Chapter 1 Captured Under the Moon

I could feel the temple's ancient magic pulsing against my skin as I slipped through the shadows. The Frostclaw werewolves had taken what wasn't theirs—the Moon Tear Gem, our clan's most sacred relic. Without it, my people's magic would continue to wane with each passing moon. I, Rowan Blackwood, the last Stargazer of the Moonshadow Witches, couldn't let that happen.

The werewolves' sacred temple loomed before me, its stone walls carved with runes that glowed faintly blue in the darkness. I'd chosen tonight deliberately—three days past the full moon, when their powers would be beginning to recede. My own magic felt stronger under the waning gibbous, silver energy thrumming through my veins.

"You're not supposed to be here," I whispered to myself, pulling my cloak tighter. "But neither is our gem."

I pressed my palm against the cold stone wall, feeling for weaknesses in their magical barriers. The werewolves were creatures of instinct and physicality; their wards would be strong but straightforward. I closed my eyes, concentrating until my left eye—my grandmother's legacy, the silver-gray eclipsed eye—began to ache.

There. A tiny fluctuation in their defenses, barely perceptible.

I slipped through, moving like water between shadows. The Moon Tear would be kept in their inner sanctum, where the alpha conducted his most sacred rituals. I'd memorized the temple layout from our clan's ancient texts, yellowed pages depicting a time before the centuries of bloodshed between our kinds.

The sanctum door was heavy, reinforced with bands of what looked like ordinary iron but which I recognized as star iron—metal forged from fallen meteors, one of the few materials that could suppress both witch magic and werewolf strength. I traced my fingers along the engravings, feeling for the locking mechanism.

"Revealing light from shadow cast," I whispered, drawing a sigil in the air. My fingertips left trails of faint silver light that illuminated the complex locking mechanism. Three turns counterclockwise, one clockwise, then...

The door swung open silently.

Inside, the sanctum was sparse but beautiful. Moonlight streamed through a circular opening in the ceiling, illuminating a central altar of white stone. And there, gleaming with inner light, sat the Moon Tear Gem—a teardrop-shaped crystal that seemed to contain the very essence of moonlight itself.

I approached cautiously, scanning for traps. Nothing obvious presented itself, but that only made me more suspicious. The wolves wouldn't leave their prize unguarded.

"Seven steps to cross," I counted under my breath. "Six... five..."

On the third step, I felt it—a faint vibration beneath my feet. I froze, but it was too late. The floor beneath me illuminated with starlight patterns, forming a complex binding circle. Star iron dust rose from the cracks in the floor, swirling around me.

"Clever," I admitted, already summoning my magic. Silver vines erupted from my fingertips, seeking purchase against the walls to pull me free. But the star iron dust clung to them, weighing them down, burning them away.

A low growl from the shadows sent ice down my spine.

"I wondered how long it would take for one of you to try stealing it back." The voice was deep, resonant with power. A figure stepped into the moonlight—tall, broad-shouldered, with features that would have been classically handsome if not for their severity. His eyes reflected the moonlight like a predator's.

Prince Calder Draven of the Frostclaw Clan. I'd seen him from afar at diplomatic meetings, but never this close. Never alone.

"It wasn't stolen," I said, chin raised despite my predicament. "It was borrowed without permission. I'm simply returning the favor."

His laugh was mirthless. "Is that what they're calling theft among witches these days?" He circled me, studying me with unsettling intensity. Around his neck gleamed a collar of star iron, marked with runes I couldn't quite decipher.

"The Moon Tear belongs to my people. It sustains our magic."

"And you thought you could just walk in and take it?" He was closer now, close enough that I could see the six claw marks that scarred his right forearm—self-inflicted, according to rumors, to remember some ancient hatred.

"I did get rather close," I said, nodding toward the gem.

His eyes narrowed. "You triggered every alarm we have. I knew you were here before you crossed the outer wall."

That wasn't possible. My concealment spells were flawless. Unless... I glanced at his collar again, understanding dawning. The runes weren't just for suppression. They were sensory enhancement spells—perverted witch magic repurposed for werewolf use.

"That collar," I said, "is an abomination."

