The twelfth chime echoed through the night.
Selene's breath caught as the deep, resonant sound reverberated through her bones. The old clock tower hadn't worked in years. Everyone in town knew it. The hands were frozen at eleven fifty-nine, rusted into place by time and neglect.
And yet…
The bell tolled.
A low, drawn-out thirteenth followed.
The sound was wrong—not just in its impossible count, but in its very nature. It didn't sound like metal against metal. It sounded like whispered voices, layered atop one another, weaving through the air.
Selene shuddered.
Beside her, Cassius stiffened. "Did you hear that?"
She nodded, her throat too tight to speak.
A thirteenth chime.
That had never happened before.
She rushed to the window, shoving the heavy curtains aside. The town square stretched beneath the moon's cold glow, silent and undisturbed. The clock tower loomed in the distance, its silhouette sharp against the night sky.
Everything looked normal.
But it wasn't.
Selene could feel it—an invisible shift, like a door unlocking somewhere beyond her reach. The air itself seemed heavier, pressing against her skin.
Even the moonlight looked different.
It wasn't just silver. It pulsed, as if something beneath its surface had begun to stir.
Cassius exhaled sharply behind her. "This isn't right."
Selene turned to face him. His expression was a mix of concern and frustration. "Cassius, I think… I think it has something to do with the Second Moon."
His face paled. "Don't say that."
"Why?"
He hesitated. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "Because my grandmother used to tell me stories about it."
Selene's pulse quickened.
Cassius never talked about his grandmother. She had been one of the last town seers, and before she died, she had left behind cryptic warnings about the night the moon would split.
"She said when the Second Moon returns, so do the lost," Cassius continued. "She called it a night of undoing. Like reality itself bends."
Selene swallowed.
"Do you believe her?"
Cassius shook his head, but his voice betrayed him. "I don't know."
Selene glanced down at the journal still clutched in her hands.
It had fallen open again.
The ink shimmered as though freshly written, the words shifting, rearranging themselves before her eyes.
"He is waiting, where time stands still."
A chill ran down her spine.
Before she could react—
The front door slammed open.
Wind rushed through the shop, knocking over books, scattering loose parchment across the floor. The candle flames snapped violently, flickering between gold and blue.
Cassius lunged forward, grabbing Selene's arm. "What the hell was that?"
Selene's pulse thundered in her ears.
She felt it again.
That pull. That invisible thread drawing her toward the door.
The street beyond was empty. No sign of movement, no footsteps. Only the wind, whispering through the dark.
But then—
At the base of the clock tower…
A figure stood in the moonlight.
Selene's breath hitched.
Tall. Motionless.
Watching.
She didn't need to see his face to know.
It was him.
The one from her vision.
The one who called her name.
Orion.
Cassius followed her gaze. "Who is that?"
Selene barely heard him.
Her fingers loosened around the journal. It fell to the floor, the pages fluttering wildly as if caught in an unseen wind. The ink continued to shift, rearrange—
Then stopped.
A single sentence remained.
"You must remember before it's too late."
Selene took a shaky step forward.
And then—
The figure moved.
The moment their eyes met, the world seemed to shatter.
The streetlights flickered, plunging everything into darkness. The wind roared, shaking the very foundation of the shop.
And inside Selene's mind—
A memory broke free.
Not a dream. Not an illusion. A memory.
The air smelled of rain.
Selene stood beneath the split moon, her breath forming small clouds in the cool night air.
Beside her, Orion stood, his silver eyes glowing with something she didn't understand.
"They'll come for you," he murmured.
Selene's heart pounded. "Who?"
He lifted a hand, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers were warm, but his touch sent a shiver through her.
"You can't stay here."
Selene shook her head. "But why? I don't understand—"
Orion exhaled, his grip tightening around her wrist.
"Because if you remember—if you remember everything—"
A shadow loomed behind him.
Selene gasped as a roar tore through the air, a sound that wasn't human.
Orion turned sharply, pushing her behind him. "Run."
Selene froze.
He wasn't afraid.
He was protecting her.
Before she could move, the darkness swallowed him whole—
And she screamed.
Selene's knees buckled.
Cassius caught her before she hit the ground. "Selene? Selene!"
She gasped, gripping his shirt, her entire body shaking.
The memory still burned in her mind.
It was real.
She hadn't dreamed Orion.
She had lost him.
The truth pressed against her skull, begging to be fully unlocked.
And then, from the street—
A soft voice cut through the storm.
"Selene."
She lifted her head.
Orion was standing in the doorway.
The town was silent. The wind had stopped. The entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Silver eyes met hers.
And then, finally—
Selene remembered him.