Aria didn't sleep again that night.
She sat by her bedroom window, fingers wrapped tightly around the glowing pendant Kael had given her. It pulsed against her palm like it had a heartbeat of its own—warm, then cold, then warm again. Each flicker stirred something in her chest… something ancient and restless.
When morning came, the world felt thinner—like reality had stretched itself too far.
Her grandmother was already in the kitchen, pouring tea with her usual quiet grace. The scent of herbs filled the air, earthy and bitter.
"Morning, love," she said. "You look pale. Bad dreams again?"
Aria hesitated. "Grandma... do you believe in magic?"
The woman froze, the teacup halfway to her lips. For a moment, Aria thought she wouldn't answer. Then she placed the cup down gently and said, "Magic always has a price. But yes. I believe it exists."
"You never told me anything about my parents," Aria said, voice trembling. "Not really. Why?"
Her grandmother looked away. "Because the truth is heavier than a lie. And you were too small to carry it."
Aria reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out the pendant. "Kael Draven gave me this."
The woman's breath caught audibly. "That symbol… That's the mark of the Moonlit Pact. He should not have—"
Aria stood. "What is the pact? What does it have to do with me?"
The air in the room thickened. Her grandmother slowly lowered herself into the chair, hands trembling slightly.
"Thirteen years ago, your parents made a deal under a blood moon. A deal to protect you. They gave something up—something powerful. But the pact requires balance. What they offered… wasn't enough."
Aria's skin prickled. "So the pact took them?"
Her grandmother didn't answer.
---
At school, Kael was nowhere to be seen.
She kept scanning the hallways, waiting for a glimpse of silver eyes, but he never showed up. Not in literature, not in the cafeteria, not even in the shadows of the trees where she half-expected him to be lurking.
During history class, she couldn't focus. The pendant burned hotter in her pocket, as if reacting to something near.
Then, just as the bell rang, the fire alarm blared.
Students screamed, stumbling into the hallways. Smoke seeped from the ceiling, but it wasn't fire—it was thick, gray mist. Cold. Heavy. Wrong.
Aria's vision blurred.
Whispers. Louder now. More voices. Angry. Ancient.
She stumbled toward the stairwell, but the mist coiled around her ankles like vines, pulling her down. She tried to scream, but the sound never left her throat.
The pendant seared against her skin, glowing violently. The mist hissed and recoiled, just for a second.
Then—BOOM—the glass beside her shattered. A black shadow burst into the hallway, eyes glowing crimson.
Not Kael.
This creature was taller, thinner, inhuman. Its limbs twisted unnaturally as it stalked toward her.
Aria's heart thundered. "This... this isn't real," she whispered.
The creature opened its mouth, too wide, too dark.
But then—
A flash of silver light tore through the mist. A blast of wind slammed the creature against the wall.
Kael stood at the end of the hall, palm glowing, eyes bright like starlight.
"Told you not to come into the woods," he muttered. "But I never said they wouldn't come to you."
He reached out a hand to her.
"This is just the beginning, Aria."