Elantra:
They say the moon has a voice for those destined for something greater.
But that night… it howled.
I sat cross-legged on my bed, my back against the old wooden headboard, wrapped in a blanket that offered little comfort against the unsettling chill that seeped into my bones. The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by the fading embers in the fireplace and the soft moonlight filtering through the cracked wind.
Outside, the forest was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
No howls, no hoots, no familiar sounds of wildlife marking the arrival of night in the valley. Just an oppressive silence. It weighed heavily on me, a warning that made the hairs on my neck stand on end.
My fingers grazed the crescent-shaped pendant resting against my collarbone. It was smooth, slightly tarnished silver, cooler than my skin, yet somehow vibrant. A small nick on the bottom curve reminded me of when I dropped it near the hearth at five years old, crying for hours until Miriam retrieved it from the ashes.
I had worn it every day since, never removing it, not even for a bath.
It was my only connection to a past I had yet to uncover.
But tonight… it felt different. It was warm. Not warm like jewelry warmed by the sun, but a pulsing heat, as if it had a heartbeat, linked to something beyond me. Something that was watching.
A soft knock at my door broke my reverie. I didn't need to ask who it was.
"Still awake?" Miriam's voice floated in gently.
"Can't sleep," I answered.
The door creaked open slowly, and Miriam entered, wrapped in her old lavender shawl that carried a faint scent of chamomile and thyme. Her braid was half undone, silver strands escaping around her face. She looked weary, but it was a weariness born from concern, not age.
She glanced at me and sighed, her smile a mix of warmth and sadness. "It's your birthday," she said as she settled next to me, the mattress shifting slightly under her. "Eighteen. I blinked, and you've grown into a woman."
I chuckled softly. "Don't let Orion know. He still thinks I'm nine."
That made her laugh, but it didn't reach her eyes. There was something deeper, perhaps an old sorrow or fear.
I noticed her eyes darting to the pendant, and her smile wavered.
I ran my fingers over the silver charm. "It's been… acting odd all day."
Her body tensed a bit. "Odd how?"
I paused, studying her. Then I said, "It gets really hot. And I swear, earlier it vibrated. Just for a moment. Like it was humming."
Her lips parted as if to respond, then closed again. She nervously fiddled with her shawl.
"Miriam," I said more assertively. "You know something."
She took my hand, her grip slightly shaky. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You were brought to us under a blood moon. I remember that night—the sky was red and low, the kind that makes you feel like the world is off-kilter. Orion found you on the healer's porch, wrapped in black velvet."
I stared at her, shocked. "You never mentioned that before."
"There was no note or basket. Just you, the pendant… and a whisper in my dreams."
The words lingered in the air like smoke.
"A whisper?" I repeated.
She nodded slowly. "A woman's voice. Clear as day. She said your name, "Elantra" and then she vanished. Like the wind."
I gasped. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Her eyes glistened with tears. "Because we didn't want to frighten you. We thought… maybe you wouldn't need to know."
I glanced at the pendant once more. It appeared to shine more brightly now. The moonlight struck it perfectly, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw it throb.
"Why do I feel like I'm a weapon?" I murmured.
Miriam's grip on my hand tightened.
"I can't say what you are, Elantra," she replied softly, "but I know you were never meant for a peaceful life."
It all began just after midnight.
One moment, I was on the verge of sleep.
The next, I was engulfed in light.
The pendant ignited, radiating a heat so fierce that I screamed. A blinding flash erupted from the charm, filling the room with brilliance. My body arched off the bed as the necklace disintegrated, merging into my skin.
Symbols burst into the air, swirling around me in intricate silver runes that pulsed with a rhythm I felt deep within my bones. It was like witnessing moonlight create a language, one I didn't comprehend but instinctively recognized as ancient. Divine.
"MoonLink Protocol activated. Luna of Balance identified."
I gasped, each breath burning like fire in my chest. The voice that spoke was not human. It was mechanical, smooth and feminine, yet laced with something otherworldly. Something beyond.
"Initiating Mate Selection Sequence. Three bond candidates located. Initializing sync."
"No—wait—!" My voice faltered, but the light surged again.
A heavy pressure slammed into my chest. My knees hit the floor with a thud. My body convulsed. My vision shattered into pieces, and then reformed.
I was no longer in my room. Not completely.
I was in another place. Somewhere in between.
And I saw them.
Three figures, shadowy yet distinct.
One had eyes like a storm, cold and sharp, like a blade ready to strike. His anger felt like an avalanche rushing toward me.
Another had hair like sunlight and a stance that exuded nobility. His smile was gentle, tragically so, and it carved something soft into my heart.
And the third… his eyes were a wild green. A scar ran across one cheek. He smiled like a devil at a party.
I felt their presence. All of them. Their energy collided with mine, merging and separating like ripples on water.
"Three will rise. One will fall. Only one will survive."
Then the light shattered.
It imploded with a thunderous crack, and the world rushed back in an instant. I fell onto my side, my body drenched in sweat, gasping for air as if I had been drowning.
I blinked.
The pendant was missing.
In its place, just above my heart, a silver crescent moon was burned into my skin. Not merely a mark.
A brand.
"Elantra!" Miriam's voice echoed from down the hall. Her footsteps sounded muffled, distant, as if I were submerged underwater.
She rushed into the room, her nightgown tangled around her legs, her braid undone.
When she saw me, sprawled on the floor, breathless, glowing, her face fell.
"No," she whispered. "Not now…"
She knelt beside me, brushing my hair away from my face, her hands shaking. "Elantra, sweetheart, please talk to me. What happened?"
I couldn't respond.
I was fixated on the object on the floor.
A feather.
Delicate. Silver. Faintly glowing like a dying star.
It pulsed once.
Like a heartbeat.
I sat up slowly, every muscle quaking, as Miriam leaned over me. She held my face gently, just like when I was a child, after scraping my knee or waking from a nightmare.
But this wasn't a nightmare.
And I hadn't woken up.
"Miriam," I croaked, touching the mark on my chest. "What's happening to me?"
Her face twisted in concern, and her voice faltered. "It's beginning. The prophecy… it's true."
Before I could inquire about the prophecy, something else occurred.
The mirror across the room shimmered.
It didn't shatter or break, it rippled, similar to how a pond's surface moves when a single drop falls.
I turned to face it, my breath hitching.
And there she was.
The girl in the mirror.
She was my exact double. Same hair. Same face. Same body.
But her eyes…
They shone.
Bright silver. Not like moonlight, but as if the moon itself resided within her irises.
And her expression, it wasn't one of fear. She appeared calm. Confident. As if she held knowledge I lacked. As if she had been anticipating this moment.
Behind her stood three figures.
Shadowy. Silent. Observing.
The same three I had seen in my vision.
My voice trembled. "Who are you?"
The reflection didn't respond verbally.
She whispered deep within me, her voice intertwined with mine like an echo from another version of myself.
"The mates have awakened, Elantra. And time is no longer on your side."
The mirror became motionless.
And for the first time in my life…
I felt like prey.