Blood in the Moonlight

Lyra's POV

I woke up yelling as pain shot through my bandaged hand like lightning.

The cut Marcus had made three nights ago wasn't healing. Instead, it was getting worse. The edges were turning black, and it throbbed with every beating. Something was very wrong.

I stumbled out of my sleeping corner in the slave cells, trying not to wake the others. The necklace around my throat felt heavier than normal, and the warm feeling it gave me was mixed with something else now. Something that made my stomach twist.

Through the small window, I could see Marcus walking toward the trees. He was carrying something small and dark in his hand. My heart jumped with excitement despite the pain in my palm.

Maybe he was going to meet me! Maybe he had a treat!

I slipped out of the rooms as quietly as I could and followed him into the trees. The moon was full tonight, casting silver light through the trees. My bare feet made no sound on the soft forest floor.

But as I got closer, I realized Marcus wasn't alone.

Three people in dark hoods stood in a circle around him. I couldn't see their faces, but something about them made my skin crawl with fear. They felt... wrong. Like they didn't belong in the natural world.

I hid behind a big tree and listened.

"Do you have it?" one of the dark figures asked in a voice that sounded like grinding stones.

Marcus nodded and pulled out a small glass bottle. Even from this distance, I could see the dark liquid inside. My blood. The blood from our "ritual."

"Fresh StarBlood," Marcus said, holding up the vial. "Just like you ordered." StarBlood? What was StarBlood?

The hooded figure took the vial with hands that looked too pale, too thin. "Excellent. The rite preparations are nearly complete."

"And my payment?" Marcus asked.

One of the other images tossed him a small bag that clinked with the sound of coins. Marcus caught it and smiled in a way that made my heart break into a million pieces.

He was selling my blood. For money.

"This is only the beginning," the first figure said. "We'll need much more before the new moon."

"How much more?" Marcus asked.

"All of it."

The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. All of it. They wanted all of my blood.

"You mean..." Marcus started.

"We mean the girl must die," the figure said simply. "Her blood is the key to waking our master. Without it, the ritual cannot be finished."

I pressed my hand against my mouth to keep from gasping out loud. They were going to kill me. And Marcus was helping them.

"When?" Marcus asked, and his voice was calm. Too quiet.

"Soon. We've been planning for this for twenty years, ever since we eliminated the last of her bloodline. She's the final piece."

Twenty years. The same amount of time I'd been living.

"What makes her so special?" Marcus asked. "She's just a weak slave."

The hooded figure laughed, and the sound made my bones ache. "She's the last StarBlood heir. The daughter of the royal line we thought we'd killed. Her blood carries the power of the old celestial magic." My parents. They were talking about my parents.

"The power has been sleeping inside her," another figure added. "But it's starting to wake up. We saw what she did to that bird in the mines."

They knew about the bird. They knew about everything.

"The necklace you gave her is working perfectly," the first figure continued. "It's been slowly taking out her power and making her weak. Soon she'll be ready for harvest."

The necklace. The warm, comforting necklace that made me feel linked to Marcus. It was killing me.

My hand flew to my throat, and I could feel the ring burning against my skin like a brand. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have trusted him?

"What about the pack?" Marcus asked. "They'll notice if she disappears."

"Let them notice," the figure said with a shrug. "Who's going to miss one dead slave? Besides, once we finish the ritual and our master rises, your little pack will be the least of anyone's worries."

"And you'll make me Alpha, like you promised?"

"Of course. You've served us well, Marcus. When the old world burns, you'll rule over the ashes."

I felt like I was going to throw up. Every word Marcus had said to me, every kiss, every promise – it was all lies. He didn't love me. He was going to let them kill me.

"There's one more thing," the first person said, reaching into his robes. "Give her this."

He gave Marcus a small bottle filled with dark liquid. "Put three drops in her food tomorrow night. It will make the final extraction easy."

"What does it do?" Marcus asked.

"It weakens her defenses. Makes her more... compliant. We can't have her fighting back when we cut her open."

Cut me open. They were going to cut me open while I was still alive.

I had to get away. I had to run. But my legs felt like they were made of stone.

"I should go," Marcus said, putting the bottle into his pocket. "If anyone notices I'm gone..."

"Of course. Remember – tomorrow night. Bring her to the old stone circle at midnight. We'll be waiting."

The hooded forms began to fade away like smoke, disappearing into the shadows between the trees. But their words rang in my mind: Tomorrow night. Midnight. Cut her open.

Marcus started walking back toward the pack territory, and I realized with horror that he was headed straight for my hiding place.

I pressed myself against the tree trunk, trying to make myself unnoticeable. Maybe he wouldn't see me. Maybe he would just walk past.

But as he got closer, I heard him humming softly under his breath. The same song he'd hummed when he kissed me. The same song that had made me feel so special.

Now it sounded like a funeral march.

Marcus stopped walking.

"I know you're there, Lyra," he said quietly.

My heart stopped beating. He knew. He'd known I was following him the whole time.

"You can come out now," Marcus added, and his voice was different than I'd ever heard it before. Cold. Empty. "There's no point in hiding anymore."

Slowly, I stepped out from behind the tree. Marcus was standing just a few feet away, but he looked like a stranger. The warm, loving expression was totally gone from his face.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

I couldn't speak. My throat felt like it was closing up.

Marcus smiled, but it wasn't the smile I remembered. This smile was sharp and nasty. "Everything, I'm guessing. You always were too curious for your own good."

"Why?" I asked. It was the only word I could manage.

"Why?" Marcus laughed. "Because I'm going to be an Alpha, Lyra. Because I'm going to have real power instead of serving someone else my whole life. And your blood is going to buy me everything I've ever wanted."

He took a step closer to me, and I saw something glinting in his hand. A knife. The same knife he'd used to cut me during our "ritual."

"The question is," Marcus said, his voice soft and scary, "what am I going to do with you now that you know the truth?"