Moonlight: Darkness Before Dawn (&TEAM)

Chapter 1

"Good morning, priestess!"

That was the greeting that Zira woke up to. Her gaze went to the person seated on the chair beside her bed.

"Who are you?" she asked and looked around the room.

She felt as if she had slept for a very long time, and she awoke in a place that appeared familiar but felt strange at the same time.

The girl jolted from the chair, her gaze fixed on the floor and her hands on her back. Zira rose slowly and put on the robe she had summoned with her hand.

"Pardon me for my rudeness, priestess. My name is Zel, and I'm the head's new apprentice. It was an honor to be assigned to and serve our lady Héloïse."

"How long have I been sleeping?" Zira asked as she left her bed and gestured her hand to open the window. As the curtains parted, the early morning sun streamed into her room.

"You have been asleep for a week, priestess."

Zira furrowed her brows and looked at Zel, who avoided her gaze. "A week?"

Zel nodded.

How?

She tried remembering what had happened before falling asleep but could only recall the ritual night. Her memories were still foggy, and she couldn't recall what else followed.

"I have prepared a warm bath for you, and breakfast awaits you at the dining table, priestess."

Something feels very different.

"All right, thank you. You're free to leave," she said, and the apprentice ducked her head before exiting the room.

Zira sat in the chair and tried to figure out why she had been asleep for so long. Lianna is also nowhere to be seen. Even though she had questions, she took off her clothes and walked to her bathroom. Today would be her last day at her cabin before transferring to the tower next to Kianna's house.

When she sat in her bathtub, memories of events flashed through her mind: her Nana's death, the departure from their cabin in Lunaville, and the arrival in the village.

She slowly submerged herself in the water by laying her back in the tub. As she closed her eyes, new memories flooded her mind. They were everything she did in the village with her whole clan, her parents, the elders, Kianna, the Asteria clan, and Keon. From one scene to the next, they showed up very quickly.

She gasped for air as she sat up and wiped her face.

Is this an after-effect of the ritual?

When she woke up, she felt very uneasy and knew only one person could help her find answers.

I need to meet Kianna.

*

Kianna walked from one of her magical plants to the next, tending to the leaves and feeding them a little mana. The plants, which were black and purple, made a soft screeching sound as they asked for more.

"You're becoming so greedy," she chuckled, showering them with her mana again.

She turned around and walked to the table where her familiar Magnus was drinking tea while looking at the shiny marbles he found during travel.

Crow things.

Kianna sat across from him, pouring herself a cup of tea. "How did it go?"

"Such a pleasant tea, by the way," Magnus said after taking a sip and setting the cup on the table. "It went very well. The Ministry of Mages has identified Lianna and me as two of the few familiars capable of assuming human form. She only recently discovered this ability; not even her master knew it. Because of this and her healing abilities, she will be sent to another dimension to assist the other mages in that special mission."