Page 44 of Moonlit Fate

The sun was beginning to make a slow appearance, chasing the stars out of the sky, when Aria asked, “What did the seer mean when he said, ‘That’s enough’?”

I let out a slow breath. “I tried to slip into his mind. But he must have sensed me clawing at the edges, seeking a way in.”

The seer’s mind had been shielded like a fortress, like none I’d come across before. I’d learned to build mine as a child, a necessity in a world where a stray thought could hurt me as sharply as claws. I’d never encountered defenses as impenetrable as the seer’s, though. Not even a hint of emotion had leaked through.

“It was a long shot,” I acknowledged, “but considering my talents, I figured it was worth a try to get past all the cryptic bullshit he was spouting.”

Our connection burned hotter than the cool night air could quell, but we both tried to pretend it didn’t exist.

“Look.” Aria tensed up, her eyes narrowing with suspicion as she gestured up ahead.

I followed her pointed finger to a clearing ahead. There, where only dense foliage should have been, stood a shack. Its sudden appearance in this familiar part of the forest set my teeth on edge.

“Was that there before?” Aria asked.

“Definitely not.” I used all my senses to reach out and try to find danger. Having spent years exploring the unclaimed territories, I was intimately familiar with this forest. I knew the whereabouts of every watering hole and edible bush, and I sure as fuck would know if I’d seen a shack before. I approached it slowly, fully prepared for any unexpected encounters.

The rogue in me relished the adrenaline, the unknown, but Aria was with me, and that urge to protect her had me positioning myself slightly in front of her. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything. I’d observed her rigorous training sessions on the Silver Claw grounds from a distance, so I knew all too well that she was a master warrior. But the longer we were in each other’s company, the more my primary goal shifted to ensuring she was safe.

We circled the shack, ready to shift and fight if necessary, but it was completely still.

Aria stopped and looked at me. “Should we go in?”

“Somehow, it feels like we should.” In her gaze, I found a hidden reservoir of courage, and she gave a single nod before we entered the shack.

As the door creaked shut behind us, the scent of herbs—sage, rosemary, and something else, something more obscure—hit me first. The air around us was thick, almost tangible, vibrating with a latent force that seemed ready to unleash itself at any moment.

What lay in front of us was a mesmerizing sight that defied the laws of physics. We stood side by side, the door at our back, as we tried to process and internalize the overwhelming interior. It was much larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. Shelves stretched endlessly out in front of us, crammed with ancient tomes and spell books, stacked haphazardly next to worn yellowed scrolls.

The shelves themselves seem to groan under the weight of the vast collection, some leaning, threatening to spill their contents onto the floor below. Peculiar vials and jars filled with herbs and ingredients of all kinds jostled for space, their vibrant colors contrasting against the muted tones of the ancient texts. Amongst the disarray, rocks and gems of various shapes and sizes were strewn about, each one carefully labeled and categorized. Their natural beauty caught the light of candles that burned recklessly close to the papers.

Low tables with neat rows of test tubes and jugs sat against one wall, a striking contrast to the jumbled assortment of books and texts. Mysterious liquids bubbled and fizzed in the containers, evidence of countless experiments that had been started and left to their own devices. The magic in the room vibrated through my bones.

“Someone’s been here recently,” I said as I took in the sight of the many burning candles. Some were fixed to the walls in glass-covered sconces, others in ornate metal candelabras scattered throughout the space on any available flat surface. The quivering light illuminated the space, and the gentle hiss coming from the test tubes clamped over burners filled the air.

“They left in a hurry.” Aria surveyed the chaos. Books lay open, their pages fluttering in the draft we’d let in. The counter in front of us was a chaotic mess of ingredients and strange trinkets. Either the occupant was mad, or something urgent had called them away.

“Be careful what you touch,” I muttered, though the words were for me as much as for her. The temptation to explore was almost unbearable, a hypnotic pull toward the unknown that threatened to override caution. My fingers itched to read the books, to decipher the scribbles and scrawls that might unveil some old mystery.

Aria nodded, her silver hair catching the candlelight as she moved with deliberate grace through the cramped space. The sight of her evoked a profound response inside me—a fierce desire to protect, yes, but also an admiration for her courage and her insatiable, unrelenting thirst for knowledge.

“Atticus...” Her breathy whisper drew my attention to a shelf where a myriad of vials and jars hosted contents of varying color and consistency.

I reached out, carefully steadying the candle as it threatened to topple over onto a pile of brittle, yellowed parchment. Curiosity, that damn insistent itch, led my hand toward a vial shimmering like a captured star. The powder within was a spectacle of iridescence, and without considering the consequences—a habit I cursed in retrospect—I twisted the cap and brought it to my nose.

A puff of fine dust burst forth, coating my skin with a sheen of otherworldly frost. The scent hit me second, a strange concoction of the forest and something beyond. It was as if I’d inhaled a piece of the night sky itself, its mysterious beauty filling my lungs.

A tingling sensation started on my tongue before spreading throughout my entire being. My lips betrayed me, and the floodgates opened, releasing a torrent of confessions I had sworn to keep shackled in my soul.

“I... I think about you all the time, Aria. Even when I shouldn’t… fuck!”

The words hung in the air, freezing the previously warm atmosphere between us with their sharp, biting edges. Panic clawed at my insides, a desperate need to stem the tide of truths from escaping me. My hand clamped over my mouth, but the spell was too powerful.

Aria’s jaw dropped as she rushed to my side. She reached for me, her touch gentle yet urgent, brushing away the remnants of magical powder that clung to my skin. But our proximity was our undoing. The powder, treacherous and potent, found a new victim.

Aria gasped, her body rigid as the spell ensnared her, too. “I’m scared, Atticus. Scared of what I feel for you, scared of this prophecy and what it means for us… and for my pack.” Her eyes went wide. “Get this shit off me!”

“My pack, they turned on me, frightened by my power, scared of the shadows I can control. In some ways, I was relieved when I was exiled. I’ve never wanted to be a leader, never wanted that responsibility,” I admitted as the powder forced my darkest apprehensions into the open. “Now I’m being pushed into a role I’ve avoided. I’m scared. I’m afraid I’ll let everyone down, especially you.”

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