The shadows were thicker now.
Aurora could feel them—tightening around her like smoke curling under locked doors. Something ancient stirred in the marrow of her bones, whispering warnings in a tongue she didn't recognize. Every time she blinked, she saw fire behind her eyes.
But this wasn't the usual fire. It wasn't passion. It wasn't rage.
It was hunger.
She sat in the library again, hidden in a forgotten alcove behind the mythology shelves. Eira had stopped trying to shoo her away. Maybe the librarian finally sensed that Aurora wasn't just another student with a study problem. Or maybe she knew who Aurora was becoming.
Zayne hadn't answered her texts. Not since their conversation last night.
He was hiding something. She could feel it in her blood. And after Professor Gray's public meltdown and the red-glowing threat on the board, Aurora knew she was running out of time.
"The blood moon is rising," she whispered aloud, tracing her fingers over the pages of a leather-bound volume titled Witchblood Chronicles: Forbidden Truths.
A chill kissed the back of her neck.
She wasn't alone.
Before she could turn, a voice broke through the silence.
"We need to talk. Now."
Aurora jumped. It wasn't Zayne. It was someone worse.
Ethan.
He looked gaunter than usual, hair messier, his once-perfect smirk gone. There were shadows under his eyes and a strange, pulsing vein just under his jaw.
"What the hell do you want?" she snapped, standing.
"To warn you."
"You're about four betrayals too late for that."
He stepped closer. His hand shook as he ran it through his hair.
"It's Fiona. She's not... she's not herself anymore. I stayed the night again—don't look at me like that—and I woke up to her standing over me, whispering in some creepy language and bleeding from her eyes."
Aurora blinked. "She what?"
"She said a name. Over and over. Yours. Said you're the door. That when it opens, we all drown."
Aurora's mouth went dry.
Before she could reply, the window across the aisle shattered inward.
A bird? No.
A dagger.
It spun into the wood beside Ethan's head with a sickening thunk. Attached was a note, pinned with unnatural precision. Aurora pulled it free, her hands trembling.
Written in black ink that smelled like ash:
"Bring the girl before the Blood Moon. Or we'll take her ourselves."
And at the bottom, a crude drawing of a flame-eyed woman, crowned in smoke.
Fiona.
Zayne found her before sunset.
She was in the back gardens behind the old science building, pacing like a caged animal. She didn't wait for him to speak.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Fiona was marked?"
His mouth opened, then closed again. His jaw flexed.
"I was trying to protect you."
Aurora's laugh came out sharp. "By keeping me in the dark?"
"You don't understand, Aurora. Fiona's not just marked. She's possessed—by something old. Something that's been waiting for someone like you to show up."
She crossed her arms. "You mean a girl stupid enough to kiss a cursed man in a nightclub?"
Zayne's voice dropped. "No. A girl powerful enough to break it."
Silence stretched between them. Her pulse throbbed.
He stepped forward. "There's something you need to see."
He took her to a place she'd never noticed before—down a narrow alley behind the Humanities hall, through a rusted iron door, into what felt like another world.
The underground room was circular, candlelit, and smelled faintly of burned herbs. Symbols were etched into every wall—some glowing faintly, others scratched like claw marks. In the center was a stone basin filled with dark water.
"It's called a scrying pool," Zayne said, stepping beside her. "You can see what's hidden. Past. Present. Future. But only what it wants to show you."
Aurora hesitated. Then stepped forward.
The water rippled without touch. Images formed.
A girl screaming—Amara. Fire pouring from her mouth.
A child in a crib, eyes glowing gold. Her.
Fiona—standing in a circle of salt, laughing as black veins crawled up her arms.
A throne of ash. A crown made of teeth.
And then—Zayne.
Crying.
"Stop," she whispered.
The water stilled.
"Why did it show me that?"
Zayne's eyes were haunted. "Because the curse isn't just about power. It's about choices. Amara tried to fix it by loving me. She thought love could undo fate. She was wrong."
He touched Aurora's cheek.
"But you're not her. And this time... maybe love isn't the answer. Maybe it's the weapon."
Aurora leaned into his touch.
Their lips met—soft, aching, real.
No curse burst forth. No flames lit the room.
Just a heartbeat.
Just a moment.
But it was enough.
Later that night, Fiona stood in front of a mirror in her dorm room. Her reflection no longer matched her movements.
The thing inside her smiled.
"It's almost time."
Outside, the sky bled crimson.
The Blood Moon had risen.
And the hunt had begun.
The end of chapter 10