Celeste's POV
"GET DOWN!"
Lucian's hand slammed into my shoulder, throwing me to the ground just as a blast of dark energy exploded where my head had been. The crystal wall behind us shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Seraphina!" I screamed, scrambling backward on my hands. "How did you—"
"How did I get here?" My stepsister laughed, her red eyes glowing brighter. "Oh, Celeste. You really are stupid, aren't you? Did you think the Moon was the only power in the universe?"
She raised her hands, and the shadow creatures behind her surged forward. They looked like wolves made of darkness, with teeth that dripped black poison.
"Council members, evacuate!" one of the elders shouted.
But they were too slow. The shadows were faster. They tore through the chamber, and screams filled the air.
Lucian moved in front of me, his sword glowing with silver light. "Stay behind me," he commanded. "Don't move. Don't speak. Don't even breathe loudly."
"But—"
"NOW!"
I'd never heard such authority in someone's voice. I froze, pressing myself against the broken wall.
Lucian moved like death itself. His sword cut through shadow creatures, each strike precise and lethal. But for every one he killed, two more appeared.
"You can't win, Prince," Seraphina called out mockingly. "I brought an army. You're just one man."
"I don't need an army," Lucian said coldly. "I just need to kill you."
He moved faster than my eyes could follow. One moment he was in front of me, the next he was right in front of Seraphina, his sword aimed at her throat.
But she smiled. "Too predictable."
She snapped her fingers.
A shadow creature materialized behind Lucian, its claws aimed at his back.
"NO!" I screamed.
Power exploded from my hand—the one with the mark. Silver light shot out like lightning, hitting the creature before it could touch Lucian. The shadow dissolved into nothing.
Everyone stopped. Even the fighting paused.
They all stared at me.
At my hand, which was now glowing so bright it hurt to look at.
"Impossible," one of the Council members whispered. "She shouldn't be able to use the power yet. Not without training."
But I wasn't thinking about training. I was thinking about how Lucian had just tried to protect me. How he'd thrown himself into danger for someone he'd called worthless.
And I'd saved him.
Me. Celeste. The invisible girl who'd never protected anyone in her life.
"Well, well," Seraphina said, her eyes narrowing. "Maybe you're not completely useless after all, sister."
"I'm not your sister," I said, my voice shaking but firm. "And you need to leave. Now."
Seraphina threw her head back and laughed. "Leave? I just got here! And I came all this way to collect what's rightfully mine."
"The Moon didn't choose you," Lucian said, moving back to stand beside me. His presence was cold but somehow reassuring. "Accept it and go home before I'm forced to kill you."
"The Moon," Seraphina spat the word like it was poison. "The Moon is weak. Old. Fading. But the Dark—" she gestured to the shadows around her "—the Dark is forever. And it promised me something better than being a Moonlight Bride."
"What?" I asked, dreading the answer.
Seraphina's smile turned cruel. "It promised me I could become the Bride by taking your place. All I need is your heart. Literally."
She lunged forward, moving faster than should have been possible. Dark claws extended from her hands, reaching for my chest.
Lucian met her halfway, his sword clashing against her claws. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber. More walls cracked.
"Run!" Lucian shouted at me. "Get to the sanctuary! Aria knows the way!"
"I'm not leaving you!" I didn't know why I said it. This man had been nothing but cold to me. Had told me I was going to die. Had called me weak and worthless.
But he was fighting for me. Protecting me.
And something deep inside me—maybe the Priestess, maybe just me—refused to abandon him.
"Foolish girl!" The Moon Priestess suddenly appeared beside me, grabbing my arm. "We need to merge now. It's the only way to save everyone."
"But I'm not ready!" I protested.
"You'll never be ready!" She pulled me toward her. "Trust me. Trust yourself. We're the same person, Celeste. We've always been the same person."
I looked at Lucian. He was bleeding now. Fighting three shadow creatures at once while keeping Seraphina at bay. He was strong, but even he couldn't hold out forever.
"If we merge," I asked the Priestess, "will I be strong enough to help him?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "You'll be strong enough to save everyone. But you have to choose now. Merge with me willingly, or watch them all die."
Some choice.
But really, it was the easiest choice I'd ever made.
"Okay," I said. "Do it."
The Priestess smiled. Then she pressed her forehead against mine.
Pain exploded through every cell in my body. It felt like I was being torn apart and put back together at the same time. Memories flooded my mind—not just my memories, but hers too.
A thousand years of life. Love. Loss. Power.
And one memory that stood out above all others:
Lucian.
Young. Human. Desperate.
Kneeling in a temple, begging the Moon Goddess to save his dying kingdom.
"Please," he'd whispered, tears streaming down his face. "Take everything from me. My life, my soul, my future. Just save my people."
And the Moon Goddess had answered. But her price was cruel: He would become immortal. Live forever. Watch everyone he loved die while he remained unchanged.
Including the woman he loved.
Including... me.
A thousand years ago, I'd been the Moon Priestess. And I'd loved a mortal prince named Lucian.
The memories crashed through me. Our first meeting. Our secret romance. The way he'd made me laugh. The way I'd made him believe in magic.
And the day I'd died, killed by dark forces that wanted to destroy the Moon's power.
I'd watched Lucian scream my name. Watched him beg the Moon Goddess to bring me back.
