Chapter 10: Moon Magic Backfires
(Aria’s POV)
The barrier cracked with a deafening snap, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Hunters poured through the gap like black smoke, red eyes glowing with triumph. The fight turned chaotic in seconds.
Kael pushed me behind a large glowing stone. “Stay low! Use your light only if you have to — and keep it controlled!”
But control was the one thing I didn’t have.
My silver light was already pulsing wildly in my hands, feeding off my fear and exhaustion from the failed shift. Every time a hunter got too close, the light flared brighter, like it had a mind of its own.
Mara fought nearby, creating sharp silver blades of light. She glanced at me with pure frustration. “If you blast one of us by accident, I swear I’ll drag you out of the academy myself!”
I bit my lip and tried to focus. “I’m trying!”
A hunter broke past Kael and charged straight at Lila. Without thinking, I thrust my hands forward.
“Get away from her!”
A blast of silver light shot out too strong, too wild. It slammed into the hunter and dissolved it into smoke, but the recoil was brutal. The light bounced back and hit the ground near Lila, cracking the earth and sending her stumbling.
Lila barely kept her shield up. “Aria! Watch it!”
“I’m sorry!” I cried, horror flooding me.
Mara’s voice cut through the noise like a whip. “See? This is what I meant! She’s a walking disaster. Her power backfires more than it helps!”
Kael appeared beside me, breathing hard, fresh scratches on his arms. “Ignore her. Focus on me. Breathe with the moon, not with fear.”
He grabbed my hands again. The warm spark flowed between us, steadying the light for a few precious seconds. But the moment he let go to fight another hunter, the wildness returned.
Another hunter slipped through the gap and headed straight for a group of younger kids who had come to help.
My heart lurched. I couldn’t let them get hurt.
I raised my hands and pushed every bit of power I had into the blast.
The silver light erupted brighter and more chaotic than ever. It destroyed the hunter in one hit, but the explosion was massive. The blast wave knocked three of our own fighters off their feet, including Leo, who tumbled across the ground in wolf form.
Leo shifted back to human, coughing. “Whoa… that was too much!”
Mara stormed over, eyes blazing. “Enough! You almost took out half the defense line! Your so-called ‘Key’ power is useless if it hurts us more than the hunters do!”
Tears stung my eyes. “I was trying to protect them…”
“Trying isn’t good enough!” Mara snapped. “You’re a liability. The pack was safer before you showed up with your glowing hands and your cursed bloodline.”
Kael stepped between us, his voice low and dangerous. “Mara, one more word and I’ll have you removed from the fight.”
Mara laughed bitterly. “You’re defending her because you like the way she looks at you. But when the hunters break through completely because of her unstable light, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The barrier cracked again, louder this time. More hunters poured in. The fight was turning against us.
I felt sick with guilt. Every time I tried to help, my power backfired and made things worse. Max was somewhere in the dorms, probably terrified, and it was all because my light had called the hunters here.
Kael turned to me, his golden eyes urgent. “Aria, you have to trust yourself. The moon didn’t choose you to fail. Breathe. Control the flow.”
I nodded shakily and raised my hands once more. This time I tried to picture the gentle silver moon instead of raw power. The light steadied… for about three seconds.
Then a massive hunter bigger than the others smashed through the largest crack in the barrier and charged straight toward Kael.
Without thinking, I screamed and released everything I had.
The blast was enormous.
It destroyed the hunter instantly… but the recoil was catastrophic.
The explosion threw Kael backward into a stone wall. Lila’s shield shattered. Stones cracked all around us. I was blasted off my feet and slammed into the ground hard.
Pain exploded through my body.
When the light finally faded, the fight had stopped for a moment. Everyone stared at the damage, cracked walls, injured pack members, and a huge scar in the ground where my blast had hit.
Kael pushed himself up slowly, blood on his forehead. He looked at me with a mix of worry and exhaustion.
Mara stood over me, her voice ice cold. “Congratulations, Key. You just did more damage to the academy in one blast than the hunters have done all night.”
I lay on the ground, trembling, tears streaming down my face.
My power had backfired again.
And this time, it had hurt the very people I was trying to protect.
Kael knelt beside me, his warm hand gently touching my shoulder.
But even his touch couldn’t hide the truth.
My light was becoming more dangerous with every use.
And if I didn’t find a way to control it soon, I might destroy the only safe place we had left.