Chapter 3: Sneaking into the Woods
(Aria’s POV)
Mara’s words followed me like a shadow as I slipped back through the academy gate and into the dark woods.
“Careful, Kael. Some keys open doors… and some keys open graves.”
My glowing hands lit the path in front of me, but right now they felt heavier than ever. The silver light pulsed with every heartbeat, leaking out even when I tried to hide it in my hoodie pockets. Every step made the light brighter, as if the moon was reminding me I couldn’t run from what I was.
I had to get home fast. Mom would wake up soon, and Max… I couldn’t let him see me like this. If the hunters followed my light back to the house, my little brother would be in danger because of me.
The forest felt alive and hostile on the way back. Every rustle of leaves made me flinch. Every shadow looked like it had red eyes hiding inside it.
“Calm down,” I whispered to myself. “Just get home. Check on Max. Then figure out how to turn this off.”
But the moon wasn’t finished with me.
“Aria…” the soft voice returned, gentle but urgent. “The hunters can smell your light. They will come for your brother if you don’t learn control soon.”
My stomach twisted painfully. Max was only thirteen. He still believed in superheroes and thought magic was something fun from movies. If anything happened to him because my stupid glowing hands had called the hunters…
I started running faster. My glowing hands bounced at my sides, casting wild silver shadows on the trees around me.
Suddenly, a low growl echoed from my left.
I skidded to a stop, breathing hard. “No… not again…”
A single hunter stepped out from behind a thick pine tree. It was smaller than the ones at the academy, but its red eyes burned with the same hunger. Smoke curled around its long claws as it tilted its head, studying me like I was prey.
“The Key…” it rasped, voice like dry leaves scraping together. “So bright. So easy to follow home.”
My light flared wildly. “Stay away from my house!”
The hunter laughed — a cold, rattling sound that sent chills down my spine. “Your light called us. Your brother’s scent is already in the air. Sweet young power…”
That was all it took.
Terror and anger exploded inside me. I thrust my hands forward. “I said stay away!”
A wild blast of silver light shot out. It hit the hunter in the chest and made it screech, but the power was too uncontrolled. The backlash slammed into me like a punch. Sharp pain shot up my arms and into my chest. I gasped and dropped to one knee.
The hunter staggered but didn’t fall. It grinned with smoky teeth. “Weak. Deliciously weak.”
I tried to stand, but my legs felt like jelly. “Kael… Lila… someone…”
No one was coming. I was completely alone.
The hunter took one slow, deliberate step closer. “Give yourself to us now, Key. Or we take your brother first and make you watch.”
I couldn’t let that happen.
Gritting my teeth through the pain, I pushed myself back up and raised my glowing hands again. This time I tried to remember what Kael had told me: breathe with the moon, let it guide me.
The light steadied slightly. I pictured protecting Max, protecting my new friends, protecting the only family I had left.
“Leave us alone!” I shouted.
A cleaner, stronger beam of silver light flew from my palms and slammed into the hunter. It howled in agony and dissolved into black smoke, scattering into the night air.
I stood there panting, sweat dripping down my face. My hands were still glowing, but the light was dimmer now. The pain in my arms had faded to a dull, throbbing ache.
“I… I did it,” I whispered, half in shock.
But the victory didn’t last long.
As I started running again toward home, I heard more distant howls, multiple voices this time. Were they the pack coming to help? Or more hunters answering the call of my light?
I burst out of the woods and into our backyard just as the back door creaked open.
Max stood there in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “Aria? What are you doing outside so late? And… why are your hands glowing like that?”
My heart stopped.
I quickly shoved my hands into my hoodie pockets, but it was too late. The silver light was still leaking out around the edges, casting a soft glow on the grass.
Max’s eyes widened with excitement. “Whoa… is that real magic? Can I touch it?”
Before I could answer, another low growl echoed from the woods behind me — closer than before.
Max froze. “What was that sound?”
I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the house, slamming the door shut and locking it with shaking fingers. My glowing hands trembled as I leaned against the wood, trying to catch my breath.
“Max, listen to me,” I whispered urgently. “You can’t tell Mom anything. And you have to stay inside tonight, no matter what. Promise me.”
He looked scared now, but also curious. “Aria… are we in trouble? Those sounds… they sound like monsters.”
I didn’t know how to answer him.
Because outside, the growls were getting louder.
And my unstable silver light was still leaking through my pockets, calling the hunters straight to our house.