THE HALF-BLOOD LUNA

Chapter 11

The woman was already waiting in the front hall when we arrived.

She stood near the center of the room as if she belonged there, hands folded neatly in front of her. Not dressed like a noble, not dressed like a servant either, just plain traveling clothes, worn at the edges. The kind of person people didn’t notice twice.

But I noticed her.

Because she was looking at me.

Not at Lucien. Not at Nikolai. Not at Kira or Talia.

At me.

Like she had been waiting a long time.

Lucien stopped a few steps ahead of us.

So did everyone else.

The hall felt too wide suddenly, too empty, like a sound would echo even if someone breathed too loudly.

The woman bowed.

“Your Grace.”

Her voice was steady. Respectful.

Then her eyes shifted back to me.

And she smiled.

That was the first thing that felt wrong.

“I’ve finally found you,” she said softly.

My stomach tightened.

“I’m sorry,” I said before I could stop myself. “Do I know you?”

Something flickered in her expression.

Not a surprise.

Satisfaction.

“No,” she said gently. “Not yet.”

Lucien stepped forward slightly.

His voice stayed calm.

“You requested an audience with my court.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“And you asked for her specifically.” His gaze moved briefly toward me. “Explain.”

The woman hesitated just long enough to feel intentional.

Then she nodded.

“I once served a household connected to Lady Nyra’s family.”

I frowned immediately.

“That’s not possible.”

Kira shifted beside me.

Talia’s gaze sharpened.

Nikolai said nothing, but I could feel his attention shift, as if he were listening differently now.

The woman didn’t look offended.

If anything, she looked… patient.

“You were very young then,” she continued. “Of course you don’t remember me.”

My throat tightened slightly.

“I would remember someone I knew,” I said.

“Would you?” she asked softly.

That question hit harder than it should have.

Lucien’s voice cut through it before I could respond.

“What is your name?”

She paused.

Then gave it.

“Lilith”

A simple name. Unremarkable. Easy to remember

But somehow that made it worse.

Lucien didn’t react.

He just watched her.

“Prove your claim,” he said.

The woman nodded once, as if she had expected that.

From her bag, she carefully pulled out a folded sketch.

Then she opened it.

And held it up.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The drawing showed a girl.

A younger version of me.

Not exactly me.

But close enough that my breath caught before I could stop it.

Same eyes.

Same face shape.

Same expression except softer, lighter, like someone who hadn’t yet learned caution.

My fingers went cold.

“That’s…” I started.

Impossible.

The word didn’t come out.

Kira leaned slightly closer.

“What is that supposed to be?” she asked, suspicious.

The woman looked at me instead of her.

“This was drawn years ago,” she said. “Before everything changed.”

Lucien’s gaze didn’t leave the paper.

“Who drew it?”

“A family artist,” she replied smoothly. “Your household kept records of everyone.”

That wasn’t true.

I would have remembered that.

I think.

A strange pressure built behind my eyes.

Not pain.

Something heavier.

Talia stepped forward slightly.

Her voice was calm, but careful.

“Household records of a human child in a noble family would be unusual,” she said.

The woman nodded as if agreeing.

“It was unusual,” she said. “But she was not treated as unusual.”

My breath caught.

Lucien’s eyes lifted slightly.

“Explain.”

“They were close to the family,” the woman said. “Especially to Lady Nyra.”

My name sounded wrong in her voice.

Like she had practiced it too many times.

“She used to play the piano,” the woman added gently.

Something flickered in my mind.

So fast I almost missed it.

White keys.

A room filled with sunlight.

Fingers hovering above notes I couldn’t see clearly.

I blinked hard.

No.

That wasn't a memory.

It couldn’t be.

“I don’t play piano,” I said quickly.

The woman didn’t react.

“You did,” she said simply. “Very well.”

Silence spread through the hall.

Even Kira didn’t speak.

Then the woman reached into her bag again.

This time she pulled out something small.

A pendant.

Silver.

Simple.

Beautiful in a way that felt too intentional.

My heart skipped for reasons I didn’t understand.

Lucien’s posture changed instantly.

Subtle.

But sharp.

“Do not touch it,” he said.

The woman froze briefly.

Then smiled faintly.

“It’s safe,” she said. “It belonged to her.”

My hands curled slightly at my sides.

“I’ve never seen that before.”

“That’s what I thought you might say,” she replied softly.

Then she stepped forward.

Just one step.

And held the pendant out toward me.

Not forcing it.

Not pushing it.

Just offering.

“If you’re uncertain,” she said gently, “you’ll understand more if you hold it.”

Lucien moved immediately.

“Enough.”

His voice was colder now.

Final.

But the woman didn’t look at him.

Her eyes stayed on me.

Waiting.

And that was worse than pressure.

It felt like an expectation.

Talia spoke again, quieter this time.

“Your Grace,” she said carefully, “this could be a provocation.”

