Chapter 73 Waiting
POV: Luna
Two weeks after the goddess spoke to me, and I'm still waiting for this trial to begin.
Every day I wake up expecting something. An attack. A test. A challenge.
But nothing comes.
Just the constant weight of anticipation mixed with grief.
I'm walking across campus toward the training grounds when I see Nova running toward me.
"Luna! There you are. I've been looking everywhere."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to check on you." She falls into step beside me. "You've been kind of distant lately."
"I've been training."
"You've been hiding," she corrects gently. "There's a difference."
Maybe she's right. Since Miguel died, I've been throwing myself into training so hard there's barely time for anything else.
Including my friends.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I don't mean to push you away."
"I know. Grief makes us do weird things." She studies my face. "But you look different. Not just sad different. Actually different."
"What do you mean?"
"Your eyes. They're brighter. More intense. And sometimes when you're not paying attention, they kind of... glow."
I stop walking. "They glow?"
"Just a little. Like your mark does sometimes." Nova gestures to my wrist. "Speaking of which, your mark is way more active than it used to be. It pulses even when you're just sitting in class."
I look down at my Eclipse mark. She's right. It's glowing faintly even now, in broad daylight.
"The goddess said my powers would grow if I survived the trial. Maybe they're growing anyway."
"Or maybe the trial already started and you just don't know it yet."
That thought is unsettling.
We reach the training grounds where Ryder is waiting. He takes one look at me and frowns.
"You didn't sleep again, did you?"
"I slept some."
"Luna—"
"I know. I need rest. I've heard it a thousand times." I pick up a practice staff. "Can we just train?"
Ryder exchanges a look with Nova, but he doesn't argue.
We run through combat sequences for an hour. My movements are sharper than they used to be. Faster. More instinctive.
Ryder notices too.
"Your reflexes are incredible," he says after I dodge a complex attack pattern. "You're anticipating moves before I make them."
"My wolf instincts are stronger. I can sense your intent."
"That's advanced technique. Most wolves don't develop that until third or fourth year."
"I'm not most wolves."
It comes out harsher than I intended. Ryder doesn't respond, just adjusts his stance and continues training.
But I can tell he's concerned. Everyone's concerned.
Because I'm changing. Evolving. Becoming something other than the scared first year who arrived at Silverwood last fall.
Miguel's death changed me. The goddess's warning changed me.
And I'm not sure if it's for better or worse.
After training, I head to the forest. Alone.
I know I'm not supposed to go into the woods by myself. Security is still tight after all the attacks.
But I need space. Need to think.
I walk deep enough that the Academy disappears behind the trees. Then I just sit on a fallen log and breathe.
This is where I feel closest to my wolf. Where the constant noise of campus fades and I can just exist.
That's when I notice it.
A strange shimmer in the air. Like heat waves, but it's not hot out.
I stand and move closer.
The shimmer intensifies near a cluster of old trees. And there's something else. A residue. Magical energy clinging to the bark.
I've never seen anything like it.
I reach out cautiously, and my mark flares hot the moment my fingers touch the tree.
Images flash through my mind.
Rogues. Dozens of them. Gathering here. Recently.
And something else. Someone controlling them. A presence I don't recognize but that feels ancient and wrong.
I pull my hand back, gasping.
"What were you doing here?" I whisper to the empty forest.
No answer. Just the wind through the trees.
But the magical residue is still here. Still pulsing with faint energy.
The rogue threat isn't gone. It's just waiting.
I need to tell someone. Professor Cael maybe. Or the Headmaster.
I turn to head back when I feel it.
A pulse of magic.
Not from the residue on the trees. From somewhere deeper in the forest.
Stronger than anything I've felt before.
Not the goddess. Not rogues. Not anything familiar.
This is different. Deliberate. Searching.
And it's getting closer.
My wolf surges forward, every instinct screaming danger.
I start backing away slowly, but the presence keeps approaching.
Closer. Closer.
Then it stops.
Right at the edge of my awareness. Like whoever it is found exactly what they were looking for.
Found me.
And then I hear it.
A voice. Male. Amused.
Speaking directly into my mind like the goddess did.
"There you are, little Eclipse. I've been waiting for you to notice me."