Chapter 53 Take Back what belongs to me
Chapter 53 Take Back what belongs to me
That night, Aria chose to summon him. The moon hung low and swollen over Bookthorn Kingdom. It was too bright and too watchful.
It was not yet a full moon. Not officially. Yet the light poured down as if the sky itself was holding its breath.
Aria stood alone in the inner courtyard, barefoot on cold stone, with her dark cloak discarded at her feet. Symbols that were ancient and older than written language were carved into the ground in a wide circle around her. They glowed faintly silver, responding to her bloodline.
Maeve watched from the edge of the courtyard, hands clenched around her staff. “Once you call him,” she warned quietly, “you can’t control how he answers.”
Lucian stood beside her, with every muscle tight and his Alpha senses stretched thin. “Then I will stand with her.”
Aria shook her head without turning. “No.”
Lucian stiffened. “Aria—”
“This is moon magic,” she said calmly. “It's ot pack magic. Not Alpha command. If you step into the circle, you could disrupt it or worse, become a tether he can use.”
Lucian hated how steady her voice was. Hated that she had already accepted the risk.
“You have to come back to me,” he said roughly.
She glanced over her shoulder, eyes soft but unyielding. “I always do.”
Then she stepped fully into the circle.
The air shifted instantly. The shadows drew back, pressed flat against the walls as if bowing. The wind stilled. Even the guards on the distant towers felt it—a pressure in their chests, like the world had tilted slightly off its axis.
Aria lifted her chin and raised her hands.
Her voice, when she spoke, was no longer just her own.
“By the blood of Selene,” she intoned, the name of the Moon Goddess rolling through the courtyard like distant thunder,
“By the covenant sworn in silver and shadow, by the line that never broke, I call you.”
The symbols flared brighter.
Lucian felt the bond strain, not in pain but in awe.
“Masked one,” Aria continued, her eyes glowing faintly white,
“You who trespass in silence. You who spill blood without claim. You who hide from the light yet circle its power, I summon you.”
The ground trembled.
Maeve whispered, horrified, “She’s not just calling him... she’s commanding the moon to recognize him.”
Aria’s voice sharpened, power creasing the air. “Answer me.”
The moonlight shattered. Not literally, but it fractured, bending unnaturally toward the center of the circle. Shadows stretched long and thin, twisting together until the air itself tore open like fabric.
A figure stepped through.
The masked man did not appear in smoke this time.
He appeared as if he had always been there.
Tall. Still. Wrapped in dark armor etched with symbols that made Maeve’s blood run cold. His mask was bone-white beneath the moon, smooth and expressionless, yet somehow mocking.
Lucian moved instantly, stepping forward with a snarl. “You don’t belong here.”
The masked figure turned his head slightly to look at Lucian. And Lucian froze. Not because he was afraid of him. But because the pressure in the air slammed into him like a wall.
“You feel it, don’t you?” the figure said calmly. His voice was deep and controlled, there was nothing wild or monstrous about it. “This land recognizes me.”
Aria’s heart pounded, but she didn’t step back. “You came because I called you.”
“Yes,” he replied, with his eyes hidden behind the mask and settling on her. “And because you finally remembered who you are.”
The words cut deeper than a blade.
“Speak your name,” Aria demanded.
The figure laughed softly. “Names have power. And you already have enough of mine.”
Lucian growled. “Then you’ll answer to mine.”
The masked figure finally looked at him fully. “You rule because the land was empty,” he said coolly. “Because the old bloodlines were broken. Because no one remained and wanted to challenge you."
He stepped forward. The circle drawn didn’t stop him. It opened for him.
Maeve staggered back. “That’s not possible—Aria, the circle—”
“It recognizes him,” Aria whispered, horror creeping into her voice.
“Yes,” the figure said. “Because this kingdom, this land that you call Bookthorn kingdom now was never meant for you.”
The moonlight dimmed further.
Lucian’s chest tightened. “You killed my people. My guards.”
“They were trespassers,” the masked figure replied without emotion. “As you are”
Aria clenched her fists tightly. “You attacked us first."
He tilted his head. “No. I reclaimed what was already mine.”
Silence fell like a blade.
Lucian took a step forward. “Explain.”
The masked figure raised one hand. And the ground beneath the courtyard cracked—not violently, but deliberately.
The ancient stone split open, revealing old sigils buried far beneath the surface.
Symbols older than Aria’s circle.
Older than the Shadowmoon Pack.
“This kingdom,” the masked figure said, voice resonant now, echoing unnaturally,
“Was founded by my bloodline. And was ruled by my ancestors. It was protected by pacts sealed way before your Moon Goddess ever whispered to wolves.”
Aria’s breath shook. “That’s a lie.”
“Is it?” he countered. “Ask your shadows what they remember.
Her shadows stirred violently.
Too violently.
Images slammed into Aria's mind—ruins, crowns of bone and silver, a throne carved from moonstone… and a child dragged away in chains as the kingdom burned.
Aria's knees buckled. Lucian caught her instantly. “Aria!”
She stared up at the masked figure, shaken. “You were… banished.”
He inclined his head slightly. “Exiled. Betrayed. Forgotten.”
Maeve whispered in horror, “The First Heir…”
The masked figure turned to her. “Ah. At least one of you remembers.”
Lucian’s voice was deadly calm. “Even if what you say is true, this kingdom stands as the Bookthorn kingdom now. These people chose us.”
“They did not choose you, they chose survival,” the figure replied. “And now I’ve returned to collect what was stolen.”
Aria found her voice again , it was raw but fierce. “You won’t take this kingdom.”
The masked figure stepped closer to her, close enough that the moonlight reflected sharply off his mask.
“Oh, Luna,” he said softly. “I’m not here to take it.”
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper only she could hear.
“I’m here to awaken it.”
The ground rumbled violently.
From deep beneath Bookthorn Kingdom, something ancient answered.
And the moon—
Went dark.