“I am aware,” Lucien replied without looking at her.

But I wasn’t listening to them anymore.

The pendant was all I could see.

Something about it felt familiar.

Not as a memory.

As a pull.

Like my mind was leaning toward it without my permission.

“That’s enough,” Kira muttered under her breath.

Nikolai shifted slightly closer to Lucien.

The room felt tense enough to snap.

Then the woman lowered the pendant slightly.

Not away from me.

Just enough to make it feel like I had a choice.

“I won’t stay long,” she said. “I only came to deliver what was left behind.”

My throat tightened.

“Left behind?”

She nodded.

“This belongs to your past.”

A pause.

Then she added softly:

“And your answers.”

Lucien stepped forward again.

But the woman spoke quickly.

“One last thing,” she said, looking directly at me.

“If you need more… speak to the pendant.”

My stomach dropped.

Lucien’s voice was immediate.

“Leave.”

This time, there was no softness in it.

No negotiation.

The woman hesitated.

Then bowed.

And without another word, she turned and walked out.

The hall remained silent long after she was gone.

No one moved at first.

No one spoke.

I looked down at the pendant still resting on the floor where she had placed it before leaving.

Small.

Silver.

Quiet.

Harmless.

And yet somehow…

It felt like it was waiting for me.

Lucien’s voice broke the silence.

“Nobody touches it.”

I nodded automatically.

But my eyes didn’t leave it.

Because for the first time since I arrived at Moonveil Castle…

Something in me was no longer completely sure I wanted to listen.

The next morning, I decided to meet with Olenna.

The temple was neat and quiet. Olenna sat in the middle, mumbling some prayers

“Sorry to disturb,” I muttered

“Nyra, have you come to see me or pray?” she asked

“Yes, I have come to see you.”

After the incident yesterday, words kept ringing in my mind: Lucien said I should not think about it, while Kira blamed me, saying she knew this would happen and that now I am bringing attention and danger to the castle. I decided to see if Olenna could tell me something at least.

I told her about all the dreams I had had ever since. She told me the old woman was trying to reach me, and I should let her in. She was with the pendant, and she gave it to me

“Don't be scared, touch it and tell me what you feel,” she said. The moment I touched it…

The world broke. Stone walls.A different castle.Bright windows.

Sunlight spilling across polished floors.

Laughter.

So much laughter, it felt unreal.

A child’s voice….

My voice.But younger. I was running.

Not away.

Toward something.

A large hall filled with people I didn’t recognize but somehow… didn’t fear.

A hand caught mine.

Warm.

Familiar.

“Careful, Nyra,” a woman said gently.

Nyra.

My name echoed differently here.

Not questioned.

Not given.

Belonging.

The vision shifted.

A piano.

White and black keys.

My small hands pressing them carefully, uncertain at first—

Then faster.

More confident.

Someone stood behind me.

Watching.

Proud.

“You’ve always had a gift,” a man said.

My throat tightened at the vision.

This wasn’t just a place.

It was a life.

A life that felt too close to reject immediately.

Then another shift.

A corridor.

The same castle.

Different angle.

I saw myself again.

Older.

Still younger than I am now.

Standing near a window, holding that same pendant.

Smiling.

Not like me.

Not like the Nyra I knew.

Like someone who belonged here without question.

A voice echoed faintly in the background.

“You’ll forget this one day.”

The words hit like cold water.

My breath caught sharply—

And the vision snapped.

I stumbled backward. The temple floor met my knees hard enough to sting. My hands were shaking.

The pendant was still in front of me.

Unmoving.

Silent.

But now it didn’t feel empty.

It felt full.

Too full.

“What… what did you do?” I whispered.

Olenna stepped closer, but not too close.

“It showed you what was already inside it. I don't know if it is real or true, but I don't feel certain; I feel doubt about this pendant.”

“That’s not possible.”

“It is when memory is not your own.”

My chest tightened painfully.

“No,” I said quickly. “That’s not me. That can’t be me.”

Olenna’s voice softened.

“Then why did it recognize you?”

I looked down at my shaking hands.

Because part of me had answered it.

Even if I didn’t want it to.

Footsteps echoed faintly outside the temple.

Distant.

Approaching.

Olenna turned her head slightly toward the sound.

“They will come looking,” she said calmly.

My stomach dropped.

“Who?”

But she was already stepping back into the shadows.

“The ones who fear who you are.”

And just like that—

She was gone.

Leaving me alone in the temple.

With the pendant.

Footsteps stopped just outside the temple door.

My pulse hammered.

For one terrible second, I considered hiding the pendant.

But there was nowhere to hide it.

The temple was open stone and shadows.

And somehow I knew it was already too late.

The door opened.

Lucien stood there.

Behind him were Kira, Nikolai, and Talia.

No guards.

Which frightened me more.

Nobody spoke immediately.

Lucien’s gaze dropped to the pendant.

