“Do you want to live?”
He nods weakly.
I place my hand over his heart, close my eyes, and whisper the Moon’s Benediction. It’s a simple healing prayer; one every Luna is taught. His breathing becomes steady, and the blood flow slows.
When I rise, the arena is quiet.
“She spared him,” someone finally whispers.
Another voice, “That’s the duty of a Luna. To heal and to save.”
Esme lifts her voice above the murmurs. “Freya Vale-Thorne has passed all three tests. By law, she stands Luna of Silvercrest.”
Cheers rise—Nightfell, Silvercrest, even from Ravencourt.
But Thane doesn’t clap. His expression is cold and unreadable.
“Not yet,” says a voice, smooth and chilling.
A woman steps forward. Her hood falls back, revealing a pale face, eyes brown as the earth. It takes a second to understand the resemblance.
She’s Izel’s mother. Nyssa.
“I challenge the verdict,” she says. “By Lunar law of blood-bond and lineage, one bound by the challenger’s blood may invoke theTrial by Blood.The victor claims the Luna’s crown. The fallen forfeits life.”
TRIAL BY BLOOD
Freya
“Is that… Nyssa? The blood-witch?” someone from the High Council whispers. “But she’s dead—”
“No,” Kade growls from his seat. “She’s not.”
I don’t know how he’s holding himself back from immediately killing her.
Nyssa spreads her arms as if welcoming the moonlight. “Did you miss me, Silvercrest?” Her voice carries smoothly to the rows. “You burned my name, buried my memory, but blood remembers.” Her gaze cuts to Thane. “And blood calls for balance.”
Thane smiles faintly. “You took your time.”
She smirks. “Chaos ripens best when left to rot. Shall we begin the Trial by Blood?”
Rowan rises to his feet, voice thunderous. “The High Council can’t allow this! It’s an outlawed rite!”
Esme protests, “We no longer recognise such a trial.”
“How the fuck did you get into the council?” Thane asks irritably. “Shut up, girl. A Trial by Blood will happen.”
The rest of the High Council members murmur in agreement, silencing Esme and two other members who raise their voices in support.
The High Council itself stands divided.
Izel joins her mother. “I won’t lose this time, Freya,” she sneers.
I step into the center, realising it’s me against the world now. “We’ll see.”
The blood moon hangs right above us now. The drums begin again, faster.
Thane announces, “You know what’s most interesting about this trial? There are no rules.”