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Says the witch with forbidden blood magic at her fingertips."

I needed to escape. The star iron trap was weakening my magic by the second, and if I didn't act soon, I'd be at his mercy. I summoned my strength, focusing on the silver vines still extending from my hands.

"Thorns of moonlight, rise and bind!" I commanded.

The vines shot upward, stronger than before, aiming for his throat. One wrapped around his arm, another lashed toward the collar at his neck. He moved with inhuman speed, but not quite fast enough. A vine sliced across the collar's surface, cutting partially through the metal.

At the same moment, he lunged forward, transforming as he moved. Where a man had stood, a massive black wolf now leaped, its jaws closing around my throat—not breaking skin, but holding me immobile. His fangs pressed against my jugular, a clear message: move and die.

But something strange happened. As my vine cut his collar and his fangs touched my skin, a jolt of energy surged between us. My left eye burned with silver fire, and an answering light glowed from beneath the fur of his paw—a star-shaped scar.

The wolf's eyes widened in what could only be shock. The pressure on my throat eased slightly, though he didn't release me. A strange resonance built between us, like two tuning forks vibrating at matching frequencies.

Voices and footsteps approached rapidly. The wolf—Calder—growled low in his throat, a sound of frustration rather than threat. He shifted back to human form in one fluid motion, though he kept a firm grip on my arms.

"My Prince! We felt the power surge. Is everything—" An older werewolf burst into the room, followed by several guards. He stopped short at the sight of us, his eyes widening as he looked from Calder's damaged collar to my glowing eye.

"Elder Thorne," Calder acknowledged, his voice strangely hoarse. "We have an unexpected... situation."

The elder approached slowly, his gaze analytical as he circled us. "The resonance pattern," he murmured. "I haven't seen this in..." He trailed off, suddenly dropping to one knee. "The prophecy. It cannot be."

"What prophecy?" I demanded, still struggling against Calder's grip.

Elder Thorne looked up, his eyes alight with what could only be described as religious fervor. "For centuries, our seers have spoken of the Starfire Twins—one born of moon shadow, one of frost and claw. When their marks resonate as one, the ancient fires will return."

"That's absurd," I said, even as I felt the unmistakable pull between my magic and something within Calder. "We're enemies."

"Perhaps that is precisely why," the elder said cryptically. "Prince Calder, this changes everything. The witch cannot be harmed."

"She was trying to steal the Moon Tear," Calder protested, though his grip on me had loosened.

"And now she is the key to something far more valuable." Elder Thorne stood, addressing the guards. "Send word to the Moonshadow Clan. Tell them we have their Stargazer, but also tell them of the resonance. They will understand."

I laughed bitterly. "You think my people will believe your convenient prophecy? They'll see this as kidnapping."

"They will believe," the elder said confidently, "when they see this." He gestured to where the moonlight struck Calder and me. Between us, the air had begun to shimmer with tiny particles of light—like stars falling in slow motion, connecting us with threads of luminescence.

Calder's eyes met mine, his expression a complex mixture of disbelief, anger, and something else I couldn't identify.

"What happens now?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.

The elder's smile was both triumphant and ominous. "Now? Now we negotiate a new future, Stargazer. One where wolf and witch stand together against the darkness that comes."

As the guards surrounded us to escort me to wherever they intended to hold me, I cast one last glance at the Moon Tear Gem on the altar. I had come to steal back a relic and instead had become entangled in something far more dangerous—a prophecy, a resonance, and a connection to the one man I had every reason to hate.

Calder must have followed my gaze. "The gem stays," he said quietly. "But so do you, witch. At least until we figure out what this means."

I lifted my chin. "My name is Rowan Blackwood, not 'witch.' And if you think I'm staying willingly, you understand nothing about me."

His smile was grim. "I think we're both about to learn a great deal about each other, Rowan Blackwood. Whether we want to or not."

As they led me from the sanctum, I could still feel the pull between us, an invisible tether that seemed to strengthen rather than weaken with distance. Whatever this "resonance" was, one thing was clear: my mission had failed in the most spectacular way possible.

And something told me this was only the beginning.