Chapter 52 The Ancient Threat
POV: Luna
The darkness lasts for exactly three seconds.
Then the emergency lights flicker on, bathing the Great Hall in eerie red light.
Professor Cael is already moving, his hands raised as he chants something in a language I don't recognize. The other faculty members join him, forming a circle around the perimeter of the hall.
Magic crackles in the air. I can feel it on my skin like static electricity.
The wards are failing.
"Seniors, defensive positions!" Professor Thorne shouts. "Everyone else, stay back!"
The fourth and fifth years move toward the doors, some already partially shifting. Their eyes glow in the red light, wolfish and alert.
Darius is among them, looking more excited than scared.
I hate that about him. How he treats everything like a game.
Nova's grip on my hand is crushing. "Luna, what's happening?"
"Something's trying to get in."
"What something?"
I don't know how to answer that. Because the presence I felt wasn't a rogue wolf. It was older. Darker. More intelligent.
And it spoke directly to me.
"Found you, little Eclipse."
The words echo in my head, making my mark burn.
Ryder appears beside us, his expression grim. "Stay close to me. If the wards break, I need to be able to get you out."
"What about everyone else?"
"Everyone else isn't being personally targeted."
He's right. Whatever that thing is, it wants me specifically.
The temperature in the hall drops suddenly. Our breath comes out in visible puffs.
A student near the door screams and points.
Through the tall windows, I can see them. Dozens of glowing red eyes surrounding the Academy. Not moving. Just watching.
Waiting.
Professor Cael's chanting grows louder. The other faculty join in, their voices overlapping in a strange harmony.
The wards flare bright blue, visible through the windows like a dome of light covering the entire building.
The red eyes don't retreat. But they don't advance either.
A standoff.
Minutes pass. Or maybe hours. Time feels strange with that ancient presence pressing against my mind.
Then, as suddenly as it arrived, it withdraws.
The pressure in my head eases. The cold fades. The red eyes blink out one by one until the forest is dark again.
But I know it's not gone. Just waiting.
The faculty lower their hands. Professor Cael looks exhausted, sweat dripping down his face despite the cold.
"It's over," he announces. "For now."
The hall erupts in relieved chatter. Some students are crying. Others look angry.
"What was that?" someone shouts.
"Why did they just leave?"
"Are we safe?"
Professor Thorne steps forward, his voice cutting through the noise. "Quiet. All of you."
The hall falls silent.
"What you just experienced was a test. Something ancient and powerful wanted to see our defenses. To measure our strength."
"Why?" another student asks.
Professor Thorne's eyes find me across the hall. "Because it's hunting someone specific. And it wanted to see if we're strong enough to protect that person."
Every eye in the hall turns to look at me.
Great.
"Everyone remain in the Great Hall tonight," Professor Cael says. "Faculty will maintain watch. Get whatever sleep you can. Classes are canceled tomorrow."
Students start settling in, grabbing blankets and pillows that appear courtesy of some helpful magic. But nobody really sleeps.
Everyone's too on edge.
Nova huddles close to me, along with Aria, Sienna, and Lyric. They form a protective circle like they can somehow shield me from ancient threats.
"This is because of what you said at dinner, isn't it?" Aria whispers. "About being Eclipse."
I nod.
"So what do we do?"
"I don't know."
Ryder crouches beside us. "I'm not leaving your side until we know what that thing wants."
"It wants me. We all know that."
"Then it's not getting you."
Despite everything, his certainty makes me feel slightly safer.
The night drags on. Some students actually manage to sleep. Others whisper nervously. A few cry quietly.
I can't do any of those things.
I just sit there, my mark burning steadily, knowing that something out there is waiting for its next chance.
Around three in the morning, Professor Cael approaches our group.
"Miss Eclipse, a word."
I follow him away from my friends, into a corner where we won't be overheard.
"That presence you felt," he says quietly. "Did it speak to you?"
