Chapter 119 Clique's Magical Trap

Chapter 119 Clique's Magical Trap
POV: Luna

I was cleared from the infirmary the next morning.
Nova practically dragged me to breakfast, insisting I needed to eat something other than the sad hospital food.
"You look better," she said as we sat down with Aria, Sienna, and Lyric. "Less like you're about to collapse."
"Thanks, I think."
Aria slid a plate of scrambled eggs toward me. "Eat. We have combat practice in an hour and you need your strength."
I picked at the food, my mind still on everything that had happened. Cole's confession. Miguel's blessing. The dark figure's warnings about consuming souls.
"Earth to Luna," Lyric said, waving a hand in front of my face. "You're doing that thing again where you disappear into your own head."
"Sorry. Just thinking."
"About Cole?" Nova asked with a knowing smile.
Heat crept up my neck. "Maybe."
Sienna leaned forward. "Did you two talk? After everything?"
"Yeah. I told him I'm not ready yet, but maybe eventually."
"And he's waiting?" Aria asked.
"He said he would."
"That's actually really sweet," Lyric admitted. "Most guys would have bailed by now."
"Cole's not most guys," I said quietly.
Nova grinned. "You've got it bad."
"I don't have anything. I'm just figuring things out."
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that."
I threw a piece of bread at her. She caught it and took a bite, still grinning.
"Anyway," Sienna said, "I've been researching Eclipse wolves like I promised. There's not much in the regular library, but I found some references in older texts."
"And?" I asked.
"The consuming souls thing is real. Sort of." She pulled out a notebook covered in her neat handwriting. "Eclipse wolves do draw power from essence connections, but it's not as dark as the figure made it sound. It's more like borrowing energy from willing participants."
"So I'm not going to turn into a soul-eating monster?"
"Not unless you try to force connections with unwilling people. Then yeah, it gets dark."
That was slightly reassuring. "What about the dying young part?"
Sienna's expression turned serious. "That part's true. Most Eclipse wolves didn't make it past twenty-five. But from what I can tell, it wasn't the power that killed them. It was the people hunting them for it."
My stomach dropped. "People were hunting Eclipse wolves?"
"Mages, mostly. Rogue packs. Anyone who wanted that kind of power for themselves." She flipped through her notes. "Your bloodline went into hiding generations ago. You're the first one to manifest the mark in decades."
"Which is why everyone's suddenly interested in me."
"Exactly."
Great. Just what I needed. More people trying to use me or kill me.
We finished breakfast and headed to the training grounds. Cole was already there, setting up equipment.
He caught my eye and smiled. Just a small one, but it made my heart do that stupid flip thing again.
Focus, Luna. Training first, feelings later.
"Alright everyone," Cole called out. "Today we're working on defensive magic integration. Pair up."
Nova immediately grabbed my arm. "Partners?"
"Obviously."
We spread out across the field. Cole explained the exercise. One person would cast simple magical attacks while the other practiced deflecting with a combination of wolf reflexes and basic shielding spells.
"Start slow," Cole instructed. "The goal is control, not power."
Nova went first, sending a weak pulse of energy toward me.
I raised my hand and let my mark flare slightly, creating a small barrier that absorbed the impact.
"Good," she said. "Again?"
We went back and forth, gradually increasing the intensity. My mark was responding smoothly, the otherworld connection steady and controlled.
I was actually starting to feel confident.
That should have been my first warning.
"Switch positions," Cole called out. "Attackers become defenders."
Nova and I switched. I gathered a small amount of magical energy and sent it toward her.
She deflected easily.
We continued for several minutes. Everything was going fine.
Then I stepped forward for another round and the ground beneath me lit up.
Magical symbols blazed to life in a perfect circle around my feet.
I tried to move but my legs wouldn't respond. It was like invisible chains had wrapped around my ankles.
"Luna!" Nova shouted.
The symbols pulsed and pain shot through my mark. It felt like someone had stuck a hot poker directly into my wrist.
I screamed.
Cole was running toward me, but the moment he got close to the circle, he was thrown backward by an invisible force.
"Don't touch it!" Sienna yelled. "It's a binding trap!"
My mark was burning, the pain spreading up my arm and into my chest. The otherworld connection was going haywire, surging and receding in waves I couldn't control.
Through the pain, I saw Cassandra and her circle watching from across the field. Claire was smirking.
They did this.
Anger cut through the pain. My wolf surged forward, snarling and furious.
"Luna, don't shift!" Aria was beside Nova now, both of them examining the trap from a safe distance. "If you shift while bound, it could tear you apart!"
"Then what do I do?" I gritted out.
"We're working on it!"
Sienna was muttering rapidly, her hands glowing as she tried to unravel the spell. Lyric was on her phone, probably searching for information.
