Chapter 89 Clique Retaliation
POV: Luna
I'm finally released from the medical wing after two days of observation.
Nurse Willow gives me strict instructions about rest and monitoring my magical energy levels.
But all I want is to get back to my normal routine. Or whatever passes for normal in my life now.
Nova walks me back to our dorm after dinner.
"I'm so glad you're out," she says. "Sleeping alone in the room was creepy. Too quiet."
"Well, now you can go back to complaining about me snoring."
"You don't snore. You mumble in your sleep. About wolves and trials and someone named Cole."
"I do not."
"You absolutely do. It's adorable and concerning in equal measure."
We reach our dorm floor, and I notice something immediately.
The door to our room is slightly ajar.
"Did you leave it open?" I ask.
"No. I locked it before going to the medical wing to get you."
We exchange worried looks.
I push the door open carefully.
And freeze.
Our room has been completely ransacked.
My bed is torn apart. Mattress slashed. Pillows shredded.
My desk drawers are dumped out. Papers scattered everywhere.
Nova's side is untouched. This was targeted specifically at me.
"What the hell?" Nova gasps behind me.
I step inside cautiously. My wolf senses on high alert.
But there's no one here now. Just the destruction.
All my belongings have been gone through. Searched. Violated.
And there's something else.
The wards around our room have been disrupted. I can feel it. The magical protections that should keep intruders out are shattered.
"Who would do this?" Nova asks, moving to examine her intact side of the room.
"Three guesses. And the first two don't count."
"Cassandra's Circle."
"Has to be. They're the only ones who've been openly hostile." I crouch down to examine the magical residue. "But this wasn't just physical. They used magic. Dark magic."
The air around my destroyed bed shimmers with traces of corrupted energy.
Nova pulls out her phone. "I'm calling campus security."
"Wait. Let me check something first."
I extend my mark toward the corrupted magical traces.
The moment I do, my Eclipse symbol flares.
Hot. Bright. Reacting violently to whatever magic was used here.
And then I see them.
Visions. Flashes. Like watching a recording.
Three figures in our room. Wearing masks to hide their identities. But I can tell from their builds that they're female students.
They're searching for something. Going through my things methodically.
One of them finds my grandmother's journal page. The one that fell from the book in the restricted section.
She takes it.
The vision fades.
"They stole something," I say. "The page from my grandmother's journal. The one with my family crest."
"Why would they want that?"
"I don't know. But it's the only thing actually missing. Everything else is just destroyed."
Now Nova calls security.
Campus guards arrive within minutes. Along with Professor Cael.
"Miss Eclipse," he says, surveying the damage. "Are you alright?"
"Physically, yes. But someone broke in. Destroyed my things. And stole a family document."
"Do you know who?"
I want to say Cassandra's Circle. Want to accuse them outright.
But I don't have proof. Just magical traces and my instincts.
"No. But they used dark magic to disrupt the wards. Whoever did this has training in corrupted magical practices."
Professor Cael examines the residue himself. His expression darkens.
"You're right. This is blood magic. Very old. Very dark." He looks at me seriously. "Luna, blood magic requires personal items from the target. Hair. Belongings. Something that carries your essence. They didn't just ransack your room. They were collecting components for a curse."
My blood runs cold.
"A curse? What kind of curse?"
"I won't know until they actually cast it. But we need to act fast. If they have items infused with your essence, they can use them to track you. Harm you from a distance. Even influence your thoughts if the curse is strong enough."
"What do I do?"
"We'll strengthen your personal wards. Place protective spells on you directly. And we'll investigate who could have done this." He gestures to the guards. "Check the access logs for this floor. See who came through in the last forty-eight hours while Miss Eclipse was in the medical wing."
The guards leave to investigate.
Professor Cael creates a new ward around our room. Stronger. More complex.
When he finishes, he turns to me.
"I'm assigning you a protection detail. A senior student will be with you at all times until we identify who's behind this."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Yes. Someone is escalating their attacks against you. Physical sabotage. Now blood magic. Next could be direct confrontation." He pauses. "I'll assign Ryder. You trust him, and he's capable of protecting you if necessary."
I want to argue. Want to insist I can protect myself.
But the truth is, I'm exhausted. Scared. And not sure I can handle another attack right now.
"Okay. Thank you, Professor Cael."
He leaves to make arrangements.
Nova and I start cleaning up the destruction.
My friends arrive as word spreads. Aria, Sienna, and Lyric. Even Marcus from our escape attempt last year.
"We heard what happened," Aria says, immediately helping gather my scattered papers. "This is messed up."
