silver flowing down her back.
Eyes glowing like twin moons.
Aria knew who she was before she spoke.
The First Luna.
Her voice echoed through the void.
"Moonbreaker."
Aria shook, terrified. "Why—why am I here? What's happening to me?"
"The Devourer touched your spirit," the First Luna said. "It is testing you. Seeking weakness."
Aria clutched her chest. "I'm not strong enough. I can't control it."
"You can."
"I can't!"
The First Luna knelt before her, eyes softening.
"Child… strength is not born. It is revealed."
Aria's breath trembled.
"You fear your power," the First Luna said. "But the Devourer fears it more."
"Then why does it keep calling me?" Aria whispered.
"Because only the Moonbreaker can destroy it. And only the Moonbreaker can set it free."
Aria froze. "Free? What do you mean?"
The First Luna didn't answer.
She lifted her hand instead—
And placed it over Aria's glowing mark.
Aria gasped.
Silver fire shot up her arm.
The First Luna whispered:
"Awaken."
And the world shattered.
⸻
Back in the Forest
Aria's eyes snapped open with a cry.
The shockwave blasted outward—
silver light ripping across the clearing
knocking wolves off their feet
forcing the Devourer backward.
Ronan held onto her with everything he had, teeth gritted against the force.
Her mark burned like a star.
The shadow shrieked as the light tore through its mass.
For the first time—
The Devourer retreated.
Aria collapsed into Ronan's arms, lights flickering from her wrist like dying embers.
Ronan wrapped her against his chest, trembling with relief.
"I've got you," he whispered, voice cracking. "I've got you."
Aria clung to him weakly. "Ronan… it spoke to me… she spoke to me…"
"Who?" he asked urgently.
"The First Luna."
Ronan froze.
But before he could respond—
Lyra's voice cut through the clearing, filled with shock and something darker.
"She… she drove it back."
Aria turned slightly.
Lyra stared at her—not with hatred
Not with jealousy
But with fear.
"Aria Hale," Lyra whispered, stepping closer, "what are you?"
Aria's wrist pulsed once more—
Then went silent.
Aria swallowed.
Her voice shook.
"I think I'm the Moonbreaker."