She couldn't. But she'd promised him something else: "One day, she'll return. And when she does, you'll know. You'll remember. And you'll have a choice—let her go, or bind yourself to her forever."
The vision ended.
I opened my eyes. But they weren't just my eyes anymore.
They glowed silver, just like Lucian's.
I looked at my hands. Power coursed through them—not just the Moon's power, but something more. Something ancient and new at the same time.
"Celeste?" Aria whispered, staring at me. "Is that still you?"
I smiled. "Yes. But also no. I'm... more now."
I turned toward the battle. Seraphina had Lucian pinned against a wall, her claws at his throat.
"Any last words, Prince?" she mocked.
"Yes," I said, my voice echoing with power I'd never had before. "Get away from him."
I raised my hand, and pure silver light erupted from my palm. It hit Seraphina like a tidal wave, throwing her across the chamber. The shadow creatures dissolved instantly, unable to withstand the Moon's pure power.
Seraphina crashed into the far wall and slumped to the ground. For a moment, I thought I'd killed her.
Then she stood up, laughing.
"There she is," Seraphina said, her red eyes gleaming. "The real Priestess. I was starting to think she'd never show up."
"Leave," I commanded, and my voice carried the weight of a thousand years. "Leave this place and never return. The Moon has rejected you. You have no power here."
"Oh, I have power," Seraphina countered. "Just not Moon power. But that's okay. What I have is so much better."
She raised her hands, and the air around her cracked. Reality itself seemed to tear open.
Through the tear, I saw something that made my blood freeze.
An eye. Massive. Ancient. Evil.
Watching us.
"The Dark God sends his regards," Seraphina whispered. "And he wants you to know—he's coming. And when he arrives, your precious Moon won't be able to save you."
Then she stepped backward through the tear in reality and disappeared.
The tear sealed itself. The chamber fell silent except for the sounds of injured Council members groaning.
I stood there, power still crackling around my hands, trying to process what I'd just seen.
A Dark God. An actual god, from the old stories. The ancient enemy of the Moon.
And Seraphina was working for him.
"Celeste."
I turned. Lucian stood behind me, his sword lowered. His silver eyes studied my face with an intensity that made my heart race.
"Do you remember?" he asked quietly. "Do you remember us?"
I did. The Priestess's memories were now mine. I remembered loving him. Dying for him. Promising to return.
"Yes," I whispered. "I remember everything."
Something flickered across his face. Relief? Pain? Hope?
"Then you know," he said, stepping closer, "that I've been waiting a thousand years for you."
"I know."
"And you know that the day you died—the day I became immortal—I swore I would protect you when you returned. No matter the cost."
"I know that too."
He reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away. When I didn't, he touched my cheek with his cold hand.
"Then you also know," he said, his voice rough with emotion he could no longer hide, "that I've killed every Moonlight Bride for the past twelve centuries. Not because I wanted to. But because I had to."
My blood turned to ice. "What?"
"The Brides weren't random," Lucian said, his eyes full of ancient pain. "They were practice. Tests. The Moon Goddess was trying to create the perfect vessel for your return. And every time a Bride failed—every time she wasn't strong enough to hold your soul—"
"You killed them," I finished, horror dawning. "You killed them to protect me. To make sure the Priestess didn't get trapped in a weak body."
"Yes." No apology. No excuse. Just truth. "I've murdered twelve innocent women. Watched them die knowing I was destroying futures, ending dreams, erasing lives. All so that when you finally returned properly, you'd be strong enough to survive."
He dropped his hand and stepped back.
"So now you know," he said flatly. "I'm not your protector, Celeste. I'm your executioner. I've just been waiting for you to become strong enough to kill."
The chamber fell deathly silent.
Everyone waited for my response.
I looked at this man—this prince who'd loved me a thousand years ago. Who'd waited for me through centuries of loneliness. Who'd killed innocent women to ensure I'd survive.
I should have been horrified. Disgusted. Terrified.
Instead, I felt the Priestess's memories surging forward. Her love for him. Her understanding.
"Why?" I asked. "Why tell me this now?"
Lucian's expression was blank, but his eyes betrayed him. They held a thousand years of guilt.
"Because," he said quietly, "the Dark God is coming. Seraphina is just the beginning. War is coming to the Lunar Court. And before you fight beside me—before you trust me with your life—you deserved to know the truth about mine."
He turned toward the door.
"Your training begins at dawn," he said. "Get some rest. You'll need it."
"Lucian, wait—"
But he was already gone, leaving me standing in a destroyed Council chamber, surrounded by shocked immortals, with new power coursing through my veins and old memories breaking my heart.
Aria appeared beside me, her face pale. "Miss Celeste? Are you okay?"
Was I okay?
I'd just discovered that the cold prince who'd been training me was my ancient lover.
That he'd murdered twelve women to protect me.
That a Dark God was coming.
That my stepsister wanted to rip out my heart.
That I was now part-Priestess, part-human, and completely confused about who I even was anymore.
"No," I told Aria honestly. "I'm not okay. I'm not okay at all."
I looked at the mark on my hand. It glowed brighter now, pulsing with power I still didn't understand.
Six months. That's what they'd given me.
But I had a feeling that with the Dark God involved, I'd be lucky to survive six weeks.
I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders.
"Come on," I said to Aria. "Take me to my chambers. I need to think. And tomorrow—"
I looked at the door where Lucian had disappeared.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to get some answers. Whether he wants to give them or not."