Blood Moon

Blood Moon
Aria's POV

The blast threw me across the kitchen floor.
Glass rained down from the broken windows as I covered my head with my arms. My ears rang so loud I couldn't hear anything else. When I looked up, smoke was pouring through holes in the wall.
"Aria!" Marco's words cut through the ringing. Strong hands pulled me to my feet. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, even though my shoulder ached where I'd hit the counter. "What was that?"
"Car bomb," Dmitri said, appearing in the doorway with his gun drawn. "Vincent's getting bold."
My stomach dropped. We'd only been back from the hotel meeting for two hours. Vincent and his crazy nephew Carlo were going faster than we thought.
"How many men do we have watching the house?" I asked.
"Not enough," Luca answered sadly. He was already on his phone, calling for help.
Kai emerged at my other side, his dark eyes scanning me for injuries. "We need to move you to the safe room."
"No." The word came out harder than I meant it to. "I'm tired of hiding while people try to kill me."
Marco's gray eyes went sharp. "Aria, this isn't the time to be brave."
"When is the time?" I shot back. "Vincent just blew up a car outside our house. My claimed father wants to trade my great-grandfather for some papers. My mother, who I thought was dead, is apparently alive and pointing guns at me. When exactly should I stop running and start fighting?"
The four guys exchanged looks. I could see them having one of their silent talks, the kind they had when they were trying to protect me from something.
"She's right," Kai said finally. "Running isn't working anymore."
"Vincent won't stop," Dmitri agreed. "He's declared war. Might as well fight it properly."
Luca nodded slowly. "The blood moon rises tomorrow night. If we're going to end this, that's when we do it."
I didn't know what the blood moon had to do with anything, but the way they all said it made my skin crawl.
"What happens tomorrow?" I asked.
"Old ceremony," Marco explained. "When families settle bills that can't be paid with money. Vincent probably planned it this way."
Another blast, closer this time. The lights flickered.
"They're testing our defenses," Luca said. "Seeing how many men we have, where our weak spots are."
"Then let's not disappoint them," I said. "What do I need to know?"
Marco stared at me for a long moment. Then something changed in his face, like he was seeing me differently.
"If we're really doing this," he said slowly, "you need to be ready for anything."
Over the next few hours, they taught me things I never thought I'd need to know. How to tell if someone was wearing body armor. Which guns kicked the least when you shot them. How to spot a sniper's nest.
But as the sun set, each of them came to me separately.
Marco found me first, cleaning the cuts on my hands from the glass.
"I have something for you," he said, sitting down beside me.
He pulled out a small silver knife with weird symbols carved into the handle.
"It was my grandmother's," he revealed. "She used it to protect herself when the Romano family was just starting out. It's saved more lives than I can count."
The knife was warm in my hands, like it had been sitting in sunshine. "Marco, I can't take this."
"Yes, you can. You're family now, Aria. More than family."
The way he said it made my heart skip. Before I could reply, he kissed my forehead gently and left.
Twenty minutes later, Luca knocked on my door.
"Present time," he said with that dangerous smile of his.
He gave me a small black device that looked like a phone charger.
"Emergency tracker," he explained. "If something happens and we get separated, push the red button. Every family in the city will know where you are within thirty seconds."
"Even the ones who hate us?"
"Especially them. Nobody wants to explain to the Commission why they let Vincent's granddaughter die on their watch."
His fingers brushed mine as he passed it over, and for a second his smile turned real. "Don't you dare get yourself killed tomorrow, beautiful. I've got plans for you."
Dmitri came next, bouncing into the room like he was going to a party instead of a war.
"Got you something fun," he stated, pulling a small silver bracelet from his pocket.
It looked innocent enough until he showed me the tiny blade hiding inside the charm.
"Poison tip," he said happily. "One scratch and whoever touches you goes to sleep forever. Try not to cut yourself."
I stared at the dangerous jewelry. "Dmitri, this is terrifying."
"Good. You should be afraid. But you should also be ready." His ice-blue eyes went serious. "Promise me something. If it comes down to you or them, you choose you. Every time."
"I promise."
He grinned and brushed my hair like I was his little sister. "That's my girl."
Kai was last, appearing in my doorway just as I was beginning to think he'd forgotten.
"I almost didn't come," he admitted, settling into the chair across from my bed.
"Why?"
"Because what I want to give you isn't a tool. It's knowledge."
He pulled out an old leather notebook, its pages yellow with age.
"Your mother's diary," he said simply. "I found it when we were studying your family. She wrote about you, about why she ran, about what she hoped for your future."
My hands shook as I took the book. "How did you get this?"
"I have my ways. But Aria... reading it might hurt. She loved you, but she also made choices that put you in danger."
I clutched the journal to my chest. Of all the gifts, this one meant the most.
"Thank you," I whispered.
Kai stood to leave, then turned back. "Tomorrow, whatever happens, remember that you are stronger than you know. Your mother saw it. We see it. Vincent sees it too, and that's why he's so afraid of you."
After they left, I sat alone with my new tools and my mother's words. Outside, our men were preparing for war. In twelve hours, everything would change.
I opened the notebook to the first page and started reading about the woman who gave me life, then gave up everything to keep me safe.
The last entry was dated just three days before she allegedly died: "If you're reading this, my darling girl, then I failed to keep you safe. But know this - you were born to rule, not to serve. Vincent thinks he can use your blood to claim power, but he's forgotten something important. Royal blood doesn't just give you the right to rule. It gives you the power to destroy anyone who stands in your way. Use it properly. Use it well. And never, ever let anyone make you feel small again. - All my love, Mom"
I was still looking at those words when my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: "Midnight. Pier 19. Bring the notebook, or your mother dies. For real this time. - V"
My blood turned to ice. Vincent had been one step ahead of us all along.
He had my mother.
And somehow, he knew about the diary.