Chapter 76 Friends and New Allies
POV: Luna
The Great Hall is packed for lunch when I notice them.
Three girls sitting at a table near the windows. Not first years. They look like second years, but I've never seen them before.
Transfer students, maybe?
"Who are they?" I ask Nova, nodding toward the trio.
Nova follows my gaze. "Oh, the new transfers. They arrived this morning. Aria, Sienna, and Lyric, I think? They're in our year."
"Why would anyone transfer to Silverwood now? After everything that's happened?"
"No idea. But they seem... interesting."
The redhead catches me staring and grins, raising her hand in a wave.
Caught.
I wave back awkwardly.
"She's coming over," Nova mutters. "They're all coming over."
Sure enough, the three girls head straight for our table.
The redhead arrives first, dropping into the seat across from me without invitation.
"Luna Eclipse, right? I'm Aria." She extends her hand. "Heard a lot about you."
I shake her hand cautiously. "All bad, I assume?"
"Depends on your definition of bad. Channeling pure moon magic? Surviving multiple rogue attacks? Dating a human who got killed?" She grins. "Sounds pretty badass to me."
I don't know whether to be offended or impressed by her directness.
"That's... one way to put it."
The other two girls sit down. One has long dark hair and calm gray eyes. The other has short purple-streaked hair and is already pulling out some kind of tablet device.
"I'm Sienna," the dark-haired girl says softly. "And before you ask, yes, we know we're being forward. Aria doesn't really do subtle."
"Subtle is boring," Aria declares.
"And I'm Lyric," the purple-haired girl adds, not looking up from her tablet. "Tech specialist. Hacker. General chaos coordinator."
"You hack?" Nova leans forward with interest.
"Among other things. The Academy's security is decent, but not great. I got into the student records in like twenty minutes." Lyric finally looks up and grins. "Don't tell anyone."
"Why are you telling us?" I ask.
"Because you're interesting. And because Sienna says your aura is 'unprecedented.'" Lyric makes air quotes.
I turn to Sienna. "My aura?"
"I'm sensitive to magical currents. Energy signatures. That sort of thing." Sienna tilts her head, studying me. "Yours is unlike anything I've ever seen. Silver and black, constantly shifting. Like moonlight and shadow fighting for dominance."
"That sounds ominous."
"It's extraordinary," she corrects. "Most people have one dominant color. You have two in perfect balance. Or perfect conflict. I'm not sure which yet."
Aria leans back in her chair. "So here's the thing. We transferred here specifically because of you."
"What? Why?"
"Because interesting things happen around you. Dangerous things. World-changing things." Aria's expression turns serious. "And we wanted to be part of that. To help, if you'll let us."
"You want to help me? You don't even know me."
"We know enough. We know you're Eclipse. We know you're powerful. We know something big is coming." Aria glances at Sienna. "Show her."
Sienna reaches into her bag and pulls out a folded piece of paper. She slides it across the table to me.
I unfold it carefully.
It's a drawing. A prophecy, written in elegant script.
"When the Eclipse rises under blood moon's light, shadow and silver shall wage their fight. The daughter of the moon, marked by fate, shall stand between love and hate."
"What is this?" I whisper.
"A prophecy from the Oracle of Moonshadow Pack," Sienna says. "My grandmother. She's been having visions about you for months. That's why we came. To make sure you survive what's coming."
"Your grandmother is an Oracle?"
"Was. She passed last month. But before she died, she made me promise to find you. To help you." Sienna's gray eyes are intense. "She said you'll need allies you can trust completely. People who aren't bound by Academy politics or ancient grudges."
I look at the three of them. Aria with her fierce confidence. Sienna with her quiet intensity. Lyric with her casual brilliance.
"You barely know me," I say again. "How do you know you can trust me?"
"We don't," Aria admits. "But my gut tells me you're worth the risk. And my gut is rarely wrong."
"Plus, you're going to need a tech person when things get messy," Lyric adds. "And trust me, things are going to get very messy."
Nova has been quiet this whole time, but now she speaks up. "Luna, I think you should consider it. We could use more people we can trust."
"You trust them already?"
"I trust that they came here knowing it's dangerous. That takes guts." Nova looks at the three girls. "And honestly? We need all the help we can get."
She's right. Between the mysterious voice in the woods, the new teacher who makes my mark react, and whatever trial the goddess promised, I'm going to need allies.
"Okay," I say. "But if you're going to be part of this, you need to know what you're getting into. People around me tend to get hurt. Or worse."
"We know," Sienna says simply. "We're here anyway."
"Then welcome to the chaos," I tell them.
Aria grins. "Finally. This is going to be fun."
"Fun is not the word I'd use," I mutter.
"That's because you're too serious," Lyric says. "Someone needs to keep things light around here. Otherwise, you'll all drown in doom and gloom."
Despite everything, I almost smile.
Maybe having these three around won't be so bad.
We spend the rest of lunch talking. Aria tells us about her previous Academy, a smaller school in the western territories. Sienna shares stories about her grandmother's prophecies. Lyric demonstrates some of her tech skills by pulling up information on various Academy students.
"Darius Kane," she reads from her tablet. "Fourth year. Alpha bloodline. Father is Kane Pack Alpha. Interesting. Says here he's challenged you twice and backed out both times."
"How did you get that information?" I ask.
"Academy incident reports. They're surprisingly detailed." Lyric keeps scrolling. "Oh, and there's a note here from Professor Thorne saying you're a 'potential security risk.'"
"Great. Just what I needed to hear."
"Don't worry about Thorne," Aria says. "He's old guard. Suspicious of anyone with actual power. You threaten his worldview just by existing."
As lunch ends and we head to our next classes, I notice something.
A group of girls standing near the entrance. Five of them. All dressed impeccably. All watching us with expressions that range from curious to hostile.
"Who are they?" I ask.
"Cassandra's Circle," Sienna says quietly. "The Academy's elite social group. Cassandra Blackwood is their leader. Very powerful family. Very dangerous politics."
The girl in the center, presumably Cassandra, has sleek black hair and cold blue eyes. She's staring directly at me.
"They don't look friendly," Nova observes.
"They're not. Cassandra's family has ties to several of the packs that opposed Eclipse wolves historically." Aria's voice drops. "Watch your back around them. They play dirty."
As we pass, I hear one of them whisper loud enough for me to catch.
"That's her. The Eclipse girl. The one who got her boyfriend killed."
Another responds. "I heard she's unstable. Dangerous."
"Just what we need. Another liability at Silverwood."
I keep walking, refusing to react.
But I feel Cassandra's eyes on me the whole way.
Calculating. Assessing. Planning something.
Great. As if I didn't have enough problems, now I have an enemy I didn't even know existed.
"Don't let them get to you," Aria says once we're out of earshot. "Cassandra's all talk and manipulation. She can't actually do anything to you."
"Can't she?"
"Not if you don't give her ammunition." Sienna touches my arm gently. "She feeds on fear and weakness. Don't show her either."
I glance back one more time.
Cassandra is still watching. And she's smiling.
Not a friendly smile. A predatory one.
Like she's already figured out exactly how to destroy me.