🩸 Crimson Moon Oath
A Fantasy Romance by Chizzy
Chapter Six – Echoes of the Forgotten Kingdom
By the second night, the forest had begun to thin. The trees grew taller, older—bark carved with strange sigils that glimmered faintly beneath the moonlight. Kael said little, but Avaline caught him watching the carvings with quiet reverence, as though they whispered things only he could hear.
They made camp beside a stream that sang softly through the ruins of stone pillars. The air carried the scent of moss and something sweeter, like old wine or magic long spilled.
Avaline sat near the fire, staring at the silver ripples in the water. Her reflection seemed... wrong. Her eyes caught the moonlight and held it too long, her pulse visible just beneath her throat.
"Thinking of running?" Lycian's voice broke through the silence. He stood across from her, one hand resting on the hilt of his knife, the other holding an apple he'd stolen from Kael's pack.
She looked up at him. "You think I'd get far with you both around?"
He grinned. "Depends which of us you ask."
Kael's voice came from the shadows beyond the fire. "Enough."
Lycian's grin widened. "He's jealous."
Kael stepped forward, his eyes cold as starlight. "I'm cautious."
Avaline rose, brushing the dirt from her hands. "Both of you, stop." She moved past them to the ruins beyond their camp—a ring of fallen columns and fractured marble steps.
The moment her hand touched the stone, something inside her shifted.
A vision unfurled behind her eyes: a palace drowned in moonlight, a crown of silver flames, a woman standing between two thrones—one shrouded in shadow, one bathed in fire. Her heartbeat matched the rhythm of distant drums. She heard her name... whispered by a voice that was not her own.
"Avaline?" Kael's voice snapped her back. His hand was on her shoulder, grounding her. His skin was cold, but the touch steadied the storm in her chest.
She blinked, dazed. "I saw something. A woman. A queen, maybe. She looked like—"
"Like you," Kael finished quietly.
Lycian stepped closer, his brow furrowed. "The ruins belong to the First Kingdom. The bloodline that united both clans before the war."
"And she was part of it?" Avaline asked.
Kael nodded once. "The last queen of the twilight court—Selara. She vanished the night the Crimson Moon rose. Some say she bound her soul to mortal blood... to return when the curse called her back."
Lycian gave a low whistle. "Guess we've found her echo."
Avaline's stomach turned. "You're saying I'm her?"
"No," Kael said softly. "But something of her runs through you. The seer will tell us how deep it goes."
The fire cracked behind them, sparks leaping like stars. The air between the three of them felt charged, humming with things unsaid.
Lycian's gaze lingered on her face. "If you are her reincarnation, princess, that means the prophecy binds you to both of us."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Prophecy or not, her choice is hers."
Avaline's breath caught. "What prophecy?"
Kael's eyes met hers—dark, sorrowful, and burning all at once. "The one that says only the blood of the queen can end the feud... by giving her heart to the night."
The forest went still. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Avaline felt the truth settle deep inside her bones—cold and heavy, like destiny pressing down.
And somewhere far away, beneath the silver glow of the moon, something ancient stirred awake
To be continued....