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The Moon Triumphs Alone

EMILIA

M y sister was born with her sun in Ophiuchus. She was the snake—or rather, the serpent bearer. Yet as I stepped into the Sphere at the crack of dawn for Intentions, with the golden serpentine constellation blaring down upon me, it was I who felt like a snake. I had shed my skin more times than I could count lately. Each time I thought the transformation had to be complete, I was thrust into a new situation that expanded my soul and tightened my skin, making it so suffocating and restrictive, that I had no choice but to burst free from it.

The phantoms of myself—all of my old skins—lay in shreds around me, haunting me. Yet I did not desire to step back into them, no matter how tempting it was to retreat into familiarity.

Last night there had been a crazy thunderstorm. Mostly over the city, but I’d heard the crashes of it from my bed. LA hadn’t seen such storms in decades.

I couldn’t help but think of my sister. Record-breaking storms taking place on her birthday? How very Nyx.

This morning, the sky was crystal clear.

I unrolled my yoga mat and spread it out. For once, I wasn’t bombarded with eyes and whispers. The novelty of me was wearing off.

The Luminary stood in the center, waiting for us to assemble ourselves into a circle around her.

Destiny showed up later than usual. She didn’t even glance my way. She chose a spot far from me, her gaze down. Faye was with her, and she gave me an apologetic shrug. I swallowed down the hurt. I had known this was coming.

My best friend was pissed at me because I chose not to involve her in a life-risking scheme.

I had to live with it. It was better than the alternative.

“Hey.” Venus appeared at my side, unrolling her mat beside mine. My heart tumbled at how nonchalant she was, taking her place next to me. She wasn’t even flanked by her henchwomen. Her crimson hair was tied up in a top knot, her face fresh and free of makeup. She wore red sweatpants and a tight-cropped tank top. I had never seen her look so casual. “How are you feeling?”

I stared at her.

Her expression turned wry. “Still in shock?”

“Uh… No, I’m fine. Are you?”

She rolled her neck and stretched her arms. “I’m good.”

Destiny was staring now. No— glaring . With the furious heat of a thousand judgmental Virgo suns.

Venus scoffed under her breath. “She’s a bit more territorial than your average friend , isn’t she?”

My brows narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Venus smirked but didn’t elaborate.

I was about to demand she explain what she meant but the Luminary began leading us into meditation. I reluctantly followed along, but I was the antithesis of relaxed. My mind was reeling, wondering why in the seven hells Destiny was so angry. She knew that Solaris was a master manipulator. Why did she have such a hard time believing Venus? She didn’t need to be her best friend but come on.

We were in desperate times. We needed all the manpower we could get.

If I could forgive her, then why couldn’t she?

My thoughts spiraled around and around until the tinkle of chimes indicated our meditation was complete.

If only I could say the same for my ruminating.

The day dragged on.

I spent half of it in Astrology class with the Water Priestess as she gave a lesson on the origins of Celestials magic.

“How many of you have noticed a correlation between your Astrological placements and the expression of your elemental magic?”

More than a few girls raised their hands.

I shifted slightly in my seat, feeling forever behind in this strange world.

I hadn’t really thought about it. My sun sign was in Virgo, which was earth element, so I didn’t quite follow how this worked.

“And how many of your elements line up with your sun sign?” Only two girls in the class raised their hands.

I felt a wave of relief that most of us had our hands down.

“For the majority of Celestials, the elemental expression of their magic comes from the position of the moon at the time of their birth.”

I had a Scorpio moon which was water.

Deep, dark, icy water.

“The moon controls the Earth’s tides,” the Priestess explained. “Water is symbolic of the subconscious—of our inner world. Magic and emotion are two sides of the same coin. So, our moon sign, which governs the inner realms of our emotional selves, in turn, governs which element our magic manifests as. It’s not the case for everyone, as the show of hands proved. But it is for most. Usually, when someone’s element matches their sun sign, it also matches several other placements in their birth chart. It is the dominant element, so to speak. The sun triumphs with high numbers. The moon triumphs alone.”

I did find the topic interesting, but my brain had too much noise inside of it to stay focused.

When we were dismissed, I ran straight to my room and locked the door. I could not endure elemental duels today. They could come hunt me down if they wanted, but they’d have to drag me kicking and screaming.

To my relief, no one came.

