Aria Wynter's POV
The hurricane roared, as if it had expected me to return. Rain cut across the glass, transforming the outdoor arena into a flurry of twisted forms and flashing lights. I tightened my grasp on the guide wheel, my knuckles turning white against the leather. Ashwood town loomed ahead, its skyline ragged and shattered, capped by the frightening silhouette of the Blackwood Business Tower. The town had not changed. It remained a shelter for shadows and secrets, where horrors roamed disguised as ambitions.
I hadn't been here in five years. Not because the night I left everything behind—the house, the memories, the sadness. And Lily.
My adolescent home's driveway had crumbled and become overrun with weeds. The once-pristine yard had become a wild tangle, and the old very well tree stood skeletal against the lightning-lit sky. I sat in the car for a long time, staring at the house, each breath deeper than the last. My hand paused at the door handle before I eventually opened it, the rain immediately soaking through my coat and into my flesh.
The house door creaked in protest as I drove it open. The fragrance of damp timber and rotten air hit me like a wave, bringing with it memories I wasn't ready to confront. The faint outlines of faded wallpaper indicated where pictures used to hang, but are now long gone. I closed the door behind me, the sound of its slam unsettlingly loud in the silence.
I flicked on the living room light, but the bulb flickered briefly before dying out altogether, plunging the room into gloomy shadows. My phone's flashlight cuts through the darkness, illuminating a room frozen in time. The couch on which Lily and I had spent countless nights laughing and conversing was covered in dust. A mug remained deserted on the cafe desk, its contents long gone.
I had not expecting the recollections to be so difficult. My chest clenched as I ran my fingertips along the couch's armrest. A memory surfaced: Lily tossing popcorn at me, her eyes bright with laughter. "You're hopeless, Aria," she joked, her tone light and careless. However, that became before. Before she vanished. Before I failed her.
I stepped closer to the desk near the window, seeking something to ground myself. It became covered in papers—most yellowed with age, others smudged with ink. Among them, I discovered a comic strip featuring a symbol I somewhat recognized. My heart skipped a beat as I drew the jagged lines. It became identical to one of Lily's vintage notebooks, the exact image I had seen years ago during her investigation.
The Lunar Bloodline.
The words resonated in my mind, laden with meanings I couldn't help but recognize. Lily had immediately left a voicemail, her voice agitated and almost incomprehensible. "Aria, if anything happens to me, look into the Lunar Bloodline. It's important. "Promise me you will—" The message had ended there, and no matter how many times I replayed it, no responses ever came.
I flicked through the papers, finding more sketches and notes, all written in Lily's untidy scrawl. Some had symbols reversed in scarlet writing, while others had statements that made my stomach turn: strength, prophecy, menace.
The sound of glass shattering caused me to freeze. My breath caught in my throat as I examined the room, my heart pounding in my chest. Lightning illuminated the glass, but I could not see anything outside.
"still as reckless as ever, aren't you?"
The voice sent chills down my spine. I became aware of Detective Nathan's movement status in the doorway, his coat drenched with rain. His black gaze shifted to the papers in my hands, his expression opaque.
"What are you doing right here?" I requested, trying to keep my voice steady.
"I'd like to ask you the same question," he said, taking a step closer. "You made it obvious you weren't coming back. "So, why now?"
I hesitated, not sure how much to tell him. "personal reasons."
He raised an eyebrow. "Non-public motives, huh?" You always had a penchant for understatement. His gaze tightened. "that is approximately Lily, isn't it?"
I did not respond, and the stillness spread among us. He sighed, moving a hand through his rain-soaked hair. "Aria, I get it. However, searching into her case now—it will no longer convey her. It will most effectively put you in danger."
"I'm not concerned about the threat," I said, my voice shrill. "She turned into my sister. "I owe her this."
Go moved closer, his expression softening. "And what takes place when the solutions you discover aren't the ones you're seeking out?"
I didn't react to that. Instead, I returned to the table and brushed my palms over Lily's notes. The room felt smaller, the air heavier, and I wanted to feel Go's unspoken concern for me.
The sound of footfall on the porch interrupted the moment. Pass went first, reaching for the weapon in front of him. My pulse quickened as I gripped the little blade hidden in my boot.
The door creaked open, and a determined individual walked inside. It was not what I expected. A woman little older than 16, dripping drenched and clutching a stack of papers to her chest, staggered ahead. Her large eyes danced between me and pass, and her lips trembled as she tried to communicate.
"Please," she begged, her voice barely audible. "assist me."
Before I could react, she collapsed.
go moved to her facet and instantly checked her pulse. "She's alive," he murmured, his voice consistent but quiet.
I knelt alongside him and picked up one of the papers that had slipped from her grasp. My stomach tightened as I recognized the symbols scrawled across the page—the same ones from Lily's notes. A single word, Lily, appeared beneath them in large, jagged letters.
The storm outside became louder, with the wind howling like a residing factor. Go looked at me, his countenance darkened. "What the hell have you ever gotten your self into, Aria?"
I didn't have a solution. My mind spins and my heart races. This was no coincidence. It could not be. Someone knew. A person was watching. And if they knew about Lily, they would know what happened to her.
Pass took the woman into his arms, jaw set. "We want to get her somewhere safe. Now."
I nodded and gathered the strewn papers. My palms shook as I slid them into my backpack, and my mind raced. Whoever this woman was, she knew the answers. And I used to be determined to acquire them, no matter what.
When the power came back on in my unit, it became alarmingly quiet. The girl hadn't woken up, and pass kept staring at her in the rearview mirror, his expression enigmatic. I focused on the road, my mind replaying the events of the night over and again.
When we finally arrived at my condominium, I assisted in moving the lady inside. She changed into a subconscious state, her face light, her breathing shallow but regular. I lay her on the couch and draped a blanket over her.
Pass stood by the window, fingers crossed, his gaze fixed on the rain outside. "You need to be cautious, Aria," he murmured finally, his voice low. "whatever that is, it's larger than you realize."
"I don't need your warnings, pass," I said, my tone harder than intended. "I want solutions."
He turned to look at me, his countenance unreadable. "then you'd higher be prepared for what those answers value."
I did not respond. As an alternative, I sat down at the table, arranging the woman's papers alongside Lily's notes. My eyes searched the symbols, fractured sentences, and scattered information. It became like attempting to put together a puzzle with half of the pieces missing.
However, one component became evident. This was not over. It was only started.
And the shadows of Ashwood city had been watching, waiting for their next move.