Chapter 62 Moonblood Child
Chapter 62 Moonblood Child
A scream tore from Aria’s throat before her body could endure the pain.
Silver light erupted from her mark,it was not in a controlled way but in a violent, fractured waves that cracked the air itself.
The shadows that once obeyed her recoiled in terror and started slamming against the walls like trapped animals. The ground beneath her feet pulsed, responding to the ancient call that is rising from below the kingdom.
Lucian tightened his grip around her as her knees buckled.
“Aria... What's wrong with you? Please stay with me!” he shouted in panic. It was raw and unfiltered in his voice.
But Aria was already slipping.
It felt as though invisible hands has plunged into her veins, and they are pulling and stripping her from the inside out. Not her magic alone and not just her strength. But her life.
And deeper still... something else too.
Her unborn child.
Aria gasped as the realization hit her fully, and terror flooded her mind.
'It’s taking you,' she thought while desperately clutching her stomach weakly. 'It’s taking us.'
The voice returned, it was no longer a whisper but a presence so vast it drowned out everything else.
"Moonblood life is owed, it intoned, cold and patient. You carry what was promised to me."
“No,” Aria whispered aloud, her voice barely audible. “You can’t have my baby.”
The pain intensified instantly, as if punishing her for her defiance.
Lucian felt it too, not just the pain itself, but the horrifying absence forming within her. Her heartbeat faltered against his chest and her body growed frighteningly cold in his arms.
“Maeve!” he roared. “Do something!”
Maeve stood frozen for only a fraction of a second before snapping into motion. She slammed her staff against the cracked stone floor, chanting rapidly as glowing runes flared around Aria’s body.
“Ancient binding, blood ward, luna seal... hold!” Maeve shouted, sweat breaking across her brow.
The runes flickered and then shattered.
Maeve stumbled back as if she has been struck.
“It’s too strong,” she cried out with fear shaking her voice. “This isn’t a spell, it’s a claim.”
"What do you mean it's a claim?" Lucian asked her.
The fissure in the ground widened with black light spilling upward like smoke given form. And from it rose a shadow that's not fully corporeal, but it was vast enough to blot out the light in the chamber. The air became suffocating and heavy with ancient authority.
Lucian backed away instinctively while still holding Aria close.
“You will not touch her,” he snarled, his wolf surging violently against the confines of his skin.
Golden energy rippled across his arms as his Alpha power flared, it was raw and desperate. He bared his fangs at the darkness, every instinct in him screaming to fight, to tear, to kill.
The presence regarded him with something like mild amusement.
'Alpha,' it acknowledged. 'Your blood is loud, but it's irrelevant.'
Lucian felt a crushing force slam into his chest, driving him to one knee. He gritted his teeth, refusing to release Aria even as pain exploded through him.
“She is mine,” he growled. “The child is mine.”
The darkness laughed.
"The child belongs to the land. To blood older than your crown."
Aria’s body convulsed violently.
Lucian screamed her name. "Aria!"
Her head fell limply against his shoulder, with her eyes fluttering as the last of her strength slipped away.
“No... no... Aria, look at me!” Lucian begged, his voice breaking. “You can’t leave me. Not now.”
But she couldn’t hear him.
Aria was falling.
Not into sleep, but into a vast, silver-dark space where sound faded and warmth disappeared. She felt weightless, empty, as if something essential had been torn from her core.
In that void, she saw the moon. It was cracked and bleeding light.
And beneath it are a cradle of shadows that are reaching for the small glow pulsing inside her.
"Give it to me," the ancient voice murmured within the void. "And I will let you rest.'
Aria’s consciousness flickered weakly. "No," Aria thought, while summoning the last thread of will she possessed. I won’t trade my child for peace.
The shadows tightened.
Pain surged again, it was worse than before.
Above, in the waking world, Aria went completely limp in Lucian’s arms.
“Aria!” Lucian shouted, terror choking him as he pressed his ear to her chest.
Her heartbeat was faint.
Too faint.
Maeve dropped to her knees beside them, hands glowing desperately as she pressed them over Aria’s abdomen and heart.
“She’s slipping,” Maeve said frantically. “The ancient power is siphoning her life force through the child. If it completes the bond...”
“Then stop it!” Lucian roared.
Maeve’s eyes was filled with tears. “I can’t. Not without killing one of them.”
Lucian froze. “What?”
“If I sever the connection,” Maeve said brokenly, “the baby won’t survive. If I don’t... Aria won’t survive.”
The words landed like a death sentence.
Lucian shook his head violently. “No. No. There has to be another way.”
Before Maeve could answer him, a sudden pulse of silver exploded outward from Aria’s body, throwing everyone back.
The ancient presence recoiled around her, just slightly.
Maeve gasped. “The moon goddess... she’s responding!”
Lucian looked down in shock as Aria’s mark flared brilliantly, glowing brighter than ever. A soft pulse echoed from her abdomen, it was faint but still defiant.
And there was a second heartbeat.
The ancient voice hissed, anger was threading through its voice. "Interference is forbidden."
Maeve immediately scrambled upright, hope was flickering through her fear. “Lucian, listen to me. The child Aria is carrying isn’t just a target. It’s a shield. Moonblood cannot be claimed without consent.”
Lucian stared at Aria’s unconscious face, tears streaming down his face silently.
“Then how do we stop it?” he demanded.
Maeve’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She has to choose. Even though she's unconscious. Her soul must reject the claim.”
Lucian bent over Aria and pressed his forehead to hers.
“Aria,” he whispered desperately. “Can you hear me, love? I know you can. Fight. You hear me? Fight. Choose us. Choose life.”
Inside the void, Aria felt his voice like a distant echo, wrapping around her heart. The bond between them flared weakly. She reached for it with everything she had left in her.
'I choose my child,' she thought fiercely. 'And I choose my kingdom.'
The silver light surged.
The ancient presence shrieked back. It was furious and enraged.
"This is not over," it vowed. "The heir will be mine."
The chamber fell into silence except for Lucian’s ragged breathing.
Lucian held Aria tightly, trembling. “She’s alive,” Maeve whispered after a moment, while checking her pulse. “But barely.”
Lucian pressed a kiss to Aria’s cold forehead. “Wake up,” he begged softly. “Please.”
Aria did not wake.
Her body remained unnaturally still.
And as the moon outside flickered uncertainly...
Far beneath Bookthorn Kingdom, something ancient smiled in the dark.
Because it had not taken the child.
Not yet.
But it had tasted its blood.
And it was patient.