The pain intensified. My vision started to blur.
"It's feeding on her mark," Sienna said urgently. "The trap is designed to drain Eclipse power specifically."
"How do we stop it?" Nova demanded.
"I don't know! This is advanced dark magic. Way beyond anything taught here."
Cole appeared at the edge of the circle again, his eyes wild. "Luna, look at me. Focus on my voice."
I tried. The pain made it hard to focus on anything.
"The otherworld connection," he said. "Can you reverse the flow? Instead of the trap draining you, drain it?"
"I don't know how!"
"Yes, you do. You've been practicing control for weeks. This is the same thing, just reversed."
He was right. In theory.
I closed my eyes and reached for the otherworld thread. It was tangled, knotted up with the trap's magic.
I grabbed hold of it anyway.
Instead of letting power flow from the otherworld into me, I pushed my awareness in the opposite direction. Toward the trap. Into it.
The symbols flared brighter.
"Luna, what are you doing?" Aria asked.
"Eating it," I managed.
If the trap wanted to drain power, I'd give it more than it could handle.
I flooded the connection with otherworld energy. Not the controlled thread I'd been practicing with. Everything I could reach.
The trap started to crack.
"Everyone get back!" Sienna shouted.
The symbols shattered.
The explosion of magical energy threw me backward. I hit the ground hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
Everything hurt.
Cole reached me first, pulling me into his arms. "Luna. Luna, talk to me."
"I'm okay," I rasped. "Just really hate magical traps."
He helped me sit up. My friends crowded around, all talking at once.
"That was insane!"
"Are you hurt?"
"Did you really just eat a dark magic trap?"
I looked down at my mark. It was glowing brighter than I'd ever seen it, pulsing with residual energy.
And there was something new.
A small sigil, right next to my Eclipse mark. It looked like the symbols from the trap, but inverted somehow.
"What is that?" I asked.
Sienna knelt beside me, examining it closely. "I think it's a claim mark."
"A what?"
"Someone's marking you. Declaring you as their target." Her face was pale. "Luna, this isn't just Cassandra being petty. Someone powerful helped her set that trap."
"The dark figure," I said.
"Probably."
I struggled to my feet with Cole's help. Across the field, Cassandra's circle was gone.
Of course they were.
"We need to report this to the Headmaster," Cole said.
"No."
Everyone stared at me.
"If we report it, Cassandra will just deny it. Say the trap was already there and I triggered it by accident." I looked at the scorch marks on the ground where the symbols had been. "We have no proof she did this."
"So what do we do?" Nova asked.
"We be smarter next time. More careful." I touched the new sigil on my wrist. "And we figure out who's helping her before they try something worse."
Cole looked like he wanted to argue, but he just sighed. "Fine. But you're not going anywhere alone from now on."
"I can handle myself."
"I know you can. But you're not doing it alone anyway."
His tone left no room for argument.
Professor Cael appeared at the edge of the field, looking concerned. "Miss Eclipse. I need you to come with me. Now."
Here we go again.
I followed her to the same hidden room as before. The Headmaster was already there, along with two other faculty members I didn't recognize.
"Sit," the Headmaster ordered.
I sat.
He stared at me for a long moment. "You absorbed a dark magic trap."
"I didn't have much choice."
"Do you understand what you did? That kind of power absorption isn't normal, even for Eclipse wolves."
"I'm starting to realize nothing about me is normal."
One of the other professors leaned forward. She had silver hair and sharp features. "Show us your mark."
I held out my wrist.
All three professors went very still when they saw the claim sigil.
"Who did this?" the silver-haired professor demanded.
"I don't know for sure. But I think it's connected to the dark figure that's been appearing."
"Describe this figure."
I told them everything. The attacks, the otherworld appearances, the warnings about consuming souls.
When I finished, the Headmaster and the professors exchanged worried looks.
"What?" I asked. "What aren't you telling me?"
The Headmaster stood and walked to the window. "There's an old story. A legend, really. About a rogue mage who became obsessed with Eclipse power centuries ago."
"What happened to them?"
"They were supposedly killed. But their followers scattered, forming various dark magic circles and rogue packs." He turned to face me. "If this figure is connected to that legacy, you're in more danger than we thought."
"So what do I do?"
"You train. Harder than ever before." He gestured to the silver-haired professor. "Professor Thorne will be working with you on advanced defensive magic. You'll also continue combat training with Mr. Cole."
Professor Thorne nodded. "We start tomorrow. Six AM sharp."
Great. Even earlier mornings.
"In the meantime," the Headmaster continued, "you're to report any suspicious activity immediately. No more handling things on your own."
"But—"
"That's an order, Miss Eclipse."
I bit back my argument. It wouldn't do any good anyway.
