✨ Chapter 55 – The Coming of the Six
The battlefield had begun to break.
Charmcasters collapsed.
Elementals dropped to one knee, gasping.
Mentalists held shields that flickered like dying stars.
The courtyard stones themselves cracked as the Moonbeast shifted beneath the forest.
The tremors grew violent, and Ariana's bracelet cracked deeper—silver veins racing across its surface like lightning trapped in metal.
Her moon-fire flickered wildly.
"Kai—" Ariana gasped, clutching the bracelet.
"It's—breaking—on its own—!"
Kai caught her as she fell forward, his arms strong but trembling.
"No—no, Ariana, don't push anymore—your aura's collapsing."
"I have to," she whispered.
"If the lines fall—everyone—"
A blast of corrupted magic slammed into Kai from behind.
He flew backward, hit the ground hard, and skidded across the broken stones.
"KAI!"
Ariana tried to run toward him—
But a corrupted wolf launched at her.
Instinct took over.
A blade of moon-fire erupted from Ariana's palm, slicing the creature apart.
But the force of the power knocked her backward. Her wolf panicked.
"Seal breaking! Stop! STOP!"
Her bracelet pulsed violently—
Crack.
A huge fracture split straight through the center.
Ariana clutched her wrist as pain shot up her arm.
Morwenna laughed from the treeline.
"Your seal is failing, Moonborn.
Break it—break it now, before it kills you."
Ariana shook her head, tears stinging her eyes.
"No… not yet… not like this…"
And as the corrupted horde surged forward—
The world shifted.
A shadow blotted out half the battlefield.
Something massive fell from the sky—
not a creature,
not a spell—
A person.
BOOM.
A crater formed.
Then another figure landed beside him.
BOOM.
Then four more.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The earth split from the impact.
Students froze.
Vampires halted mid-charge.
Even the corrupted hybrids backed away.
Ariana's breath caught.
Because she recognized those six silhouettes instantly.
Her brothers.
Her six older brothers.
All of them.
And their auras burned bright enough to light the entire courtyard.
Morwenna's Shock
Morwenna stumbled half a step back.
"What—?" she hissed, eyes narrowing.
"No. No, impossible—
You shouldn't be here—your father—your bloodline—your HOUSE—"
Orion Sterling, the eldest, stepped through the settling dust.
Black hair.
Emerald eyes.
A presence so heavy it bent the air.
"Morwenna," he said, voice calm and deadly,
"You seem surprised."
Morwenna's jaw clenched.
"You weren't supposed to interfere. The Sterlings NEVER interfere."
Lucian and Lyr, the twins, stepped forward like mirrored flames.
Lucian smirked, fire curling around his arms.
"Sorry," he said lazily.
"Family emergency."
Lyr's psychic aura pulsed silver.
"We don't sit home while our sister fights a war."
Kade's wolf eyes glowed violet.
"You attacked Ariana. That's all we needed to know."
Soren spun his spear once, sonic energy vibrating the air.
"It's been years since we stretched our legs. This'll be fun."
Rheon drew his wind-forged sword with a cold smile.
"Let's end this."
Morwenna hissed, genuinely rattled now.
"You were forbidden from entering academy territory."
Orion shrugged—massively.
"Our father changed his mind."
Ariana snapped her head toward him.
"He—he let you come?"
Orion glanced at her, eyes softening only for her.
"You're our sister, Aria.
Of course he did."
Kade rolled his shoulders.
"And he said—and I quote—
'If Ariana is on that battlefield, bring her home alive. Anything less and don't bother coming back.'"
Ariana swallowed.
Kai, at her side again, wiped blood from his lip and muttered,
"…I love your dad."
Orion heard him.
He didn't react.
Kai took that as approval.
The Brothers Surround Ariana
The six Sterlings stepped into formation around Ariana without a word.
A perfect circle.
Each facing a different direction.
A formation Ariana knew since childhood—
the Sterling War Circle, something whispered in stories and military archives.
Kai stood with them, just behind Ariana—
not as an outsider,
but as someone who'd fought with them before.
Lucian nodded at him.
"Kai. You alive?"
Kai smirked.
"Barely. You?"
Lyr answered for his twin.
"Annoyed. They made our sister cry."
Kai's eyes darkened.
"Then let's fix that."
Orion spoke quietly, urgently.
"Aria. Can you stand?"
Ariana willed her legs to move.
Her wolf rose to support her.
Kai helped her up carefully.
"I—yes," she gasped.
"It's just—the bracelet—It's going to break soon—"
Orion didn't flinch.
"Good."
Ariana blinked.
"…what?"
Soren stepped closer.
"You're stronger without it."
Kade cracked his neck.
"And we'll be here to keep you steady."
Lyr added softly:
"You don't have to control everything alone anymore, Aria."
Ariana's eyes burned.
Kai placed his hand over hers.
"Not anymore."
Morwenna Loses Control
Morwenna's expression twisted with fury.
"No! NO! This was not in the prophecy—
YOU SIX WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO COME!"
Orion tilted his head.
"Sounds like a planning problem."
Lucian snorted.
"Amateur."
Morwenna's aura exploded in red-black waves.
"You think you can stop me?
You think you can stand against Rebirth?!"
Rheon stepped forward, sword gleaming.
"No."
He pointed at Ariana.
"She can."
Ariana inhaled sharply.
Kai's voice was low against her ear.
"She's right."
Her brothers all looked at her with the same expression—
not fear
not pity
but belief.
Belief that she could do this.
Ariana trembled.
Kai squeezed her hand.
"Ariana, you're the strongest person on this field."
Her wolf echoed:
"Strongest.
Moonborn.
Rising."
The Sterling War Formation
Orion lifted his enormous blade.
"Sterlings," he commanded.
"Formation Alpha."
The air itself shivered.
Each brother's aura ignited:
Lucian — a ring of fire
Lyr — shimmering psychic blades
Soren — sonic pulses vibrating the stones
Kade — wolf claws extending, violet energy striking
Rheon — wind forging into jagged blades
Orion — earth and elemental force rumbling beneath his feet
Kai added his own golden wolf aura, standing next to Ariana as if he belonged there.
Ariana stepped into the center—
And the entire formation recognized her.
The center point.
The core.
The star.
Orion's voice thundered:
"Protect the Moonborn."
The six brothers roared:
"YES!"
Kai added:
"Always."
Ariana felt her heart burst.
Morwenna Attacks
Morwenna lifted her hands.
"Then die with her!"
A tidal wave of corrupted magic surged across the battlefield—
enough to flatten a city.
Ariana's bracelet cracked violently—
splitting halfway.
Kai screamed:
"ARIANA!"
The brothers braced.
Ariana raised her hands—
Moon-fire burst from her palms.
Her wolf howled:
"BREAK.
RISE.
FIGHT."
The bracelet pulsed—
one last desperate flicker.
Morwenna's attack collided—
And Ariana's moon-fire answered.
The battlefield exploded in silver and red.