Hour of the Moon

Chapter 29: The Pale Hymn of Fire and Blood

The moon was dying.

I felt it the moment consciousness clawed its way back into my body — a shift in the currents of the supernatural world, a breath caught somewhere between life and rot. The sky felt lighter yet heavier, as if something ancient had been torn from its throne.

And in the cold place behind my eyelids, I saw her.

Keiran — suspended in Akita's arms, her body half-light, half-shadow, as he pulled her back into the mortal realm. The vision cracked like glass, leaving me stranded in its aftermath.

I had to see her.

But I couldn't move.

Pain had rendered my body useless, and Wohali's appearance — the thing wearing his face — gnawed at my sanity. My limbs were stone; my heartbeat trembled. I drifted between dream and coma, barely anchored to existence.

"Hey there."

Nani's scent reached me before her touch — lavender, river moss, tears. Her warm palm cupped my cheek as I forced my eyes open. Her face blurred with grief, terror, and a kind of heartbreak I didn't deserve.

My shoulder throbbed where Wohali's teeth had torn into me. The memory chilled my blood. That creature had my brother's face, but not his soul.

"How's your sister?" I croaked, every word scraping my throat.

"She's okay. The baby's fine." Nani sniffed, trying to steady herself. "As soon as I got your telepathic message, I came straight here. Waya, you're burning up." She touched my forehead. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like shit."

I tried to sit up; she pushed me down gently.

"Take it easy. Your wounds aren't healing like they should. Where is Kachine? My parents? And Keiran—"

"Kachine and your parents are safe." Her voice softened. "Keiran is with Akita. The fae doctor. Ahiga found her in the woods and took her there. She's recovering, Waya."

Guilt sank into my bones.

"I should've checked on her when I left her there. I knew something was wrong that night. And the dreams—"

"The nightmares you've been having since Wohali?" she asked. "They're worse?"

"Different," I admitted. "I've been dreaming of Keiran ever since she arrived."

Silence.

Nani's expression went blank, the way it always did when she was bracing her heart against a blow.

"Waya," she whispered, "why?"

"She's not just human." The truth spilled out of me like blood. "The first time I met her, she... she stayed under my skin. Her scent—Elders, Nani, it drove me mad. I tried to push her out of my mind, but everything in me kept pulling back to her."

Her throat bobbed. Her eyes filled.

"I thought—after Wohali died—after everything we survived together... I thought you and I..."

"I know." My voice cracked. "I thought I would marry you. I tried to be the man you deserved."

She slipped her hand into mine and kissed my knuckles, her tears falling onto the sheets.

"I love you, Waya," she whispered, breaking. "But I won't cling to someone the moon has already claimed for another. I won't fight destiny for a man who can't promise me his whole heart."

A sob shuddered through her.

"I want to bow out gracefully," she said, voice small, "but I love you too much to pretend I'm not hurting."