"It's more than messed up," Sienna says, examining the magical residue. "This is malicious. Calculated. Whoever did this wanted to scare Luna and gather materials for dark magic."
"Can you trace it?" I ask. "The magical signature? Figure out who cast this?"
"Maybe. Blood magic leaves unique traces. Each practitioner has their own signature." She pulls out supplies from her bag. "Give me twenty minutes."
While Sienna works, Lyric starts searching for digital evidence.
"If they came through this floor, security cameras might have caught something," she mutters, fingers flying across her tablet.
Aria helps me salvage what's left of my belongings.
Most of my clothes are shredded. My textbooks torn. Even my spare shoes have been slashed.
"They were thorough," Aria observes. "And angry. This wasn't just a search. This was personal."
"Cassandra's Circle hates me. This tracks."
"But why now? What triggered this level of retaliation?"
I think about it. What changed recently?
The Moon Circle ceremony. My mark absorbing the ritual energy. Everyone seeing how powerful I've become.
"They're scared," I realize. "Of what I'm becoming. Of the power I'm developing. This is them trying to assert dominance. Prove I'm not untouchable."
"Or prove you're dangerous," Nova suggests quietly. "Think about it. If they can make it look like you're attracting dark magic. Like your presence causes chaos. They can convince the Academy to remove you."
She's right.
This isn't just an attack. It's political maneuvering.
Make me look like a liability. A threat. Someone who brings danger to Silverwood.
Get me expelled or contained. Either way, removed from their social equation.
Sienna finishes her analysis and stands up, her face pale.
"I traced the signature. Luna, the magic used here is from the Blackwood bloodline. That's Cassandra's family. Old dark magic passed down through generations."
"So it was her."
"Not necessarily her personally. But someone with access to Blackwood family magic. That's a very small group. Maybe five students at this Academy."
"Five suspects is better than nothing," Aria says. "We can investigate each one."
Lyric looks up from her tablet. "I found something. Security footage shows three students entering this floor during the window when Luna was in the medical wing. All wearing hooded robes to hide their faces. But I can estimate heights and builds."
She shows us the footage.
Three figures. Moving quickly. Deliberately.
"That one is Claire," I say, pointing to the tallest figure. "I recognize her walk."
"Can't prove it in disciplinary court," Lyric warns. "But we know."
The guards return with Professor Cael.
"The access logs were tampered with," one reports. "Deleted entries. Whoever did this covered their tracks."
"Of course they did," I mutter.
Professor Cael looks troubled. "Without concrete evidence, we can't formally accuse anyone. But I'll be watching Cassandra's Circle closely. And Luna, you need to be extremely careful. If they have items for a blood curse, they can strike at any time."
After everyone leaves, it's just Nova and me in our partially destroyed room.
We've cleaned up what we can. But my side still looks devastated.
"You can share my bed tonight," Nova offers. "Since yours is destroyed."
"Thanks."
We're getting ready for bed when I notice it.
A piece of paper tucked under what's left of my mattress.
I pull it out carefully.
It's a note. Written in elegant handwriting.
"You are marked for more than you know."
That's it. No signature. No explanation.
Just those seven words.
I show it to Nova.
"What does that mean?" she asks.
"I don't know. Is it a threat? A warning? A prophecy?"
"Could be all three."
I stare at the note. My mark tingles as I hold it.
Like it's reacting to the words. Recognizing some truth in them.
You are marked for more than you know.
More than Eclipse power? More than the goddess's trials? More than the shadow caller's attention?
What else could I possibly be marked for?
I put the note in my desk drawer. Safe but accessible.
Whatever it means, it's important.
And whoever left it wanted me to find it. Wanted me to think about those words.
Mission accomplished.
Because now I can't stop thinking about them.
As I try to sleep in Nova's bed, crowded and uncomfortable, my mind races.
Someone ransacked my room. Stole family documents. Left traces of dark magic. And planted a cryptic message.
This wasn't just Cassandra's Circle being petty.
This was something bigger. More organized. More dangerous.
And I have the sinking feeling that the clique is just a tool.
Someone else is pulling the strings.
Using Cassandra's hatred of me. Using her family's dark magic. Using the social dynamics of the Academy.
But who? And why?
The shadow caller? Professor Thorne? Cole? Someone I haven't even met yet?
Too many questions. Not enough answers.
And the weight of it all is crushing.
But I can't give up. Can't give in.
Tomorrow, I'll start investigating. Finding proof. Fighting back.
Tonight, I just need to survive until morning.
And try not to think about what curse they might be planning.
What damage they could do with my personal items and blood magic.
What "more than you know" actually means.
Just survive until morning.
That's all I can manage right now.