They dismissed me after extracting a promise that I'd be careful.
Cole was waiting outside the building.
"How bad?" he asked.
"Pretty bad. Apparently, there's some ancient rogue mage legacy that might be targeting me specifically."
"Of course there is." He ran a hand through his hair. "Anything else?"
"I have to start training at six AM with Professor Thorne."
"I'll be there."
"You don't have to—"
"I'll be there," he repeated firmly.
We walked back toward the dorms in silence. The sun was setting, painting everything in shades of orange and pink.
"Luna," Cole said eventually. "About that claim mark on your wrist. You know what it means, right?"
"That someone's targeting me? Yeah, I got that part."
"It's more than that." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "In magical terms, a claim mark is a challenge. Whoever put it there is saying you belong to them. That they have the right to your power."
My stomach turned. "That's creepy."
"It's also dangerous. Claim marks can be used to track you. To influence your magic." His expression was serious. "We need to find a way to remove it."
"How?"
"I don't know yet. But I'll figure it out."
We started walking again. My friends were waiting by the dorm entrance, all looking worried.
"You okay?" Nova asked immediately.
"Yeah. Just got lectured by the Headmaster and learned there's an ancient evil legacy possibly targeting me."
"So, a normal Tuesday," Lyric said.
Despite everything, I laughed.
"We should eat," Aria said. "Figure out our next move."
We headed to the dining hall. I was hyper-aware of every student we passed, wondering if any of them were working with Cassandra or the dark figure.
Trust no one had become my new motto.
Dinner was quiet. We were all too tired and stressed to make much conversation.
Afterward, I headed back to my room with Nova. My whole body ached from absorbing the trap's energy.
"You should sleep," Nova said. "You look exhausted."
"I am."
I changed into comfortable clothes and collapsed on my bed.
Sleep came fast, pulling me under before I could even worry about nightmares.
The otherworld materialized around me slowly.
Miguel was there, but he looked different. More translucent, less solid.
"Miguel?" I approached cautiously.
He smiled, but it was sad. "Hey, Luna."
"What's wrong? You look different."
"I'm fading. Slowly." He held up his hand and I could see through it slightly. "The more you use your power in the living world, the less of me remains here."
Panic seized my chest. "No. There has to be a way to stop it."
"There's not. This is how it works." He took my hands. "But it's okay. This is what's supposed to happen."
"It's not okay! You can't just disappear!"
"Luna, listen to me." His grip tightened. "I'm not disappearing. I'm becoming part of you completely. My essence is merging with your mark, giving you strength. This is what I chose."
Tears burned my eyes. "I don't want to lose you again."
"You're not losing me. I'll always be with you." He touched my mark gently. "Every time you use your power, you'll feel me there. Supporting you."
"That's not the same."
"I know. But it's what we have." He pulled me into a hug. "And I need you to be okay with it. Because what's coming next, you'll need all your strength. You can't hold onto me and face it at the same time."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to find a way to keep him here, solid and present.
But deep down, I knew he was right.
"I'm scared," I whispered.
"I know. But you're also the strongest person I've ever known." He pulled back to look at me. "Trust yourself, Luna. Trust your friends. Trust Cole."
"Miguel—"
"He's good for you. He'll protect you when I can't." Miguel smiled. "Let him in. All the way."
The otherworld started to fade.
"Wait!" I grabbed his hand. "Will I see you again?"
"Maybe. In pieces. In memories." His voice was already distant. "But mostly, you'll just feel me. And that will be enough."
Then he was gone.
I woke up crying.
Nova was beside me immediately. "Luna? What happened?"
"Miguel. He's fading. Becoming part of my mark completely."
"Oh, Luna." She pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
We sat there for a long time, her just holding me while I cried.
Eventually, the tears stopped.
I pulled back and wiped my eyes. "He told me to let Cole in. To trust him."
"Are you going to?"
I looked at my mark. It was glowing softly, and I swore I could feel Miguel's presence in it. Not separate anymore, but woven into the power itself.
"Yeah," I said. "I think I am."
Nova smiled. "Good. Because that boy is completely gone for you."
"I'm completely gone for him too."
"I know. Everyone knows."
I laughed, watery but real. "Am I that obvious?"
"Incredibly."
I laid back down, exhausted emotionally and physically.
Tomorrow I'd start training with Professor Thorne. Figure out how to remove the claim mark. Deal with Cassandra and whoever was helping her.
But tonight, I'd let myself grieve. Let myself feel the loss of Miguel's presence in the otherworld.
And tomorrow, I'd start moving forward.
For real this time.
My mark pulsed gently, warm and comforting.
Miguel was still there. Just different.
And maybe that was okay.
I closed my eyes and let sleep take me again, this time dreamless and deep.