The moon should not have looked like that.
Not swollen.Not trembling.Not hanging in the sky like it was waiting for someone to call its name.
But it was.
Because of her.
Ronan held Evelyn's face gently, desperately, as if afraid the slightest movement would shatter her into pieces—or unleash something he couldn't stop.
Her eyes still glowed in two different colors:Silver-white.Shadow-violet.
Twin forces burning beneath her skin.
"Evie," he whispered, brushing his thumb against her cheek. "Talk to me. Are you in pain?"
Her breathing was ragged, uneven.
"No. Yes. I… I don't know. It feels like—"
Her chest tightened and she clutched the front of his shirt.
"—like everything is too loud."
Ronan immediately pulled her against him, one hand cradling her head.
"Focus on me," he murmured. "Just me."
But focusing on him was suddenly harder than breathing.
Because Evelyn wasn't just hearing the room.
She was hearing everything.
Every heartbeat in the packhouse.Every breath in the forest.Every creature shifting beneath the soil.Every shard of moonlight brushing the earth.Every ripple of shadow beneath the floorboards.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"It's too much—Ron—Ronan—make it stop—"
He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
"You listen to me," he growled, voice low, fierce, grounding. "You control this. Not the other way around."
But she shook her head, panic building.
"I can't—the moon, the darkness—they're both pulling me in different directions—I can feel everything—everything at once—"
Her voice cracked.Her power surged.
And every window in the council wing shattered.
Ash yelped and dove for cover.
Ronan didn't even blink.
He held her steady.
"Evie. You're not breaking. You're awakening."
She stared at him with wide, glowing eyes.
"What if it's too much?"
Ronan leaned in, his forehead almost touching hers.
"Then I'll carry the weight with you."
Her breath hitched.Her power flickered—light, then shadow, then both intertwining.
But the panic didn't vanish.
Because the more she felt, the more she sensed something else.
Something vast.
Something distant.
Something coming.
She gasped sharply, gripping Ronan's arms.
"There's something in the woods."
Immediately, Ronan's wolf surged to the surface.
"What did you feel?"
Her eyes unfocused—her mind stretching far beyond Moonfall.
"Not a person… not a pack… something else. Watching. Waiting."Her voice dropped into a whisper. "Moving toward us."
Ash stood, wiping glass from his hair."Bloodmoon?"
"No," Evelyn whispered. "Worse."
Ronan tensed."Shadowborn?"
"Not entirely."
Every torch along the hall flickered violently, then steadied.
Ronan stepped protectively in front of her again, muscles coiling.
"Evie—what do you see?"
She exhaled shakily.
"I see…"Her eyes widened."…the forest bending."
Ronan stiffened."The forest doesn't bend."
"It is now."
Ronan grabbed Ash's arm.
"Send scouts. Quietly. Whoever or whatever it is—I want eyes on it."
Ash sprinted out the door, barking orders.
But Evelyn… she was no longer listening.
Her gaze drifted to the window.
The moonlight shifted as she watched.
Not down—Not outward—But toward her.
Ronan saw it too.
"What the hell…"
The moonlight arced through the sky—thin, glowing trails like falling stars reversing direction—pulling straight into the packhouse roof.
Straight to her.
Ronan's heart slammed.
"Evie—move away from the window."
But she couldn't move.
Her mark throbbed hard beneath her skin.
"It's choosing me," she whispered.
Ronan seized her arms.
"The moon doesn't choose anyone. It responds to power, that's all. It's reacting to your shift—"
"No," she said softly.
And the room filled with an eerie, gentle hum.
Ronan froze.
Because the hum wasn't coming from the sky.
It was coming from Evelyn.
A living resonance.
A moon-song.
Ronan felt it in his bones.
"Evie," he whispered, fear finally cracking into his voice. "What is happening to you?"
She lifted her glowing gaze to him.
"The moon isn't reacting to me…"A cold shiver threaded down her spine."…it's recognizing me."
Ronan shook his head sharply.
"No. No, Evie, you're human—you're special, yes, but you're not—"
"Not human," she finished in a whisper.
The words hung between them like a blade.
Ronan swallowed.
His grip tightened.
"Don't say that."
But she wasn't listening.
A rush of energy burst through the roof as moonlight exploded downward, enveloping her in a brilliant halo of white.
Ronan threw his arms around her and held on as the force knocked furniture over and sent paintings crashing to the floor.
He refused to let go.
"EVELYN!"
Light swirled.
Shadow coiled.
And for a moment—just a moment—he saw a figure forming in the moonlight behind her.
Not the Shadow Father.
Something else.
Something brighter.Older.More dangerous.
A voice echoed through the room, soft and ancient and undeniably aware.
"The conduit awakens."
Evelyn's knees buckled.
Ronan caught her.
Her glowing eyes dimmed—But didn't return to normal.
Her voice was a whisper of dread.
"Ronan… I don't think the Shadowborn is the only one who wants me."
Ronan looked at her, jaw clenching.
"What else wants you?"
She swallowed.
"The light."
The temperature dropped.
And somewhere in the forest—
Two forces collided.
Shadow.Light.
As if fighting over who owned her first.
Ronan pulled Evelyn into his arms, heart hammering.
"Evie—whatever comes, whatever tries to take you—light, shadow, prophecy, gods—"He forced her to meet his eyes."—they'll go through me."
But Evelyn knew the truth.
This wasn't a battle Ronan could win.
Because this time…
The war was inside her.