Eternal desire

Chapter 3

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**Chapter 3: Blood Moon**

The night of the Blood Moon arrived with a quiet, eerie stillness in Crimson Hollow. The town seemed to hold its breath as the sky slowly darkened, the air thick with tension and anticipation. Amara, living with her mother in their small house on the edge of town, felt the weight of the night pressing down on her, though she couldn’t quite explain why.

Her mother had gone to bed early, blissfully unaware of the significance of the night. But Amara lay awake, staring at the ceiling, unable to shake the uneasy feeling gnawing at her. She had heard whispers of the Blood Moon from the locals—old legends about its power, its connection to the town, and the strange events that often occurred when its red glow filled the sky.

Eventually, exhaustion overtook her, and Amara drifted into a restless sleep.

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In her dream, she found herself standing in the middle of a dark forest, the trees towering above her like silent sentinels. The air was thick with fog, and the pale light of the Blood Moon filtered through the branches, casting long, shifting shadows on the ground. Amara’s heart raced as she took in her surroundings, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

Suddenly, she sensed a presence nearby. Her skin tingled with a strange awareness, and when she turned, Lucien was there, standing just beyond the tree line, his figure bathed in the crimson light of the moon. His eyes glowed with a familiar intensity, and his expression was unreadable, a mix of longing and sorrow that made her chest tighten.

"Amara," his voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it carried through the silence like a breeze.

She tried to speak, to ask him why he was there, what this dream meant, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she took a step closer to him, feeling that strange pull toward him again—the same pull she had felt since the first night she had seen him.

Lucien extended his hand toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. "You don’t belong here," he said softly, his voice filled with a mix of warning and something deeper—something Amara couldn’t quite place. "This place... the Blood Moon… it’s dangerous. For you. For us."

Amara hesitated, her heart pounding in her chest. She felt as though she were caught between two worlds—the one she knew and the one Lucien seemed to inhabit, a world filled with secrets and shadows, where danger lurked just beneath the surface.

"Lucien," she finally managed, her voice barely a whisper. "Why are you here? What does all of this mean?"

Lucien’s gaze softened, but there was a flicker of something dark in his eyes—something he was holding back. "I’m trying to protect you, Amara," he said quietly. "But I can’t… not if you stay."

Before she could respond, the dream shifted. The ground beneath her feet trembled, and the shadows around her deepened. Lucien’s figure began to fade, his form dissolving into the mist, leaving her standing alone in the dark forest as the Blood Moon loomed overhead.

"No!" Amara cried, reaching out for him, but it was too late. He was gone.

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Amara woke with a start, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She sat up in bed, her heart pounding in her chest, the vividness of the dream still clinging to her. The room was dimly lit by the faint red glow of the Blood Moon filtering through her window, casting an eerie light across the walls.

For a moment, she was disoriented, the line between dream and reality blurred. She could still feel Lucien’s presence, still hear his voice echoing in her mind. Her skin tingled with the memory of his touch, and a strange, unshakable connection to him pulsed deep within her.

She glanced at the clock on her bedside table—it was well past midnight. The house was silent, her mother fast asleep in the room down the hall. But Amara felt anything but peaceful. The dream had unsettled her, not just because of its intensity, but because of the way it had left her feeling—connected to Lucien in a way she couldn’t explain.

What did it mean? Why had she dreamed of him, of the Blood Moon and the warnings he had given her? And why, despite everything, did she feel as though Lucien wasn’t just a figure in her dreams, but something far more real?

Her mind raced with questions as she lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. The red glow of the Blood Moon filled the room, casting long shadows that danced across the walls. And as Amara drifted back into a restless sleep, the only thing she could think about was Lucien—his eyes, his voice, and the undeniable pull that drew her toward him, even in her dreams.

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The next morning, when Amara woke, the unsettling feeling from the night before lingered. She couldn’t shake the strange connection she had felt in her dream, nor could she ignore the deepening bond she seemed to have with Lucien, even though she barely knew him.

As she dressed and went downstairs, she knew one thing for certain: the Blood Moon had changed everything. And whatever had begun with that dream was far from over.

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