Ashes And Oaths

The forest was quiet again.

Too quiet.

The kind of quiet that followed ruin—fragile, uneasy, trembling beneath the surface like a heartbeat that hadn't yet decided if it should continue.

Aria sat atop a moss-covered stone, watching sunlight spill through the trees. It should've felt like victory.

But it didn't.

Varian was gone—scattered into the wind like ash.

But what he unleashed wasn't finished.

The land remembered his corruption.

And so did they.

---

Lyra limped through the undergrowth with Reid supporting her, blood staining her sleeve where a rogue had cut too deep. Her face was pale but defiant.

"I'm fine," she grumbled as Reid tried to bind the wound tighter.

"You're not," he snapped. "And stop pretending you are. You've lost too much blood."

Lyra blinked, unsteady. "Yeah, well… we've all lost something."

---

Nearby, Mira knelt in the clearing where they had performed the Rite.

She traced the sigils in the dirt with shaking fingers. They were already fading—washed away by dew and morning light.

Kai stood a few paces behind her, arms crossed. His expression was unreadable, but his jaw was clenched tight.

"She's still out there," Mira said softly. "The girl I used to be. The one who only knew fear."

"You're not her anymore," Kai replied.

"I know." Mira stood slowly. "But I can still feel her. Like a scar that didn't heal right."

Kai gave a single nod. "Use it."

---

Kade returned from patrol with his blades sheathed and his expression tight.

"No more threats in the area," he reported. "The last of Varian's cursed are scattering south. But something's stirring."

Aria rose to meet him. "What do you mean?"

"Rumors," he said. "Other packs are watching. Some are rallying behind the Six. Others… not so much."

Aria's throat tightened. "They think we're a threat."

"They're not wrong," Kade said. "We shook the very blood of the Moonborn. What we did—it changes everything."

"Then we change with it," Aria said.

He looked at her with pride and worry.

"You know they'll test you."

"Let them," she said. "I'm done hiding."

---

That night, they lit a pyre for the fallen.

Dozens of rogue bodies—cleansed by fire, returned to the earth. Lyra stood with head bowed. Mira whispered a blessing. Reid offered a warrior's farewell in Old Tongue.

Kai said nothing.

Aria placed a hand over her chest, where her mark still pulsed.

Kade came beside her, their shoulders brushing.

"I keep thinking of what Selene said," she murmured.

He tilted his head.

"That this Circle wasn't just chosen—it was called."

He nodded. "She also said we'd need to make a choice."

Aria looked out at the flames.

"So let's choose."

---

By dawn, a plan was forming.

"We can't go back to being scattered," Aria said to the others. "We're stronger together—but that strength means responsibility."

Lyra squinted at her. "You're suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"A council," Aria confirmed. "One led by the Six. One where no pack stands above another."

Reid raised an eyebrow. "The Elders won't like that."

"They've had centuries to make things right," Kade said. "And they failed. We've earned this."

Mira stepped forward. "We make a haven."

Kai added, "We train the gifted. Protect the vulnerable. Hunt what remains."

Aria took a deep breath. "And we never become what Varian did."

Silence.

Then Lyra clapped once. "About time someone tore the old ways down."

---

Over the next three days, they moved like a wave of purpose.

Kai summoned survivors from the sands.

Reid sent signals to the lost Bloodfang warriors.

Lyra carved paths through forgotten trails, marking them with protective runes.

Kade scouted future territory for their new haven—deep in the mountains, where sky kissed stone.

And Aria—

Aria stood at the center of it all.

Not as a queen.

Not as a chosen one.

But as one of them.

Moonborn. Bound. Reclaimed.

---

But far away… in a realm not touched by light…

Something stirred.

Varian's ashes swirled through an obsidian sky.

An

d in the heart of shadow, a whisper curled into existence:

"Ash can become flame again."

And a new set of eyes opened in the dark.

Watching.

Waiting.