The dimensional space broke with a violent snap, and Gloria, along with Eragon, was thrust back into the real world. They stumbled out into the school hallway, the faint light of the pocket dimension fading away behind them. Gloria felt a strange heaviness leave her chest, but her pulse still raced from the intensity of the battle. Eragon, still by her side, caught his breath, his dragon familiar retreating into the hidden space it occupied in the normal world."Hey! Where did you guys go? Haven't seen you since class began!" shouted Anna, her voice cutting through the silence of the hall.
She stood a few feet away with Jimmy, both of them oblivious to what had just occurred."Yeah, I wonder," Jimmy added, tilting his head in confusion as he eyed the two of them. There was something different about Gloria and Eragon now—something unspoken but palpable.Clara, another classmate, popped up beside them with a wide grin. "Oh, they were probably making out!" she teased, her voice dripping with playful accusation.Gloria's face flushed immediately, her cheeks burning.
Eragon turned red too, both of them too flustered to deny it. It was as if Clara had unintentionally hit on the very thing neither of them was ready to admit out loud yet. Their battle against the dypent had sparked something between them, something real.
This was the start of their relationship, though neither of them had fully realized it yet.Before Gloria could respond to the teasing, the atmosphere in the hallway changed—like a chill had swept through the air.
The other students, human and supernatural alike, tensed up as the unmistakable presence of Duke approached. Gloria's brother appeared at the end of the hall,As the tension in the hallway dissolved with Duke's departure, Gloria let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The weight of the encounter still lingered in the air, though, especially between her and Eragon. She felt the warmth of his presence next to her, and for a moment, their eyes met, a silent understanding passing between them. They had just faced death together, survived the pocket dimension, and fought off a soul-stealing serpent. It wasn't something easily brushed off.
"That was intense," Eragon muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck."Tell me about it," Gloria replied, offering him a small, weary smile. But inside, her thoughts raced. Duke's protective nature wasn't just overbearing—it was rooted in the fact that Gloria was far more important than she ever wanted to be. As the reincarnation of the Blood Moon Wolf goddess, she was key to the delicate balance between the supernatural realms. And Duke, with his vamplock lineage, understood better than anyone the threats that lurked in the shadows, waiting for any sign of weakness.Her fingers trembled slightly, the weight of the situation sinking in.
The dypent hadn't just been some random attack. It was summoned specifically for her. Ailson—her bully—had crossed a line that was far more dangerous than even she could have realized. A dypent wasn't an easy creature to summon, and it wasn't something a student could control lightly."Eragon," Gloria whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. The hallway had begun to fill up again with the usual school bustle, but they still had a moment of privacy.
"I didn't tell Duke everything. About Ailson."Eragon raised an eyebrow, his expression growing serious. "You didn't tell him she summoned the dypent?"Gloria shook her head. "No. If Duke finds out, he'll… I don't know what he'll do. It won't be good. I didn't want to start a war, not here, not now."Eragon's face darkened, and his dragon familiar stirred in the air beside him, the creature's presence flickering like a shadow only Gloria could sense. He exhaled slowly.
"I get it. But Ailson won't stop, you know that. If she's capable of summoning a dypent, who knows what else she can do?""I know," Gloria murmured, her chest tightening. She glanced over at the group of students down the hall, where Anna and Jimmy were laughing, completely oblivious to the gravity of what had just happened. For a moment, Gloria envied their ignorance. "But what am I supposed to do? If I confront her, it'll escalate.
"Eragon placed a hand on her shoulder, the warmth of his touch grounding her. "You're stronger than you realize, Gloria. You don't need to be afraid of her. You're the Blood Moon Wolf. Whatever she throws at you, you can handle it."Gloria's heart skipped at the sound of his words—the Blood Moon Wolf. It still felt surreal. That part of her, the goddess's power, had lain dormant for so long. She hadn't asked for it. She hadn't asked to be the key to some ancient balance of power.
But after facing the dypent, after awakening that hidden strength within herself, she knew Eragon was right. The goddess was in her, waiting, and her power was growing stronger by the day."I hope you're right," she whispered, but deep down, she knew he was."Hey, you two!" Anna called, waving them over with a bright smile. She and Jimmy were standing by the classroom door, waiting. "Class is starting!"Gloria and Eragon exchanged a glance, their moment of private conversation quickly evaporating as they rejoined their friends. They walked to class side by side, though Gloria's thoughts still whirled with the implications of everything that had happened.
The rest of the school day passed in a blur, and though Gloria tried to focus, her mind kept wandering back to Ailson. What had possessed her to invoke such a deadly creature? And how had she even known how to do it? It wasn't like Ailson had ever shown any signs of being particularly powerful. In fact, most of the time, her magic was sloppy—wild, uncontrolled. Something wasn't adding up.By the time the final bell rang, Gloria's nerves were on edge. She needed answers. She couldn't let this go unchecked any longer.
"Meet me after school," Gloria whispered to Eragon as they packed their things. "We need to figure out what Ailson's planning."Eragon nodded, his face serious. "Agreed."They walked out together, their footsteps echoing down the hallway. As they passed through the school courtyard, Gloria spotted Ailson in the distance, leaning against a tree with a group of other students.
Her eyes met Gloria's briefly, and a slow, smug smile curled on her lips. It sent a chill down Gloria's spine."She knows," Gloria muttered to Eragon. "She knows we survived.""Of course she does," Eragon replied, his voice tense. "But she doesn't know about your awakening. That's something in your favor."Gloria nodded, taking a deep breath. She had survived the dypent, and she wasn't the same powerless girl she had been that morning.
She was the Blood Moon Wolf, and though she still had much to learn, she wouldn't back down.As they reached the edge of the school grounds, a strange feeling washed over Gloria, like a distant hum of energy in the air. She glanced around, suddenly on high alert."What is it?" Eragon asked, noticing her shift."I don't know," she said, frowning. "Something's coming.
"Before Eragon could respond, the sky darkened, clouds swirling ominously overhead. A ripple of magic vibrated through the ground, and Gloria's heart began to race.Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly."Get ready," she whispered, her pulse quickening. "This isn't over yet."