I hesitate, then nod. "It said it found me."
Professor Cael's expression darkens. "I was afraid of that."
"What was it?"
"Something that has been hunting Eclipse wolves for generations. Something that feeds on your power." He glances around to make sure no one's listening. "Your grandmother encountered it once. She barely survived."
"Is that what killed her?"
"No. But it's connected to what killed her. To who killed her." He meets my eyes. "Be very careful, Luna. That thing marked you tonight. It knows your scent now. Your energy signature. It will be back."
"How do I fight it?"
"You don't. Not yet. Not until you understand your power." He places a hand on my shoulder. "Go back to your friends. Try to rest. Tomorrow we start your real training."
I return to my group and sink down beside Nova.
"What did he say?" she whispers.
"That things are about to get a lot worse."
Finally, around four in the morning, exhaustion wins.
My eyes drift closed despite my best efforts to stay awake.
And immediately, I feel it.
The pull.
Not toward the ancient presence outside.
Toward something else. Someone else.
Miguel.
The dream-link activates, pulling me under faster than it ever has before.
Suddenly I'm not in the Great Hall anymore.
I'm standing in a forest I recognize. The woods near my old house. Near where Miguel lives.
And he's there.
Running.
Panicked.
"Luna!" he's shouting. "Luna, where are you?"
I try to call out to him, but no sound comes. This is different from our other dream-links. More urgent. More real.
Miguel looks terrified. His clothes are torn. There's blood on his hands.
"I know you can hear me," he gasps, leaning against a tree. "I know you're there somewhere. Please. I need you. Something's following me. Something that shouldn't exist."
My heart stops.
Behind him, in the shadows between the trees, I see movement.
Red eyes.
Just like the ones that surrounded the Academy.
The rogues have found Miguel.
"No," I try to scream. "Run! Miguel, run!"
But he can't hear me.
He pushes off from the tree and starts running again, deeper into the woods.
The red eyes follow.
I'm pulled along after him, helpless to do anything but watch.
Miguel stumbles, catching himself on another tree. He's breathing hard, obviously exhausted.
"I don't understand what's happening," he says to the empty air. To me, even though he can't see me. "I don't understand why they're after me. But I know it's connected to you. I can feel it."
The red eyes are getting closer.
Three wolves emerge from the shadows. Rogues, just like the ones that attacked me.
Except these ones aren't just watching.
These ones are hunting.
Miguel sees them and freezes.
"Oh God."
He turns and runs, but he's human. Slow compared to wolves.
They'll catch him in seconds.
"MIGUEL!" I scream, even though I know he can't hear me.
One of the rogues lunges.
And then I wake up.
I'm back in the Great Hall, gasping for air, my heart racing.
Nova is shaking my shoulder. "Luna! Luna, wake up!"
"Miguel," I choke out. "They're hunting Miguel."
Ryder is there immediately. "What? The dream-link?"
I nod frantically. "He's in the woods near his house. Rogues are chasing him. They're going to kill him."
"You can't know that for sure. Dreams aren't always—"
"This wasn't just a dream!" I grab his arm. "This was real. I could feel it. He's in danger. Right now."
The burning in my mark intensifies, and I know I'm right.
Whatever that ancient presence is, it's not just after me.
It's using Miguel as bait.
Just like it used others against my grandmother.
"We have to help him," I say desperately. "We have to—"
A howl cuts through the night.
Not from outside the Academy.
From my mind.
From the dream-link.
From Miguel's location.
It's close. Too close.
And it's followed by a scream.
Miguel's scream.
"No," I whisper. "No, no, no."
The dream-link snaps completely, severing our connection so violently it feels like something inside me breaks.
I clutch my chest, gasping.
"Luna!" Nova's voice sounds far away. "Someone help her!"
But I barely hear her.
Because all I can hear is that scream.
All I can feel is the terror in Miguel's voice as something caught up to him.
And all I know is that I might be too late to save him.