Chapter 11: Whispers Beneath the Moon
The moon hung low, drenched in silver, casting long shadows across the temple steps. I should've been asleep—curled beneath warm blankets, safe in Kael's arms.
But sleep never came.
Not after seeing him.
The man in feathers.
The one who vanished with the wind.
Something about his eyes haunted me. Like they knew me. Not just who I was now—but who I had been before I even understood myself.
So I did what I always did when fear crept in—
I wandered.
Barefoot through the garden. The soft earth cooled the burn in my soul. The air smelled of night-blooming flowers and ancient secrets.
Then I heard it.
A whisper.
Not carried by wind, but born from it.
> "Luna…"
I froze.
No one was around.
But the voice was unmistakably real.
I turned.
There—under the old willow—stood the cloaked man. Not a vision. Not a dream.
He was here.
Alive.
Breathing.
Watching.
"Who are you?" I asked, every muscle in my body tense.
He tilted his head. "I go by many names. But you… you once called me Ashenwing."
The name struck like thunder in my bones. Not because I remembered it—
But because my flame did.
Suddenly, my arms glowed faintly. Not in warning.
In recognition.
"You… you're one of them," I whispered. "The Flamebearers. Like me."
He stepped closer. His face was partially hidden, but I could see the scar slicing across his right cheek. "You are more than like me. You were meant to lead us."
I backed away.
"I don't lead anyone," I snapped. "I barely survived my trial."
He smirked, but not cruelly. "That was just the door. What lies ahead is the path. The others feel it too. The awakening has begun, Luna."
> "And with it, the war."
---
The garden grew colder.
Ashenwing raised his hand, and with a flick of his fingers, a small black flame appeared above his palm. It didn't flicker like mine. It pulsed—like a heartbeat.
"You've felt it, haven't you?" he said softly. "The pull in your chest. The dreams you can't explain. The fire that burns even when you sleep."
I didn't answer.
Because he was right.
Every word.
Kael didn't know. I hadn't told anyone. Not even myself.
"You want something from me," I said finally. "What is it?"
Ashenwing stepped so close I could see the faded sigil burned into his collarbone. A matching mark shimmered faintly on my skin.
"You've been trained to fear what you are," he said. "But soon, you will have to become it. Or watch this world fall to those who have already accepted their darkness."
---
Before I could respond, a voice called from behind—
"Luna!"
Kael.
I turned, heart pounding.
When I looked back—
Ashenwing was gone.
Only a single black feather remained on the grass.
I picked it up, and it sizzled in my hand like forgotten truth.
Kael rushed to me, breathless. "What happened? I heard voices—"
"Just the wind," I lied.
But my heart was already cracking.
Not from fear.
But from the feeling that everything I thought I knew…
Was about to burn.
---
To be continued…