Chapter 1
Elia’s POV
Today is my 18th birthday, yet sleep has eluded me all night. A strange unease coils in my stomach, an unshakable sense that something is coming. Though I am a triplet, I have never been able to tell anyone—not even my best friend, Emmy. Our secret is absolute.
Cora, Willow, and I were born at midnight under a blood moon. Since we were old enough to understand, our parents drilled one rule into us: never speak of it. They never explained why, and we never dared to ask.
I push open Cora’s door, only to find Willow standing rigid in the doorway. Her body is unnaturally still, her skin cold as ice despite the warmth of the room. Her irises glow an eerie blue, a sight that sends a chill racing down my spine. Her lips move, whispering the same haunting phrase over and over.
“Blood will spill, and many will die. Blood will spill, and many will die.”
The words claw at my mind, laced with something ancient and foreboding. It’s as if something else speaks through her, something not of this world. Then, as suddenly as it came, the presence vanishes. Willow blinks, her eyes fading back to their normal shade, confusion clouding her face. She sways, her legs giving out beneath her.
I barely catch her before she collapses.
