Luna
The monastery chapel was cold, but she didn't shiver.
Luna sat cross-legged in the center of the stone floor, a candle in front of her, untouched. The flame flickered weakly, struggling to stay alive in the soft draft that blew through the broken stained-glass window.
She tilted her head.
"Stay," she whispered to the flame.
It flared brighter—just a little.
She smiled.
Her mother and Isabella were talking quietly across the room. Papa had gone to check the perimeter. He always looked so serious now. Like something heavy lived in his chest.
Luna reached toward the candle, then stopped. She didn't want to hurt it. Just feel it.
She didn't know how she knew what to do. It was just… there. Inside her.
She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath.
Think warm. Think safe. Think Papa's arms. Mama's lullabies.
The flame danced higher. Stronger. Gold and red and white-hot. It didn't burn her.
It sang.
---
Isabella
"She's stronger than I expected," Isabella murmured, watching from the shadows.
"She's just a child," Raven whispered.
"She's a Santoro," Isabella corrected.
Raven sighed. "You always say that like it's supposed to mean something more than a curse."
Isabella turned to face her. "Because it is. You need to know something."
Raven's heart skipped. "What now?"
"When your daughter was born, Aurelio's mother left a letter. For you. I didn't know about it until recently. She hid it in her grimoire. I found it last week when I was cleaning out her trunk."
Raven stared at her. "And you didn't think to tell me sooner?"
"I wasn't sure it was safe to."
Isabella reached into her coat and pulled out a thin, time-worn envelope. Raven's name was written across the front in elegant, careful script.
Shaking, Raven opened it.
The words hit like thunder.
> If you are reading this, it means my son has awakened… and so has the child. She will be hunted, yes. But she will also be needed. There is a prophecy written long before us, Raven, and it speaks of a girl born of flame and eclipse. She is both light and shadow. She is balance. If she falls into the wrong hands… the world will not burn. It will break.
Raven's fingers trembled.
"She knew," she whispered. "She knew everything."
Isabella nodded. "She tried to stop it. But the prophecy is in motion now."
---
Elsewhere – Aurelio
He didn't hear the rustling leaves.
Didn't hear the shifting gravel behind the chapel steps.
But he felt it.
The pull in his blood. The way the flame inside him tightened like a fist.
He turned slowly… and saw the sigil carved into the tree line.
Fresh. Bleeding.
They were close. Too close.
He pulled his blade, already moving toward the dark.