I spent the rest of the day getting lost in a book—a fiction book. It was disgustingly romantic and smutty because I needed the mental break. Nothing like a sizzling romance to take your mind off reality.

It worked, for a couple of hours. But eventually, I found my eyes losing focus, the words turning to smudgy blurs. Reality crept back in, nagging at me.

When the sky outside my window darkened, I found myself opening my closet and picking an outfit for dinner. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what my motive was, but I felt like I needed to go. For me? For Nyx? I couldn’t decide. A nudge inside my chest pushed me to get ready.

I chose the sparkling deep blue dress, again. My options were limited, and even though this dress was a gift from Destiny, it still was one of the few things I owned that felt like me . I applied a generous amount of mascara to my lashes and did my lips in dark mahogany.

The girl in the mirror was bold. Striking.

I was paler now, too. I’d hardly spent any time in the sun recently. Before I’d come to Luna Academy for the first time, my mother had made me go tanning . It had seemed so ridiculous but she’d scorned my moonlit complexion and warned me that I’d burn in the LA sun if I didn’t get a base tan first.

Now, I’d shed that skin and finally looked like me .

The hallways were already empty as I descended from the dormitories. I was a little late, but for once, I wasn’t nervous. It took me aback, but it was true. I would walk through the portal alone and arrive for dinner by myself.

“Who am I?” I muttered aloud.

Nyx would be proud.

The door in the Stone Gardens awaited me, its dark surface rippling. I sucked in a breath, steeling myself.

Then paused.

My heart started to race, my skin flushing with goosebumps. Out of nowhere. I glanced around, feeling like I was being watched, but I saw no one.

When I turned back to the portal to step through, it felt wrong.

I narrowed my eyes. I couldn’t explain the sensations firing off inside me but they were strong .

A wistful breeze manifested right next to me and trilled deeper into the garden, beckoning me to follow. The weepy vines rustled with the playful spirit, their glowing enchanted flowers seeming to sing to me. The fireflies fluttered past me into the darkness, summoning me with their lights.

A scuttle from the bushes startled me, but before I could even gasp, a white rabbit hopped out from them. It stood on its hind legs in the middle of the stone pathway, its fur so bright it nearly glowed, its nose twitching as it sniffed the air. Then it looked directly at me.

We stared at each other in silence for what could have been seconds or lifetimes.

Then he darted away, disappearing around the bend.

Without a beat of hesitation, I followed him. Venturing through the meandering pathways of the garden, I just missed him each time. I’d catch a glimpse of his fluffy white tail darting around the corner. Glowing flowers lit the way for me, fireflies zinging about excitedly. I inhaled the heavenly scents, my brain going clear for the first time in what felt like forever.

Perhaps it was mad, but I sensed no danger.

The rabbit led me to the Reflection Pool. I found him sitting at the water’s edge, waiting for me.

I hadn’t been here since the Water Priestess had read my blood in the water. The surface of the pool was as still and clear as glass, reflecting the world like a mirror.

“You are a mysterious little fellow,” I told the rabbit. He didn’t shoot away when I crouched down and sat, only a few feet from him.

The Stone Gardens were a place of tranquility and magic. The calmness that loosened my muscles and slowed my reeling mind was the influence of the enchanted flora. I embraced it, letting my eyes fall shut as I listened to the music of the crickets.

When I looked up again, the rabbit was gone.

I blinked at the spot he’d been sitting in. “How strange.”

I dipped my fingers into the cool water and twirled them, making little whirlpools. A few fireflies dared to investigate me, darting past my nose, and leaving little streaks of their fiery light in the air around my head.

Their lights reflected on the water as they flew over it. But even when they passed to the other side, the lights remained. No, wait. Not lights— stars . I watched through wide eyes as two constellations emerged from the depths to twinkle on the surface.

“Lyra and Draco,” I gasped, my heart tumbling. I glanced up at the sky, but the stars above me were sparse and scattered.

The water wasn’t reflecting these constellations. It was…showing them to me.

Mine and my sister’s Star Origins. Our different origins.

Sisters in this life. But not in the cosmos.

My eyes burned, a hard lump forming at the back of my throat. Tears spilled over my bottom lashes and dripped into the water as I leaned over it, admiring—and mourning—our stars.

“Please,” I begged the water. I didn’t know what I was asking for, but the desperation burned inside me.

The stars shifted again, morphing out of the formation of the Lyra and Draco constellations. They reformed to display three new ones—Virgo, Scorpio, and Cancer. My big three.

