The Moon Eaters charged.
Hundreds of black shapes poured down the mountain like a living storm.
Kael drew his sword.
“Elara!”
“I know!”
She slammed her palm against the frozen ground.
A wall of ice erupted between them and the creatures.
The first Moon Eater crashed into it.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The wall cracked.
Mara fired three arrows in rapid succession.
Each arrow struck a creature directly between the eyes.
They dissolved into black smoke.
“That won’t hold!” Mara shouted.
Kael looked toward the fortress.
The gates remained closed.
The young man standing beside Queen Seraphine watched them calmly.
Kael couldn’t stop staring at him.
His silver eyes.
His crescent mark.
His face.
There was something unsettlingly familiar about him.
Not merely because they were brothers.
Kael felt as though he had seen him before.
In a dream.
In a memory.
Perhaps even in a death he couldn’t remember.
Elara shouted:
“Kael!”
He turned.
The ice wall exploded.
Moon Eaters flooded through.
Kael transformed.
Black fur erupted across his body.
His claws struck the first creature.
The impact sent it flying.
Mara rolled beneath another attack.
Elara froze a third.
Kael jumped.
His jaws closed around the creature’s throat.
Black smoke exploded.
He landed.
Another Moon Eater struck him from behind.
He crashed into the snow.
It pinned him.
Its mouth opened.
Silver teeth descended toward his throat.
Then—
a spear of ice pierced the creature.
It exploded.
Kael looked up.
The young man stood on the fortress wall.
He had thrown the spear.
He smiled.
Kael rose slowly.
“Who are you?”
The young man raised his hand.
A silver crown appeared around his head.
“I am Lucien.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Lucien what?”
Lucien smiled.
“Lucien Arden.”
The name struck Kael like a physical blow.
His brother.
Another Moon-Born.
Another child of Aldren.
Lucien looked at him.
“Your older brother.”
Elara shouted from behind Kael.
“Don’t listen to him!”
Lucien laughed.
“Still angry, little sister?”
Elara’s eyes became icy.
“You murdered our father.”
Lucien’s smile vanished.
“He deserved it.”
Kael turned toward Elara.
“What is happening?”
She ignored him.
“Why did you bring him here?”
Lucien looked at Kael.
“She didn’t.”
His voice became colder.
“I invited you.”
Kael frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to see if the stories were true.”
“What stories?”
Lucien raised his sword.
“That the youngest Moon-Born returned.”
Kael stared.
“You’ve been waiting for me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lucien looked toward the black moon.
“Because only one of us can survive.”
Kael felt the mark on his chest burn.
The words from the ancient voice returned.
**Only one Moon-Born will survive.**
Lucien smiled.
“You heard it too.”
Kael narrowed his eyes.
“Who told you?”
Lucien didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked toward the Moon Eaters.
“Kill the humans.”
The creatures suddenly changed direction.
They abandoned Kael.
They rushed toward Mara.
Kael’s heart stopped.
“Mara!”
He ran.
Lucien raised his hand.
Ice erupted from the ground.
Kael was thrown backward.
“Stay.”
Kael roared.
Lucien’s eyes flashed silver.
The two brothers stared at each other.
Then Kael broke the ice.
He transformed completely.
A gigantic black wolf emerged.
Lucien smiled.
“Finally.”
His own body transformed.
White fur erupted across his body.
His wolf was enormous.
Not as large as the Silver Legion’s ancient wolf, but far larger than an ordinary werewolf.
Its eyes glowed silver.
Kael stared.
The two wolves circled each other.
Then attacked.
They collided.
The impact shook the valley.
Kael bit Lucien’s shoulder.
Lucien struck him across the face.
Kael spun.
Lucien lunged.
Kael dodged.
They moved faster than Mara could follow.
Claws tore through ice.
Fangs shattered stone.
Every strike created waves of energy.
Kael felt Lucien’s power.
It was different from his.
Colder.
Sharper.
More disciplined.
Lucien didn’t fight like an animal.
He fought like a king.
Kael remembered the ancient battlefield.
A younger version of himself.
Standing beside someone.
A white wolf.
Lucien.
The memory vanished.
Kael stumbled.
Lucien stopped.
“You remembered.”
Kael stared.
“Have we fought before?”
Lucien smiled.
“Many times.”
“When?”
“Before you died.”
Kael’s chest tightened.
Lucien transformed back into human form.
Kael followed.
“What happened?”
Lucien looked at him.
“You killed me.”
Kael froze.
“What?”
“You killed me.”
“No.”
Lucien laughed.
“You don’t remember.”
“Tell me.”
Lucien stepped closer.
“You were the king.”
“I know.”
“I was your general.”
Kael’s eyes widened.
“You led the Silver Legion.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would I kill you?”
Lucien’s expression became bitter.
“Because I betrayed you.”
Silence.
Kael stared.
“Why?”
Lucien looked away.
“I believed the First Mother.”
Kael remembered.
A white wolf.
A battlefield.
A sword.
Lucien standing before him.
Kael’s sword piercing his brother’s chest.
