His Rejected Luna

The world feels wrong.

The sky is whole again, the silver fracture that split it open now nothing more than a memory. The mist is gone. The shadow that called to me has vanished.

But I am not the same.

I can feel it in the way my skin hums with energy, in the way the earth beneath me seems too solid, like I am not meant to be tethered to it anymore. My body feels like it's holding onto something vast, something too big for my bones to contain.

And worst of all—

I can still hear it.

A whisper at the back of my mind, faint but persistent. You will seek me out.

A shiver crawls down my spine.

I know Kieran is staring at me before I even lift my head.

I can feel his golden eyes on me, burning with something raw and unsettled. He's tense, his body coiled like he's ready to fight something—except there's nothing left to fight.

Nothing except me.

I slowly push myself to my feet, ignoring the unsteadiness in my limbs. Kieran's hands twitch at his sides, like he wants to help me up but doesn't trust himself to touch me.

His jaw tightens. "What the hell just happened?"

I shake my head. "I don't know."

It's not a lie. Not really.

Because how do I explain that something in the void recognized me? That its voice still lingers in my mind like an echo?

That I feel like a piece of me isn't mine anymore?

Kieran steps closer, his eyes searching my face. "Aria—"

"I'm fine."

The words are automatic, instinctual. But the way Kieran's gaze darkens tells me he doesn't believe me.

And maybe he's right not to.

Because the truth is?

I don't know if I believe it either.

"Well, that was dramatic."

Caelum's voice breaks the tension like a knife through silk.

I snap my head toward him, irritation curling in my chest. He's leaning lazily against a broken tree trunk, arms crossed, silver eyes gleaming with something infuriatingly amused.

Kieran growls low in his throat. "Shut. Up."

Caelum smirks. "Touchy."

I take a slow breath, trying to steady myself. "You knew something like this would happen."

It's not a question.

Caelum doesn't deny it.

Instead, he sighs, tilting his head as he studies me like I'm a puzzle he's been waiting to put together. "Not exactly this," he admits. "But something close."

Anger flares in my chest. "And you didn't think to warn me?"

Caelum shrugs. "Would it have made a difference?"

My fists clench. "I—"

I stop.

Because I don't know what I would have done if I had known.

Would I have been more careful? Would I have stopped myself from breaking the fracture open?

Or would I have done exactly the same thing?

A sick feeling curls in my stomach.

Because deep down, I know the truth.

I wanted to open it.

Something inside me had been waiting for that moment, waiting for something to wake up.

And it did.

A sharp burning sensation flares against my skin.

I flinch, sucking in a breath as a sharp sting rips across my collarbone, like something is searing into me from the inside out.

Kieran notices immediately.

His eyes flash with alarm. "Aria?"

I press a hand to my collarbone, wincing. "I don't—"

Then I feel it.

A shape.

A mark.

I yank at the neckline of my torn shirt, pulling it down enough to see what wasn't there before.

A symbol.

Etched in silver light.

It's not a rune, not a sigil I've ever seen before. It's something older, something that pulses beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. The design is intricate, curved like a crescent moon but fractured, a single jagged break running through the center.

I stagger back.

Kieran curses. "What the hell is that?"

Caelum whistles lowly. "Well, that's new."

Panic rises in my throat. "Get it off."

I scrub at the mark, desperate to erase it, but it doesn't budge. The glow flares, like it's responding to my panic, feeding off of it.

Kieran grabs my wrist, his touch firm, grounding. "Stop."

I look up at him, my breath uneven. "I don't—" My voice shakes. "What is happening to me?"

For once, Kieran doesn't have an answer.

And that terrifies me.

A branch snaps in the distance.

We all freeze.

Kieran shoves me behind him, his body tensing, his claws unsheathing. Caelum straightens, his usual smirk fading into something sharp and unreadable.

The wind shifts.

And the scent that reaches me is one I don't recognize—but somehow, I know it.

It smells of smoke and decay.

Then—

A figure steps out from the shadows.

Dressed in black armor, their face hidden beneath a silver mask, their movements eerily silent. Their presence makes the mark on my skin burn hotter, as if it knows them.

The masked figure stops a few feet away. Their voice is smooth, calm—dangerous.

"You should not bear that mark."

A chill rips through me.

The stranger tilts their head. "Do you even know what you've done?"

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.

Because I don't.

I don't know what I've done.

I don't know what I've become.

All I know is that this mark isn't just a symbol.

It's a claim.

A curse.

A summoning.

And whatever I woke up—

It's coming for me.

---

Aria has been marked by an unknown force, and now she has drawn the attention of something—or someone—that should have never found her. But is it here to kill her… or claim her?