The scream rolled across the mountain like thunder dragged over iron—
low at first, then rising into a pitch that didn't belong in any mortal throat.
Evander flinched and clapped his hands over his ears.
"What—WHAT was that?! That was not human! That was not even ALIVE!"
The Heir's shadows recoiled violently, instinctively forming a wall around Lysandra.
"That was a Starved," he murmured.
"But not a fragment. Not the broken one we saw.
This one… is larger."
Lysandra's pulse stuttered.
She felt the echo of that scream behind her ribs, sharp and cold, like her bones understood it before her mind did.
Liora lifted her silver gaze to the cavern ceiling.
"It has sensed the Heart's awakening. It comes to consume what it lost."
Evander swore loudly.
"Can we go ONE hour without something wanting to eat the universe?"
Lysandra steadied herself against the fractured heart.
Though mended, the core still trembled, its silver glow flickering like a candle caught in wind.
The cosmic whisper inside her mind returned—
"Moonblood… danger…
protect the heart…
protect… us…"
Lysandra touched her forehead.
The voice was stronger now, threaded with panic.
"We can't stay down here," she whispered. "If the Starved arrives, it'll tear the mountain apart."
The Heir nodded grimly.
"And if it devours the heart now, it will become whole again—
but corrupted."
Evander froze.
"You mean… it turns into a giant cosmic monster on steroids?"
"Yes," the Heir said bluntly.
"Fantastic," Evander muttered. "Love that for us."
Liora stepped away from the heart, her luminous robes drifting behind her like soft moon smoke.
"Then we move. Quickly. The heart is stable enough. It will follow her when needed."
Evander blinked.
"Follow her? It MOVES now?!"
Liora didn't smile.
"It moves with its binder."
Lysandra swallowed.
"I don't feel like a binder," she whispered.
"You will," Liora said simply.
A second scream tore through the mountain—
closer this time—
so close the cavern floor vibrated beneath their feet.
Evander grabbed Lysandra's waist.
"OUT. NOW."
The Heir led them up the tunnel they had come through, shadows pushing loose rocks aside. The frost along the walls glittered violently, reacting to the tremors rippling through the stone.
Lysandra stumbled once, but Evander caught her.
Liora walked last—gliding, not touching the ground—as if the mountain itself parted for her.
But halfway up the passage, the air shifted.
A throb.
A pulse.
A gust of cold air that rushed downward so fast it nearly knocked them off balance.
Then—
A whisper drifted through the tunnel.
Not a voice.
Not words.
Just pure hunger.
Evander shuddered.
"I hate this. I HATE THIS."
The Heir halted abruptly.
"We're not alone."
Something moved above them.
The scrape of limbs.
The drag of something heavy along stone.
A wet clicking sound, like teeth against bone.
Evander whispered,
"Tell me that's you breathing weird."
"That is not me," the Heir replied flatly.
Lysandra's wolf bared its teeth inside her.
Starved.
Close.
Too close.
A chunk of stone broke from the ceiling and crashed down beside them.
Evander jumped ten feet back.
"NOPE. DONE. TIME TO RUN."
But Liora lifted a hand.
"Still yourselves."
Her voice was calm, but Lysandra noticed a faint tremor under the calm—
as if even Liora feared what approached.
A shadow fell across the tunnel mouth.
Something enormous blocked the exit—
a mass of jagged limbs, writhing tendrils, and shifting darkness.
Not solid.
Not fully formed.
A Starved fragment—
but larger than any they'd seen.
This one was almost whole.
Evander staggered back.
"NO—NO—NO—Nope. Absolutely not. That thing is the size of a HOUSE."
The Heir stepped in front of Lysandra.
"Moonblood, stay behind us."
But the creature's faceless head twitched—
and then snapped toward Lysandra.
It felt her.
"…Moon… blood…"
The whisper hit her skull like icy water.
Evander yanked her hand.
"Lysandra, don't you DARE—"
But she stepped forward.
Not because she wanted to.
Because she had to.
