Chapter 53 Looming Danger
POV: Luna
"I need to go to him."
I'm on my feet before I even realize I'm moving, heading for the Great Hall doors.
Ryder catches my arm. "Luna, stop. You can't just leave the Academy."
"Miguel is in danger. Did you not hear me? They're hunting him!"
"You don't know that for sure. The dream-link—"
"Was real!" I yank my arm free. "It was different this time. I wasn't just watching. I was there. I felt everything. His fear. His panic. And I heard him scream."
My voice breaks on the last word.
Nova appears beside me. "Luna, maybe you should sit down. You're shaking."
I am shaking. My whole body is trembling, and I can't make it stop.
"He's in danger because of me," I whisper. "The rogues are using him to get to me. Just like they used someone to get to my grandmother."
"You can't help him if you're dead," Ryder says firmly. "And that's what will happen if you leave the Academy's protection right now. Whatever's out there wants you. This could be a trap."
"I don't care!"
"Well, I do." Ryder's voice softens slightly. "Luna, think. Really think. If you go running into the human world right now, panicked and unfocused, you'll be easy prey. Is that what Miguel would want?"
The question hits me like a slap.
No. Miguel wouldn't want me to get myself killed trying to save him.
But how can I just stand here and do nothing?
Professor Cael approaches us. "Miss Eclipse, I couldn't help but overhear. You experienced another dream-link?"
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
"And you believe your human friend is in danger?"
"I know he is. I saw it. Felt it."
Professor Cael exchanges a look with Ryder. "The dream-links are strengthening. That's concerning."
"Concerning?" I repeat. "Miguel might be dying and you're concerned about the dream-links?"
"I'm concerned about both," Cael says gently. "But Luna, you need to understand something. The stronger the dream-link becomes, the more you're connected to his fate. If something happens to him while you're linked—"
"What? What happens?"
"It could pull you down with him. Destroy you from the inside."
The words make my blood run cold.
"So I'm just supposed to let him die alone?"
"No. You're supposed to be smart about this." Professor Cael gestures to a quieter corner of the hall. "Come. Let's discuss this properly."
I follow him reluctantly, with Ryder and Nova close behind.
We sit on one of the benches, away from the other students who are starting to wake up as dawn approaches.
"Tell me exactly what you saw in the dream-link," Professor Cael says.
I describe everything. The forest. Miguel running. The rogues hunting him. The way he called out for me, terrified and alone.
"And when you woke up, you heard him scream?"
"Yes. And then the link just... snapped. Like something cut it."
Professor Cael's expression darkens. "That's not normal. Dream-links don't sever violently unless there's extreme trauma."
"What does that mean? Is he—"
"I don't know. The link breaking could mean many things. He could be unconscious. He could be in shock. Or—"
He stops himself.
"Or what?" I demand.
"Or the rogues are blocking it somehow. Preventing you from seeing what's happening to him."
The thought makes me feel sick.
"I need to know if he's okay. There has to be a way."
"There might be," Ryder says. "A locator spell. We can try to sense if he's still in danger."
"Would that work?" I ask desperately.
"Possibly," Professor Cael says. "But it's risky. If he's in active danger right now, connecting to him could put you at risk too."
"I don't care about the risk. I need to know."
Professor Cael sighs. "Very well. But we do this carefully. And if I sense any danger to you, we stop immediately. Understood?"
"Understood."
He pulls out a small pouch from his robes and sprinkles some kind of powder in a circle on the floor. Then he gestures for me to sit in the center.
"Give me something of his. Something he touched. Something that carries his energy."
I reach into my jacket and pull out the charm bracelet Miguel gave me. The one I've kept hidden since I arrived at Silverwood.
Professor Cael takes it carefully and places it in my hands. "Focus on him. On your connection. Let the dream-link guide you."
I close my eyes and try to calm my racing heart.
Miguel's face appears in my mind. His smile. His laugh. The way he used to look at me like I was the only thing that mattered.