But Lucien wasn’t attacking.
He was kneeling.
He had asked Kael to kill him.
Because the First Mother had taken control of him.
Kael lowered his head.
“You were possessed.”
Lucien nodded.
“You killed me to free me.”
Kael stared.
“Then how are you alive?”
Lucien smiled.
“Because I am a Moon-Born.”
Kael shook his head.
“That’s not enough.”
“No.”
Lucien touched his chest.
“The First Mother brought me back.”
Kael’s expression changed.
“She resurrected you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lucien looked at him.
“Because she needed someone who remembered.”
Kael felt cold.
“Remembered what?”
Lucien’s eyes darkened.
“The truth about you.”
A scream came from behind them.
Kael spun.
Mara was surrounded.
Elara was fighting desperately to reach her.
Kael charged.
Lucien grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
Kael snarled.
“Let go.”
“Look.”
Kael looked.
The Moon Eaters weren’t attacking Mara.
They were surrounding her.
One of them stepped forward.
Its body changed.
It became human.
An elderly man.
He looked at Mara.
Then bowed.
“Forgive us.”
Mara stared.
“What?”
The creature transformed again.
The others followed.
They weren’t attacking.
They were kneeling.
Kael’s expression changed.
“What is happening?”
Lucien whispered:
“They recognize her.”
“Why?”
Lucien looked at Mara.
“Because she’s not human.”
Mara froze.
“What did you say?”
Lucien smiled.
“You really don’t know.”
Kael stepped toward him.
“Don’t play games.”
Lucien pointed at Mara.
“Ask her.”
Everyone looked at Mara.
She was pale.
“Kael…”
He stared at her.
“What is he talking about?”
Mara swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
Lucien laughed.
“You’ve been lying too.”
Kael looked at her.
“Mara.”
She shook her head.
“I swear I don’t know.”
Lucien stepped closer.
“Then ask your father.”
Kael’s heart stopped.
“What?”
Lucien looked toward Aldren.
“Your father knew.”
Kael’s gaze moved toward the distant mountains.
Aldren wasn’t there.
He had stayed behind in the ancient kingdom.
Lucien continued.
“She isn’t human.”
Mara’s hands trembled.
“Stop.”
“She carries ancient blood.”
“Stop!”
“She is one of the last—”
Mara screamed.
A burst of energy exploded from her body.
Everyone was thrown backward.
Kael hit the snow.
When he looked up, Mara was floating above the ground.
Her eyes were glowing white.
Silver markings covered her arms.
Her hair moved as though underwater.
The Moon Eaters bowed lower.
Elara stared.
“What is she?”
Lucien smiled.
“Now you see.”
Kael stood.
“Mara!”
She looked at him.
But her expression wasn’t hers.
Something ancient looked through her eyes.
Then she spoke.
“Run.”
Kael froze.
“Mara?”
Her voice cracked.
“Kael, run!”
A second voice emerged beneath hers.
Deep.
Ancient.
**THE MOON-BORN HAS BEEN FOUND.**
Kael’s mark burned.
The First Mother had found them.
The sky split.
A massive silver beam struck the mountain.
The fortress shook.
Queen Seraphine stepped forward.
Her crown cracked.
“She’s coming.”
Lucien looked upward.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
“Impossible.”
Elara stared.
“Who?”
Lucien whispered:
“The First Mother.”
The clouds opened.
The enormous silver eye appeared.
Then the second.
Then the entire face.
The First Mother looked down.
Her gaze passed over Kael.
Then Lucien.
Then Elara.
Then stopped on Mara.
Her expression changed.
Recognition.
Hatred.
Fear.
“No.”
The First Mother’s voice shook the mountain.
**NOT HER.**
Mara screamed.
Silver light erupted from her body.
Kael ran toward her.
“Mara!”
The First Mother reached through the clouds.
A gigantic silver hand descended.
Kael jumped.
His body transformed.
He landed on the hand.
The First Mother tried to shake him away.
Kael dug his claws into the silver energy.
He climbed.
Higher.
Higher.
Until he stood before the enormous face.
The First Mother looked at him.
“You don’t understand.”
Kael growled.
“Then explain.”
“You cannot protect her.”
“Try me.”
“She is the last one.”
“The last what?”
The First Mother whispered:
“The last Moon Mother.”
Kael froze.
“What?”
Below him, Mara screamed.
Her body was changing.
Silver fur appeared along her arms.
A crescent mark formed across her forehead.
The First Mother continued:
“She carries the original blood.”
Kael stared.
“The Moon Mother’s blood?”
“No.”
The First Mother looked almost terrified.
“Older.”
Kael’s heart pounded.
“Older than the Moon Mother?”
The First Mother nodded.
“The blood that existed before the moon.”
Kael looked down at Mara.
“Who is she?”
The First Mother whispered:
“The first daughter.”
A shockwave exploded.
Kael was thrown from the sky.
He fell.
The silver wolf caught him.
They crashed into the snow.
Kael struggled to breathe.
Mara was still floating.
Elara ran toward her.
“Mara!”