Her chest burned—
the silver thread from the core tugging like a heartbeat being pulled from within her.
The Starved creature screeched, the sound sharp enough to rattle the cavern.
Liora raised both hands, silver light swirling around her.
"Do not move toward it, child!"
Lysandra froze.
The creature slammed one limb into the tunnel wall, sending boulders raining. Evander dragged Lysandra away from the falling rock.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ROCKS?!" he yelled.
The Heir's shadows whipped upward, forming a partial barrier between them and the Starved.
But the creature pushed through, its limbs glitching through solid stone.
"This one is desperate," Liora whispered.
"It seeks the heart. It seeks the lost piece."
Evander shouted,
"Then LET'S NOT BE NEAR THE HEART!"
But Lysandra shook her head.
"It's not hunting the heart."
The creature slammed its limbs again.
The tunnel floor cracked.
Dust rained down.
"It's hunting me."
The Heir grabbed her waist.
"That is why we move. Do NOT let it touch you."
But the creature lunged—
too fast—
too close.
Evander reacted instinctively—
grabbing Lysandra's arm and pulling her flush against him, shielding her with his body.
The Heir's shadows surged upward in a violent wave.
Liora raised a barrier of moonlight.
For one breath—
all three forces collided.
Golden warmth.
Shadowed force.
Silver moonlight.
The Starved screeched, limbs flailing as the combined blast tore it backward down the tunnel.
Evander gasped.
"Did—did we kill it?!"
The Heir shook his head.
"No. We only pushed it back."
Liora floated forward, her silver aura blazing brighter.
"It will return.
And when it does, it will be stronger."
Lysandra steadied herself, breathing hard.
The light around her chest flickered.
"We need to get out of the mountain," she said.
"We need open sky."
Liora nodded.
"Yes. The Starved cannot fully manifest under the moon."
Evander blinked.
"Oh GREAT. So we're racing a cosmic monster up a collapsing mountain. Love that. Perfect date night."
But they ran.
The tunnel shook with every step.
Dust filled the air.
The creature's screech echoed behind them.
At the final bend, Lysandra stumbled—
her silver aura flaring violently.
Evander caught her again.
"Lys! Stay with me!"
"I'm—trying—" she gasped.
Her wolf snarled.
Healers don't fall.
Binders don't break.
Move.
They burst out of the tunnel mouth just as the Starved slammed into the wall behind them, pulverizing stone.
Moonlight flooded over them.
Liora stepped onto the snow, raising her hands.
Silver beams erupted from her palms, sealing the tunnel entrance with a shimmering barrier.
The Starved crashed into it from inside.
The barrier cracked.
Evander pulled Lysandra farther into the open.
"This barrier won't hold!"
Liora's voice was tight.
"It must hold long enough."
"Long enough for WHAT?!" Evander shouted.
Lysandra lifted her head—
Because she felt it.
A pulse.
Not from the core.
Not from her.
From something older.
The moon itself.
The Heir turned sharply.
"There. Look."
In the sky—
a ring of silver light formed around the moon, glowing brighter and brighter until the night looked like dawn.
Liora whispered,
"The Lunar Veil opens."
Evander blinked.
"The WHAT?!"
Lysandra stared, breath caught in her chest.
The silver ring expanded—
spinning softly—
like an eye opening.
And as it opened,
so did something inside Lysandra.
Her silver glow brightened—
her veins lighting through her skin—
her heartbeat syncing with the Veil.
Her wolf whispered:
We are seen.
We are chosen.
We are called.
Evander backed up a step in awe.
"Lys… you're—
you're glowing brighter than the moon…"
The Heir whispered,
"The next phase has begun."
Liora turned to Lysandra.
"Moonblood…
Binder…
you must now claim your role."
Lysandra swallowed.
"Which role?"
Liora pointed at the glowing sky.
"The role only you can take—
before the Starved break free."
A deafening crack split the barrier behind them.
The Starved howled.
And the Lunar Veil blazed above them,
waiting.