In Vereluna, all it takes is a spark.

A flare in one’s bones against the ravenous dark.

The fire that drives one to stand.

But every flame burns flesh as much as shadow.

Maya’s vision faded, the world engulfed in black. Her world collapsed inward.

Cold. So cold.

She felt her bones freezing over. She tried to move, but there was nothing left. Her lungs burned, then froze, clawing for air as the Cuetzpalin closed in. Their twisted smiles gleamed. Shadows rippled off their obsidian scales.

MJ’s whimpers vanished into the wind. That frail sound, so unlike her cousin, cut deeper than the cold. It shredded what remained of Maya’s self-control.

No. Not like this. Not with her—

But the darkness thickened, pressing in like pitch. Endless. In the void, Maya sank into a sea of memories, frozen and sharp as knives:

Abuela’s tongue lashing after one of Maya’s failures, “We do not break. We do not doubt. We do not fail.”

Her sister’s fading eyes; Maya running away, helpless and unwilling to face her sister’s death from her sickness.

MJ’s glare of disappointment. “You promised to not ditch me.”

Ariel, limp and corpse-like, “you’re letting her die.”

The clan’s sharp whispers. “Why is she chosen to be Alpha? She’ll lead us to ruin.”

Each voice sliced her raw. The Cuetzpalins’ laughter wove through them, gnawing her from the inside out. Devouring not flesh, but her tonalli, her life spark, her identity.

“Look at you,” one monster jeered, its voice warped into Abuela’s admonishment. “So much fear. So easy to break. Is this what a Beta looks like?! Pathetic. Let’s tear up your cousin first. Let her die knowing that you failed, that Beta is just a title.”

The other pressed its claws against MJ, her limp form sinking into the dirt. “Listen. Her heart’s fading because of you. A Beta who can’t even protect her own? How weak. Fear is sweetest when it devours those you love first.”

Their words clawed the breath from Maya’s body. Her vision closed to pins of red. She failed. The void called for her. Death’s riptide dragging her into the abyss.

For a moment, Maya surrendered. Her head lolled, jaw slacking, cold chewing through her.

A failed Beta, in name only. Nothing more.

Her body was limp, useless. She watched, somehow both within and outside herself. MJ’s faint breath cracked, thin as glass.

Her own voice flickered, barely a spark in her heart: 

Get up.

Nothing. Her muscles seized, every joint locked and frozen. A metallic tang in her mouth, cold gums split from tonalli drain. A broken grunt tore out. 

Her heart stuttered. Desperate. Each beat a slapping memory. MJ’s stubborn side-eye, Abuela’s piercing words, her sister’s dying cries while Maya ran.

Another failure. Another attempt for the Cuetzpalin to mock.

But she refused to let the dark take them both. Not yet.

She coughed, mouth tasting of copper and dust. She spat, breath ragged. Deep inside, a reluctant wisp of warmth flickered, spreading throughout her limbs.

Get up.

She planted her paws. They buckled. Her chest slammed against the ground. A mouthful of dirt and aching ribs. MJ’s breath thinned by the second. 

Still not enough. She forced another icy exhale, managing a strangled inhale. The monsters’ laughter cracked, sharp as blades.

I can’t let go. Not MJ. Not any of them. Not while I can move.

She tried again. Every muscle rebelled, nerves searing. She shoved herself upright anyway. Her vision pulsed red. Eyes blurred, paws trembling so hard they gouged the earth. She stood upright, barely.

The monsters lunged. A Cuetzpalin’s tail crashed against Maya’s side with a sickening thud. Maya buckled, shockwaves rippling up her spine. No blood, just crushing pain. Bruises bloomed deep under her fur.

She dropped, then forced herself up again.

If I die, I die the Beta’s way. Teeth bared. Soul burning. You will go no further; you will NOT take what’s mine!

From somewhere raw and buried, a snarl burst out. Not clean, not whole, but violent and shaking. The ground trembled with the sound, tearing her throat as she forced it out. 

Her legs trembled heavily, she almost collapsed. The monsters paused momentarily, then smiled.

Maya locked eyes with MJ. No response. No sign of strength, just the softest pulse in her cousin’s neck. 

Another tail strike hit. The shock bloomed up her spine. Another bruise, a fresh round of pain and cold.

“Stand again, so-called Beta,” the monster mocked. “Are you even worthy of that role? Maybe fear is all you are worth. Let’s test that, as your failures make your cousin fade!”

Maya rose again, swaying, battered but defiant. Every inch of her throbbed where the tail landed. Her skull rang. But her will, down to the last ember, refused to break.

That all you got? Come and get me!

The tail swept again. A colossal, black flash. Maya jerked clear, haunches buzzing. For a heartbeat, she teetered, nearly dropping. The monster’s jaws split wider, glowing white-hot, as smoke rolled out. Claws raked, skimming her flank.

Too close. But with that pass, she saw it. An opening.

She dodged again. Too close. Claws missed by a hair. 

There—

 a gap revealed itself. 

The Cuetzpalin was overzealous, her one chance. She’d have to risk everything; her body, what was left of her tonalli, everyone, even MJ.

You’re not much without fear, aren’t you? Without our tonalli to gorge on?

The monster charged.

Maya sprung forward, knowing it was all or nothing. Her limbs were jelly, ribs screaming.

She laid it all on the line.

If she fell short…

It would be the end of her and MJ—

Beta or not.