By the time the final bell rang, Aria's head was spinning.
Kael hadn't said another word to her. He hadn't even looked her way after that cryptic whisper. But she could still feel his presence—like static in the air or the pressure before a storm. Every cell in her body buzzed with unease.
She waited until most of the class had emptied out before leaving. Outside, the sky was an unnatural shade of gray, the ever-present moon casting a pale tint over everything.
"Even if they made you forget..."
His words echoed through her head like a curse.
"Aria!" a voice called. It was Lena, her best—and only—friend. She jogged up beside her, blonde curls bouncing, a warm contrast to the icy thoughts in Aria's mind. "Did you see the new guy? Kael Something? He's like... if a haunted poem came to life and decided to skip gym class forever."
Aria managed a tight smile. "Yeah. I saw him."
"I heard he moved into the old Carmine estate. You know, the one that's been empty since the Ardens vanished last winter?"
Vanished. Another word Velshade used when it didn't want to say missing, dead, or taken.
Lena leaned closer. "And he doesn't use social media. At all. Red flag, right?"
Aria glanced over her shoulder. Kael was no longer in sight, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was still near. Watching. Listening.
---
That night, Aria couldn't sleep.
The moon was full—again. It had been full for the past three years.
The house creaked with the cold. Her grandmother was asleep in the next room, her steady breathing a fragile anchor in a world that didn't feel stable anymore.
At 2:13 a.m., the whispering started.
Aria…
She sat up in bed, heart hammering. The voice was soft, melodic, and eerily familiar. She crossed to the window and peered out.
There—at the edge of the woods that bordered their backyard—stood a figure.
Kael.
He didn't move. Just stood there in the moonlight, looking up at her.
Aria's breath fogged the glass. Something inside her told her not to go. Another part of her—deeper, older—pulled her toward him like a thread unraveling.
She stepped outside barefoot.
The air was cold and wet with mist. Kael didn't speak until she was a few feet away.
"You still hear them," he said.
Aria blinked. "Hear what?"
He tilted his head, eyes glowing faintly. "The voices. The ones from the pact you made."
"I didn't make any pact," she snapped. "You've got the wrong girl."
Kael looked sad. "No, Aria. You're the only girl. The pact was sealed thirteen years ago—on a blood moon night. You were four years old."
"I don't remember," she whispered.
He stepped closer. "That's because they made you forget. But they couldn't erase what's inside you."
The wind picked up. The trees behind him shivered, and with them came a strange sound—like whispers in an ancient language carried on the breeze.
"You're in danger," Kael said. "They know you're waking up. And they're coming for you."
Aria's eyes widened.
"Who's coming?" she asked.
Kael reached into his coat and pulled out a small, silver pendant glowing with faint runes. He pressed it into her hand.
"Run if you see their eyes," he said. "And never—ever—go into the woods alone during moonrise."
Then, like mist, he vanished into the forest, leaving Aria with a thousand questions—and a truth she could no longer ignore.