“Alora?” Rune stroked her cheek, startling her out of her thoughts. “I must go. The Blood Moon rises.”
She gasped softly and looked out the window. The sky was burnt crimson, the full moon glowing red and that terrifying presence lingering on the other side of the veil.
“The Sleeping Curse…” She murmured, her eyes widening.
It was the day it would be broken.
“After tonight, everything will change.” Rune kissed her head.
“But you haven’t told me how?” she said.
His thumb caressed her cheek. “The eclipse is the source and the key. The one night when the veils thin and magic restores what should never have been altered.”
Alora opened her mouth to reply but no words came. She watched Rune slip out the door as understanding hit her with terrible clarity.
The key…
Vorak wanted her power, so the only answer was to lock it away.
Permanently.
Reaching into the pocket of her dress, she pulled out the crimson spindle in her trembling hand.
Sleep opens the door… then a dreamless sleep might seal it.
As if Vorak sensed her plan, the wind howled outside and his shadowless form appeared on the mirror.
“Daughter.”
Alora flinched at the coldness in his tone.
“What are you doing?”
A sharp smile rose to her lips. Then her instincts were right, because she heard more than anger in his voice. “You gave me the key to unlock your door, Vorak. But keys work both ways.”
“Alora.”
She ignored his sharp warning and the growing shadows rattling the cabin as she threw on her cloak.
A gust blew against her as she dashed out of the door, searching for Rune.
“Defy me and I will kill him.”
Still, she ran, as that presence chased her through the forest. “Rune!”
He was nowhere to be found. The land turned red beneath the Blood Moon, and the shadows surged around her.
Power surged in her veins. Markings flickered on her arms, glowing like white roots. Magic throbbed in her chest, guiding her through the night.
A tree cracked and reformed, turning into an opening of light. Alora spared no time to think. She leaped through the portal and fell before shadowed feet.
She looked up at a horned creature with glowing red eyes. Eyes she recognized.
“Rune…” she whispered, falling back.
He stared at her, inhaling a sharp breath. Leathery wings twitched above his shoulders. And behind him lingered hounds made of bone and darkness, growling. Shadows curled between his clawed hands, as if she had caught him in the middle of making more creatures from the dark.
More like him.