Scorpio grew, eclipsing the other two.

“I don’t understand!” I cried.

The Scorpio constellation twinkled menacingly before black plumes started spewing from its center. Thick, inky darkness erupted from within it until it took over the water completely and I was staring into a murky abyss.

“No!” I croaked, lurching forward as if I could scoop the stars from the water and keep them forever.

But they were gone. The pool was dark.

I slumped back, wallowing in foolish defeat. What was the point of that? Was it some sick, cosmic joke? Nyx had always said the Goddess was cruel. Perhaps she was right. Every single day I was forced to be haunted by my sister’s constellation in the Sphere. I had to endure her absence, bombarded with constant reminders of her, while no one else cared unless they were demonizing her.

I was a social pariah—a spectacle, a tragedy.

Their world went on without missing a beat while my world was in an apocalypse.

My friends had abandoned me. Michael and I were estranged. The only person who was by my side didn’t care about me—she was using me for her own agenda. I had no one.

Someone snorted.

I jumped and whirled in the direction of the sound.

The breath vanished from my lungs, the sounds and lights from the garden fading into nothing.

I gaped in crippling astonishment.

I couldn’t feel my body. Wasn’t sure if I was breathing.

Perched on a rock on the far end of the Reflection Pool, bright, fathomless eyes stared at me. His broad chest glimmered, smoke seeping from his flared nostrils, studying me.

The dragon cocked his head. His eyes gleamed with curious amusement, like a cat inspecting a Christmas tree. He had his leathery wings folded neatly back. I almost couldn’t believe that this was the same dragon I’d seen after the Clash of Spirits. He had grown an impossible amount.

But it was undeniably him . His gilded scales were as golden and majestic as I remembered. Some of them had darkened now, though. The crown of horns on his head, along with some cascading down his neck, and his front claws were all obsidian black. His eyes beamed silver-ish blue like he had moonlight trapped in his skull.

He matched my sister exactly—a collision of the sun and moon.

I glanced hopefully over his shoulder as if I might find her behind him. But there was nothing except thick bushes and glowing flowers. All which seemed privy to his presence. The entire garden had fallen silent.

“Hello,” I whispered. “You…you’re here.”

He made another snorting sound, blue sparks spitting from his nose.

I giggled. It was childish of me, but I couldn’t help myself. He was wondrous . A little terrifying, too.

I blinked, half expecting him to vanish, and for this to have all been in my head. But he remained on the rock, never taking his eyes off of me.

“Nyx must be obsessed with you,” I breathed. “She’s always believed in dragons, you know. When we were kids, she used to lead me through the forest behind our house to look for one.”

As the words left my lips, my heart began to throb. My eyes stung. I hadn’t thought of those memories in forever . It seemed like lifetimes ago. I’d forgotten that me and Nyx used to be best friends.

The dragon slithered off of the rock into the water. The movement was so quick and fluid, that I barely had time to register it. He submerged himself completely, his body glowing in the water as he swam toward me. I breathed heavily, watching him, stunned. He did not look like an aquatic creature but moved through the water like he was.

His head popped out in front of me. The water rolled off him, his scales drying in less than a second. He didn’t come out of the water—just his neck and head, and the top half of his wings, which were enormous compared to the rest of him.

Our faces were inches apart and half of me was fucking terrified. He was glorious and mythic—but lethal. His horns gleamed like daggers, his fangs visible even though his mouth was closed. He could bite my head clean off if he wanted. Or unleash a torrent of flames that would leave no traces of me behind to be discovered.

The other half of me, the illogical, magical part of me, was fearless.

I’d been called here tonight for a reason. To come face to face with my sister’s dragon.

He regarded me, and the way his eyes held mine, I felt like he could see into my mind. That he could read the triumphs and tragedies of my soul. My cheeks were drenched, my tears dripping into the water. But I was smiling.

And then his face blurred and a vision burst behind my eyes. The night sky, deep and velvety. A comet shot across it, leaving a trail of fiery white light in its wake. The light morphed into a dragon. A pale dragon with opalescent scales the color of moonlight, icy lilac eyes, a furry mane, and a snake’s body. It slithered through the stars, vanishing among them.

I blinked rapidly as the vision faded. When it did, the Reflection Pool was still and empty. I searched around me for my sister’s dragon, but he was gone.