The forest had never been this quiet.
Not since the night Aria's mark turned crimson. Not since she became the thing wolves whispered about — the Blood Queen reborn.
Now the silence was alive. It listened. It waited.
Lucian moved like a shadow through the Hollow, his boots sinking into mud, every breath clouding in the cold air. The scent of blood had been thick since dusk — sharp, coppery, endless. Wolves had been slaughtered. Not by beasts, but by men.
"The Hunters," he muttered, gripping the hilt of his blade.
For centuries, the Hunters had been the balance — mortals born under the eclipsed moon, trained to kill what walked outside the laws of nature. But this time, they weren't after feral rogues. They were after her.
Lucian stopped at the edge of a ravine. Below, torches flickered — dozens of them, moving in formation. He could smell the iron and ash of their weapons. They carried moon-forged steel — the kind that burned wolves to ash.
He clenched his jaw. "They found her trail."
Aria.
Somewhere ahead, beyond the valley, she was running — not from fear, but from herself.
The wind cut through the pines like blades. Aria stumbled through the underbrush, her heartbeat a thunder in her ears. The mark on her arm burned like molten glass. She could still feel the wolves bowing to her — their voices echoing inside her mind.
My queen.
Mother of moon and blood.
"Stop," she whispered to herself. "Stop calling me that."
But the voice didn't listen. It came softer now, sweeter.
You can't run from what you are, Aria. You were chosen.
She stopped, pressing her palms to her temples. "Chosen for what? To destroy everything I love?"
The whisper only laughed. To become everything you were meant to be.
A branch snapped behind her.
Her eyes flashed red — reflex. She turned sharply, claws half-forming at her fingertips, ready to strike. But instead of a hunter, Lucian stepped out of the shadows.
He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His shirt was torn, streaked with blood, his eyes glowing faintly gold.
"You shouldn't be here," she said, stepping back.
"And let them take you?" He took a slow step forward. "You know what they'll do if they catch you, Aria. You're not just a target — you're the prophecy they've feared for centuries."
Her lips trembled. "You think I don't know that?"
Lucian moved closer, lowering his voice. "Then stop running."
The forest roared in the distance — the sound of horns. The Hunters were closing in.
Lucian grabbed her wrist. "They've surrounded the valley. They're driving you toward the ridge."
"Then I'll break through."
"You'll die," he growled.
Her eyes lifted, meeting his. "Maybe that's the point."
He froze. For a moment, he saw it — the pain behind her power. The way she looked at him, torn between fury and love. The mark between them still pulsed faintly, a dying heartbeat of what they once shared.
"I'm not letting you give up," he said.
"I don't belong to you anymore."
"Then who do you belong to?"
She didn't answer. The silence spoke louder than words ever could.
The horns blared again. Closer. Louder.
Lucian sighed, his breath turning to mist. "Then we fight."
By the time the Hunters reached the clearing, the moon was a blood-red coin hanging low in the sky.
Torches burned. Crossbows clicked. Chains glowed faintly with runes meant to bind werewolves.
The commander — a tall man in dark armor with silver eyes — raised his hand. "Bring her down. Kill the Alpha if he interferes."
Lucian stepped in front of Aria. His claws slid out with a metallic whisper, eyes burning gold. "You'll have to go through me first."
The commander smirked. "Gladly."
They came like shadows — fast, organized, deadly.
Lucian met them head-on. His movements were precise, almost beautiful in their brutality. One sweep of his claw tore through armor, another crushed bone. But there were too many. Spears burned against his skin.
Aria watched him fall to one knee, blood spilling onto the ground. Something in her broke.
The voice returned, no longer soft. Now do you see, child? Power is mercy denied.
Her veins glowed. The air trembled.
Lucian looked up just as her eyes turned completely crimson.
"Aria, don't—"
But it was too late.
The forest screamed. The torches exploded in bursts of red flame. The ground cracked, roots twisting like serpents, impaling Hunters where they stood. Blood hung in the air like fog.
When it was over, silence fell again. A terrible, endless silence.
Aria stood in the center of it, trembling, her dress torn, her hands soaked in crimson.
Lucian rose slowly, every muscle shaking. He reached out to her. "Aria…"
She turned toward him, eyes glistening. "You told me not to run."
"I didn't mean—"
"Now they'll all come," she said, her voice hollow. "Every pack. Every council. Every god who still watches the moon."
Lucian's throat tightened. "Then we run together."
She gave a small, broken smile. "Or we burn the world instead."
The moon above them pulsed once — as if it had heard.