đ Moonblood: The Curse of Arodan
**Chapter Twenty-Four: 24
The sky above Arodan no longer held stars.
Instead, it held a crack â deep, jagged, pulsing like a wound. From it spilled silver dust, black flame, and the voice of a name that had not been spoken in a thousand years:
"MireyaâŚ"
And far below that torn sky, the Moonblood were beginning to remember.
⧠Draven
The silver forest whispered as Draven walked, the locket pulsing against his chest.
He had lost the moon-crystal blade, and the cold of the forest bit into his skin, but the names inside him were alive.
They spoke softly:
"Don't forget us."
"The past is not behind."
"The Queen walks the path of the fourth."
He pushed forward, the mist curling around him like breath.
"You are the carrier of the Names."
Draven nodded. "Yes."
"You have broken the Veil. The Ancients have awakened. You must choose now."
"Choose what?"
The figure pointed at the locket.
"To carry all⌠or let one go."
The air thickened.
A name burned brighter than the others.
Kaelen.
"Wait," Draven said. "You want me to give up one of them?"
"If you keep all three," the Ancient said, "you will break. The fourth name has returned. And four is not balance. Three is."
The locket pulsed wildly. Draven fell to his knees.
And deep inside, he heard Kaelen's voice:
"Let me go. Let him carry the flame. You were meant to carry the truth."
"No!" Draven gasped. "I won'tâ"
The ground trembled. A beam of black light erupted in the distance.
The Queen had begun the summoning.
⧠Callen
The Hollow Depths were fire and shadow.
Callen stood before a throne of bone, surrounded by flames that didn't burn flesh â only doubt.
The Sisterhood's representative stood beside him, her eyes sharp.
"This is the Trial of the Flame," she said. "If the crown accepts you, you will gain Kaelen's fire. If it does notâŚ"
Callen stepped forward.
The crown hovered above the throne â a circlet of black metal, set with a single moonstone.
He reached for it.
And the moment his fingers touched itâ
He saw everything.
Kaelen on the battlefield.
Draven in chains.
Elira screaming.
The Queen holding a fourth locket.
And then â himself â wearing the crown, standing over a kingdom bathed in smoke.
Callen stumbled back, chest heaving.
"I can'tâ"
"You must," said the Sister.
"Why me?"
"Because the fire won't follow the truth.
It only follows the one who dares to lead."
Callen reached again.
This time, the crown did not resist.
It lowered onto his head.
And fire flooded his blood.
⧠Elira
Captured.
Bound in light-forged chains, Elira was dragged into the Queen's tower.
The Queen stood at the heart of a glowing ritual circle, surrounded by old Moonblood texts and silver bones.
"You were always clever," the Queen said softly. "But you were born from shadow."
Elira raised her head. "I was born to stop you."
The Queen smiled. "You were born of my sister, Elira. Did no one tell you?"
Elira froze.
"No⌠that's notâ"
"I'm your blood," the Queen said. "And now, so is she."
She turned toward the circle.
Inside it, floating above the altar, was a figure wrapped in burning silk â a shape not fully real yet. A presence that whispered like a falling star.
The fourth name.
Mireya.
⧠Draven (Again)
The Ancients stood silent.
The wind howled.
Draven rose slowly. "I won't let Kaelen go. He's part of this. All of them are."
"Then you will burn," said the tallest Ancient.
"Then let me," Draven said. "But I will carry them. All three. Until the end."
A long pause.
Then, to his surprise, the Ancients bowed.
"So be it. The fire will test you. The blade will seek you. But the names⌠will remain."
The circle vanished.
And in the sky above the forest, a line of silver fire cut downward â a signal.
The blade was returning.