The figure stepped out from the trees, slow and unhurried.
Sheila's heart pounded. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. The night air felt thick, like it was holding its breath.
The figure wore a dark cloak with a hood pulled low. No scent clung to them—no pack signature, no magical trace. Just silence.
"Who's there?" Sheila called out, voice cracking slightly.
No response.
Emery appeared beside her, silent and watchful.
The figure stopped several feet from the clearing's edge. Then it turned and vanished into the woods without a sound.
Sheila turned to Emery. "Did you see that?"
"I did."
"What was it?"
"I don't know," Emery said softly. "But the forest let it pass."
"Is that... good or bad?"
Emery didn't answer.
---
By morning, the entire sanctuary felt uneasy. Birds didn't chirp. The wind didn't stir the leaves. Even the children were quiet.
The Oracle had not spoken since the night before. She sat in her chamber, blindfolded as always, but unmoving—as if listening to something only she could hear.
"She hasn't eaten," Lira whispered, standing beside Sheila in the hall.
"She hasn't even blinked."
"She's channeling again," Emery said as she approached. "It happens when the veil grows thin."
Sheila frowned. "The veil between what?"
"Worlds," Emery replied. "Selene's realm. The void beyond. The one Brutus still touches in dreams."
Sheila looked toward the Oracle's door. "Should we wait?"
"We don't have time." Emery glanced over her shoulder. "The figure from last night… it left something behind."
"What do you mean?"
Emery pulled a cloth from her sleeve and unwrapped it. Inside was a small silver pendant in the shape of a crescent moon pierced by a jagged black spike.
Sheila stepped back. "That's… not normal."
"No. It's not," Emery agreed. "It's a warding talisman. One that keeps divine energy trapped."
"Trapped?"
Emery nodded. "This was made to contain a soul like Selene's."
Sheila stared at it. "So… someone's trying to trap me?"
"Or break the seal before you're ready."
---
Later that day, Emery summoned the council of witches. They met in the moon chamber—twelve high-ranking witches from every clan Silverstone had absorbed over the centuries. All old, all powerful.
Sheila stood awkwardly at the center of the chamber. They were silent at first, just studying her. Judging her.
"She does not smell like a wolf," said one woman, her voice cool and clipped.
"She smells like burnt starlight," another murmured. "Like something that shouldn't be here."
"She was left to die by her pack," Emery said. "She didn't come here by choice."
"And yet the Moon marks her," said the first. "That cannot be ignored."
"What do you want from me?" Sheila asked. "I didn't ask for this. I'm not a goddess. I'm not even a decent wolf."
"You carry half of Selene's soul," another witch said. "That makes you more than you know. But also more dangerous."
The chamber went quiet again.
Then the Oracle entered.
Her presence shifted the room. All stood, even Emery.
The child walked to Sheila and held out her hand. "Come."
Sheila hesitated. "Where are we going?"
"To remember."
---
They descended into the root caverns beneath the sanctuary. Vines glowed faintly on the walls, pulsing with silver light.
At the center of the chamber was a shallow pool, still as glass.
"This is the Mirror of Memory," the Oracle said.
"I've never seen it before," Emery murmured.
"Few do."
Sheila knelt beside the pool. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Look," the Oracle said. "Not with your eyes. With your soul."
Sheila leaned forward, hesitant. The water shimmered.
At first, she saw nothing. Just her reflection.
Then, it changed.
A girl—herself, but not—dancing under a silver sky. Dressed in flowing white. Surrounded by stars. Her eyes glowed like moons.
Then Brutus appeared. Not the beast. The man. Smiling. Holding out his hand.
But suddenly, the sky darkened. The stars fell like fire.
A shadow loomed. A massive form with no face. Only hunger.
The girl screamed.
The water exploded.
Sheila gasped, stumbling backward.
The Oracle caught her hand. "You saw it."
"The Devourer."
"Yes."
"It was going to consume everything."
"And it still might."
Sheila sat trembling. "What do I do?"
The Oracle let go of her hand. "You must awaken fully. But awakening comes with pain. With sacrifice."
"I'm not ready."
"Then he will be."
"Who?"
But the Oracle didn't answer.
---
That night, Emery found Sheila on the sanctuary's roof.
"More visions?" she asked, sitting beside her.
Sheila nodded. "Every time I close my eyes."
"Tell me."
"I see him. Brutus. And I see the shadows behind him. Not inside him. Like they're waiting. Watching."
"They want him back," Emery said softly. "Or worse… they want you to open the door."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the key."
They sat in silence for a while.
Then Sheila asked, "What happened to Selene? After she sealed Brutus away?"
"No one knows," Emery replied. "Some say she faded. Others say she vanished into the mortal realm."
"I think she broke," Sheila said. "Splitting her soul—she shattered herself. And now I carry the pieces."
Emery nodded. "And so the question is—can you hold them together?"
---
At dawn, the Oracle awoke screaming.
The witches rushed to her side.
"She walks again," the Oracle cried. "The wolf who eats the stars. She returns to the moon's child."
"Who?" Emery asked.
"She was meant to be dead," the Oracle sobbed. "But she walks… with fire in her hands and poison in her heart."
Emery froze.
"Sheila's twin?"
The Oracle nodded slowly.
"She's coming."
---
In Moonwatch, Sabrina stood before the mirror again.
She traced the mark on her wrist. It burned brighter now.
"You gave her a head start," she muttered.
The shadow in the mirror smiled.
"But I'll finish it."
She turned away.
And behind her, in the darkness, a second shadow moved.