Chapter 44 – After The Eclipse

• The dawn after the Blood Moon came slow and gray, bleeding over the horizon like a hesitant apology. The sky wore bruises — soft purples, fading reds, and thin veins of gold breaking through the remnants of night. The wind was cool, heavy with ash and silence, and the ruins of the Moonfire Academy stood still beneath it — hollow, scorched bones of what once was a place of power, laughter, and hope.
• No birds sang. No wolves howled. Even the air seemed to hold its breath, as if mourning alongside those who had survived the night.
• Lucien walked barefoot across the shattered courtyard, each step crunching against broken stone and forgotten dreams. The cold earth bit into his skin, grounding him to the pain he couldn’t escape. His shirt was torn, streaked with dried blood and soot, and his hands trembled though the battle had long ended.