The ancient energy around Mara pushed her back.
Kael stood.
“Don’t touch her.”
Elara looked at him.
“She’s changing.”
“I know.”
“Into what?”
Kael stared.
“I don’t know.”
The fortress gates opened.
Queen Seraphine stepped forward.
Her face was pale.
“Mara.”
Mara’s eyes opened.
They were completely silver.
She looked at Kael.
“I remember.”
Kael’s blood froze.
“What?”
Mara stepped toward him.
“I remember everything.”
“What do you remember?”
She touched her forehead.
“The beginning.”
Kael stared.
Mara continued.
“I remember the first world.”
“The first world?”
“Before the moon.”
She looked toward the sky.
“Before the wolves.”
The First Mother watched silently.
Mara’s voice became stronger.
“I remember when the first light entered the darkness.”
Kael felt the ancient connection between them.
“You were there.”
Mara nodded.
“I was.”
“Who were you?”
Mara looked at him.
“I was the first child of the First Mother.”
Kael’s heart stopped.
The First Mother had called Mara her enemy.
Now Kael understood why.
Mara wasn’t merely carrying ancient blood.
She was older than the Moon Mother.
Older than the First Wolf.
She was the first being created by the First Mother.
And she had somehow been reborn as a human.
Mara looked at Kael.
“And you…”
She touched his chest.
“…were created to protect me.”
Kael couldn’t speak.
Lucien stared.
Elara stared.
Even the First Mother looked shaken.
Mara smiled sadly.
“But you forgot.”
Kael whispered:
“Why?”
Mara’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I asked you to.”
The mountain shook.
The First Mother screamed.
**ENOUGH!**
Silver energy exploded from the sky.
Mara raised her hand.
The energy stopped.
The entire world seemed to freeze.
Kael stared at her.
Mara looked toward the First Mother.
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“You have taken enough.”
The First Mother recoiled.
“You cannot command me.”
Mara’s eyes became completely white.
“I am your first child.”
The First Mother trembled.
“And I am your mistake.”
The sky went silent.
Mara raised her hand.
The black Blood Moon cracked.
A piece of it broke away.
Then another.
The darkness began disappearing.
For the first time, the Blood Moon became silver.
Kael felt something change inside his soul.
The First Wolf screamed from within him.
**NO!**
Kael dropped to his knees.
He clutched his chest.
The creature inside him was terrified.
Not angry.
Terrified.
Kael looked at Mara.
“What are you doing?”
She turned toward him.
“Ending the cycle.”
“What cycle?”
“The cycle of kings.”
Kael’s eyes widened.
Mara walked toward him.
“The First Mother created the First Wolf.”
She continued.
“The First Wolf created the curse.”
She touched Kael’s chest.
“The Moon Mother created the Moon-Born.”
Then she touched her own heart.
“And I created the choice.”
Kael stared.
“I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
Mara looked toward Lucien.
“All of you were created for the same purpose.”
Lucien stepped forward.
“What purpose?”
Mara looked at him.
“To kill me.”
Silence.
Kael’s blood ran cold.
“You?”
Mara nodded.
“The First Mother feared what I would become.”
Lucien frowned.
“What would you become?”
Mara looked toward the sky.
“The creator.”
The First Mother screamed.
**NO!**
The mountain exploded.
The fortress shattered.
The Moon Eaters disappeared.
The silver wolf roared.
Kael grabbed Mara.
“What happens now?”
Mara looked at him.
Her eyes returned to normal.
“I don’t know.”
Then she collapsed.
Kael caught her.
“Mara!”
She whispered one final sentence before losing consciousness.
“Find the seventh Moon-Born.”
Kael froze.
“The seventh?”
Mara nodded weakly.
“Before the First Mother does.”
Then she fainted.
Kael looked at Elara.
“How many Moon-Born are there?”
Elara stared at Mara.
“I thought there were six.”
Lucien shook his head.
“There were six.”
Kael frowned.
“Then who is the seventh?”
Nobody answered.
The silver wolf suddenly turned toward the north.
A howl echoed from beyond the mountains.
Then another.
A third.
Kael felt the sound inside his bones.
It wasn’t a wolf.
It wasn’t human.
It wasn’t anything he recognized.
Lucien’s face went pale.
“No.”
Kael looked at him.
“What?”
Lucien whispered:
“The seventh.”
“Who is it?”
Lucien stared into the darkness.
“The one who was never supposed to be born.”
A figure appeared on the distant mountain.
A young man.
Black hair.
Silver eyes.
A crescent mark on his throat.
He looked down at Kael.
Then smiled.
And Kael recognized his face.
It was the same face from the vision.
The older version of himself.
The one he had seen standing beside King Magnus.
The one wearing the black crown.
Kael’s heart stopped.
The figure raised his hand.
Seven stars appeared above him.
Then he spoke.
“Hello, Kael.”
His voice echoed across the Frozen North.
“You’ve finally remembered me.”
Kael stared.
“Who are you?”
The figure smiled.
“Your future.”
The Blood Moon went completely dark.
And the seventh night began.
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