The charm bracelet grows warm in my hands.
"Good," Professor Cael murmurs. "Keep focusing. Follow the thread."
I feel it then. A faint pull. Like a string tied around my heart, leading away from the Academy. Away from safety.
Toward Miguel.
And wrapped around that pull is something else.
Fear.
Raw, primal fear.
Not mine. His.
"He's terrified," I gasp. "Something's still after him."
"Can you see what?"
I push deeper into the connection, even though every instinct tells me to pull back.
Flashes of images hit me. Trees. Darkness. Running. Always running.
And behind him, those red eyes.
Still hunting.
Still following.
"They haven't caught him yet," I say. "But they're close. So close."
"Where is he?"
"The woods. Near his house. He's trying to get home but they keep cutting him off." My hands are shaking so badly I almost drop the bracelet. "He doesn't understand what's happening. Doesn't know how to fight them."
"Because he's human," Ryder says grimly. "He doesn't stand a chance against rogues."
The connection suddenly flares hot, and I see it.
Miguel trapped between three rogues. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
He's calling my name. Begging for help.
And I'm too far away to give it.
"No," I whisper. "No, please—"
The connection cuts off abruptly, leaving me gasping.
Professor Cael catches me before I fall. "Easy. Easy. You're back."
"They have him cornered," I say, my voice breaking. "He's trapped and I can't reach him and he's going to die thinking I abandoned him."
Tears are streaming down my face now. I don't even try to stop them.
"We need to send help," Nova says frantically. "Someone. Anyone."
"There's no one close enough," Professor Cael says quietly. "And even if there were, revealing our world to human authorities could cause more problems than it solves."
"So we just let him die?"
"No." Ryder's voice is hard. "We get you strong enough that next time, you can protect him. That you can face whatever's hunting you both and destroy it."
"Next time?" I stare at him. "There might not be a next time!"
"Then we make sure there is." Ryder crouches beside me. "Luna, I know this is hard. But running to him now won't save him. You'll just get yourself killed. And then you can't help anyone."
"He's right," Professor Cael adds gently. "The best thing you can do for Miguel right now is survive. Get stronger. Learn to control your power. Then you can protect him properly."
I look down at the charm bracelet in my hands. It's no longer warm. No longer pulsing with that faint connection.
"I can't feel him anymore," I whisper.
"The spell has ended. That's all."
But what if it's not the spell? What if I can't feel him because there's nothing left to feel?
I clutch the bracelet to my chest and try to breathe.
Miguel is out there. Alone. Scared. Being hunted by creatures he doesn't understand.
And I can't help him.
Can't save him.
Can barely even reach him through the dream-link anymore.
"I hate this," I say. "I hate all of this."
"I know," Nova says softly, putting her arm around me. "I know."
The sun is starting to rise, casting pale light through the Great Hall windows. Students are waking up, looking exhausted and scared.
Last night changed everything.
The ancient presence. The attack on Miguel.
It's all connected somehow. All part of something bigger.
And I'm at the center of it whether I want to be or not.
"Get some rest," Ryder tells me. "We'll move everyone back to the dorms soon. Training starts this afternoon."
I nod numbly and let Nova guide me back to where our other friends are waiting.
They huddle around me, offering comfort without words.
But even surrounded by people, I feel alone.
Because the one person I need most is miles away, facing danger I can't protect him from.
And there's nothing I can do about it.
I'm starting to drift off, exhausted beyond measure, when I feel it.
A pulse through the charm bracelet.
Faint but there.
Like a distant warning.
I sit up, fully alert now.
Something's wrong.
And then, cutting through the early morning silence, I hear it.
A howl.
Not from the Academy grounds.
From far away. From the direction of the human world.
From where Miguel is.
It's close to him. Too close.
Close enough to shatter the forest silence around him.
My eyes snap open, my mark burning.
The rogues have found him.
And I'm too far away to stop them.