🩸 Crimson Moon Oath
A Fantasy Romance by Chizzy
Chapter Eight – When the Moon Begins to Bleed
The night fell red.
It started with a haze on the horizon—soft at first, like dusk refusing to fade. Then, as the stars blinked awake, the light deepened into scarlet, painting the clouds in blood and fire.
Avaline felt it before she saw it. A pulse beneath her skin, sharp and electric, spreading from her heart to her fingertips. Her breath caught. The world tilted.
"Kael…" she whispered.
He was beside her in an instant, his hand steadying her arm. His touch was cold, but it burned through her sleeve. "It's starting," he said softly. "The Crimson Moon."
Lycian's gaze swept the sky, his jaw tightening. "Too soon. The seer said we had days."
"The curse doesn't wait for prophecy," Kael muttered.
Avaline's vision blurred. She stumbled forward, clutching her chest as heat bloomed under her ribs. Her pulse was too fast, too loud. It was as if something ancient and wild had awakened inside her veins, clawing for freedom.
"I can hear them," she gasped. "Voices—whispering my name."
Kael caught her before she fell. "Stay with me."
Lycian moved closer, kneeling beside them both. "She's burning up." His palm brushed her forehead; his touch was fever-warm, almost glowing. "If we don't break the fever, the moon will take her."
Kael's eyes darkened. "We find shelter. Now."
They half-carried her to an old watchtower by the edge of the cliffs. Inside, the air was thick with dust and the faint scent of forgotten prayers. Kael laid her down on a bed of cloaks while Lycian started a fire.
Avaline trembled, her breath shallow. Red light from the moon poured through the cracks in the stone walls, bathing her skin in eerie glow.
"It's calling her," Lycian said. "The queen's blood is waking."
Kael looked down at her, his voice low but fierce. "Then we hold her through it. She won't face it alone."
Avaline's eyes fluttered open. Between flashes of pain, she saw them—Kael's pale, haunted face and Lycian's golden gaze fierce with worry. Two enemies bound by something greater than hate. Two hearts that would both bleed for her if fate demanded it.
Her lips parted. "Don't fight… not for me."
Kael brushed a strand of hair from her face. "We already are."
Outside, thunder rolled. The wind tore through the tower, scattering embers across the floor. The moon above burned redder still, its light wrapping the three of them in its terrible beauty.
Avaline reached for them—one hand finding Kael's, the other Lycian's. And in that single heartbeat, something shifted. The air shimmered, threads of energy winding between their bodies, binding them in a fragile, luminous bond.
The curse had begun to claim her… but it had bound them all instead.
When the storm finally broke, Kael and Lycian were both still holding her hands. Neither could let go.
To be continued....