Rain sluiced down the mansion's windows, turning the world outside into a gray blur. Ava sat on the bathroom floor, her sleeve rolled up, staring at the mark on her arm—a faint silver splotch, like an ink stain under her skin. It had appeared three days after she'd turned Morrigan to dust, and it was growing.
"Still there?" Alexander asked, leaning in the doorway. He'd been hovering since the fight, his wolf sense picking up on her restlessness.
Ava pulled her sleeve down, avoiding his eyes. "Just a bruise. From when I hit the tree."
He knelt beside her, prying her hand away. His thumb brushed the mark, and she flinched—cold, like touching a piece of ice.
"Not a bruise." His voice was tight. "Elias would know what this is. He's been reading those Coven journals."
Ava stood, grabbing a towel. "I don't need a lecture about magic. It's fine."
But her reflection in the mirror told a different story. Dark circles under her eyes, her skin paler than usual, and that silver mark peeking out from her sleeve—like a second heartbeat, pulsing faintly.
Downstairs, Elias sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by leather-bound books, a mug of tea gone cold. He looked up as they walked in, his eyes narrowing at Ava's arm.
"Show me," he said.
Ava rolled her sleeve, and his breath hitched. "God. It's starting."
"Starting what?" Alexander asked, pouring himself a whiskey.
Elias flipped through a journal, his finger stabbing at a drawing—an arm with a silver splotch, identical to Ava's. "The Coven's oldest secret. Moon-blood isn't just a gift. It's a contract. The light you wield? It's borrowed. From something ancient. Something hungry."
Ava's stomach flipped. "Hungry?"
"It feeds on magic. On life force. When you killed Morrigan, you used too much power—ripped open a hole. Now it's crawling through, using you as a host." He closed the journal. "In a week, it'll spread to your heart. Then you'll be nothing but a husk. A vessel for the light to consume."
Alexander slammed his glass down. "Fix it. There has to be a way."
"Only one." Elias's voice was grim. "The Altar of Echoes. In the forbidden valley. It can sever the contract. But it's guarded by… things. Light-eaters. Creatures that hunt moon-blood wielders."
Ava stood, her chair scraping. "Then we go. Tonight."
Elias shook his head. "It's a suicide mission. The valley's been cursed since 1692. No one who enters comes out."
"Good thing I'm not 'no one'." Ava grabbed her jacket, silver light flickering faintly. "Get the car."
The drive to the forbidden valley took two hours, the rain turning to sleet. The road ended at a rusted gate, topped with barbed wire and a sign: NO TRESPASSING. VIOLATORS WILL BE EATEN.
"Charming," Ava muttered, climbing over.
Alexander followed, his hand on her waist. "Stay close."
The valley was a graveyard of dead trees, their branches clawing at the sky. A mist hung low, swallowing the path, and the air smelled of rot.
Elias led them to a stone archway, covered in moss, its carvings worn away by time. "Through here. The altar's at the center."
They stepped through, and the mist cleared, revealing a clearing. In the middle, a stone altar, its surface covered in silver runes that glowed faintly.
And surrounding it—creatures.
They looked like wolves, but their fur was translucent, their eyes black holes. When they opened their mouths, Ava saw no teeth—just a void, sucking in the light.
"Light-eaters," Elias whispered.
The creatures lunged, and Ava raised her hand, silver light blazing. But instead of cowering, they leapt into the light, their bodies swelling as they absorbed it.
"Stop!" Elias yelled. "They feed on it!"
Ava cut off the light, but it was too late. The creatures were bigger now, their claws dripping with a silver liquid that looked like her light.
Alexander shifted, tackling the nearest one, but it bit into his shoulder, and he howled—pain, not anger, as the silver liquid burned his fur.
"Alexander!" Ava ran to him, pulling the creature off with her bare hands. It turned, its void-mouth snapping at her throat, and she screamed as its claws raked her arm.
The mark on her arm flared, silver light exploding from it. The creature shrieked, disintegrating into smoke.
Ava stared at her arm, the mark now a bright silver, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. "It's connected to them."
Elias ran to the altar, scraping away moss to reveal a 凹槽,shaped like a hand. "Put your hand here! Now!"
Ava ran to the altar, pressing her palm into the 凹槽. The runes blazed, and a voice echoed in her head—ancient, guttural, hungry.
"BLOOD FOR LIGHT. CONTRACT SEALED."
Ava screamed as the mark burned, spreading up her arm, over her chest, toward her heart.
Alexander tackled her, pulling her away. "Stop! It's killing you!"
The light-eaters howled, closing in, but Elias threw a handful of powder at them—wolfsbane mixed with something else, glowing red. They screeched, retreating.
"Get her to the car!" Elias yelled. "I'll hold them off!"
Alexander lifted Ava, her body limp, and ran.
The last thing Ava saw was Elias standing at the altar, his arms raised, as the light-eaters swarmed him.
She woke up in the mansion's infirmary, her arm bandaged, the mark now a faint silver line. Alexander sat beside her, his eyes red, his shoulder bandaged.
"Elias?" she whispered.
He looked away. "He didn't make it."
Ava closed her eyes, tears slipping out. "It's my fault. I should've listened."
"It's not your fault." He took her hand. "The mark's fading. Whatever he did… it worked. For now."
Ava sat up, wincing. "What about the contract? The light-eater thing?"
"Gone. For now." He hesitated. "But there's something else. When you passed out, you mumbled something. About a 'child of light and shadow'."
Ava's breath hitched. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know. But Elias's journal mentioned it. A prophecy. 'When moon-blood and alpha blood mix, the child will break the cycle'." He met her eyes. "Ava, you're pregnant."
The room spun. "No. That's impossible. We—"
"Did more than fight." He smiled faintly. "The timing adds up. A month. Maybe two."
Ava touched her stomach, a strange warmth spreading through her. "A child. With both our blood."
Alexander pulled her close. "Whatever comes next, we face it. Together."
But outside, in the woods, a pair of eyes watched the mansion—silver, hungry, waiting.
And on Ava's arm, the mark flickered, once, twice, like a beacon.