Then to me.

The silence stretched.

“You touched it.”

Not a question.

I swallowed.

“Yes.”

Kira cursed under her breath.

“I knew it.”

“Enough,” Nikolai said quietly.

But Kira wasn’t looking at him.

She was staring at me.

“No, not enough. We specifically told her not to touch it.”

“I know what you told me.” I defended myself

“Apparently not,” she argued

“That’s enough,” Lucien said.

The room fell silent immediately.

Lucien stepped closer.

“What happened?”

Part of me wanted to lie.

The sensible part.

The part that wanted this entire situation to disappear.

But another part of me was tired.

Tired of being treated like a problem nobody would explain.

“I saw things.”

Nobody interrupted.

“A castle. A family. A piano.” My voice sounded distant even to me. “People who knew me.”

Nikolai’s expression darkened.

Talia exchanged a glance with Lucien.

And that terrified me.

Because it looked like recognition.

“You know something.”

The words came out sharper than I intended.

No one answered.

My anger flared.

“You all know something.”

“Nyra—”

“No.”

I stood.

The pendant remained clenched in my hand.

“You tell me not to ask questions. You tell me not to touch things. You tell me not to listen to anyone.”

My voice shook.

“But nobody tells me why.”

The temple suddenly felt very small.

Very quiet.

Lucien watched me for several long seconds.

Then his gaze shifted to the pendant.

“When you touched it,” Talia said carefully, “did you hear anything?”

I hesitated.

The memory returned instantly.

A corridor.

A window.

The older version of me.

And the voice.

My stomach tightened.

“Yes.”

Lucien’s expression changed.

Only slightly.

But enough.

“What did it say?”

I looked directly at him.

“You’ll forget this one day.”

The reaction was immediate.

Talia inhaled sharply. Nikolai swore.

And Lucien—

Lucien looked genuinely alarmed.

My heart sank.

Because that was worse than any answer.

“You know what that means.”

Nobody denied it.

The silence became its own confession.

A cold feeling spread through my chest.

“What am I forgetting?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

Instead, he took a slow step toward me.

“Give me the pendant.”

“No.”

The word escaped before I could stop it.

Everyone froze.

Including me.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Nyra.”

“No.”

I tightened my grip.

“Not until someone tells me the truth,” I said, determined

“You can't talk to the alpha like that; how dare you, and who do you think you are?” Kira shouted

“Now is not the time, Kira,” Talia said

“Oh, I'm sick of this. She has brought nothing but trouble, and I think it's time we let her go,” Kira said

“God dammit, somebody answer me,” I shouted

“Okay, the were rumors years ago, about a noble family, who died or vanish after a war which Olenna told you, the stormclaw pack, you had a brother, before tragedy hit the family their little girl went missing out of the blue, someone took her, we think that girl is you, but we aren't sure, you don't have to believe what you just saw, it could be a trap, someone wants you and we don't know why, we have to be careful and I promise you we will find answers” Talia explained carefully but I was tired I needed answers and I needed it right then.

THIRD PERSON POV

The throne room of Nighthowl Castle was silent except for the crackling of black fire.

Unlike ordinary flames, these burned dark violet, casting shadows that moved across the stone walls like living things.

Veyron sat on the throne at the far end of the room.

One arm rested against the carved wolf-head armrest.

His expression was cold.

Impatient.

The woman called Lilith knelt before him.

Her report had lasted less than ten minutes.

Yet every word had confirmed what he suspected.

“The pendant worked?” Veyron asked.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“And she touched it?”

Lilith nodded.

“The memories surfaced immediately.”

A slow smile appeared on Veyron’s face.

Not warm.

Not pleased.

Predatory.

“Good.”

Beside the throne stood Morris.

Unlike Veyron, he looked almost relaxed.

His dark robes blended into the shadows surrounding him.

The scent of magic clung to him like smoke.

“The seal is weakening faster than expected,” Morris said.

“Then we are running out of time.”

Lilith lowered her gaze.

“My Alpha, Moonveil’s people are becoming suspicious.”

“They were suspicious from the beginning.”

Veyron rose from the throne.

The movement alone seemed to darken the room.

“Lucien will not release her willingly.”

Morris folded his hands behind his back.

“No.”

For several moments, neither spoke.

Then Veyron’s voice hardened.

“Then we stop asking.”

The room fell silent.

Lilith understood immediately.

Force.

Veyron intended to take Nyra.

Morris studied him carefully.

“Direct war would be costly.”

“I didn’t say war.”

That drew Morris’s attention.

A dangerous smile touched Veyron’s lips.

“We only need her separated from him.”

Realization flickered in Morris’s eyes.

“Deception.”

Veyron nodded.

“A letter.”

Lilith frowned.

“A letter?”

“The girl is searching for answers,” Veyron said. “Give her the promise of truth, and she’ll follow it.”

Morris stepped closer.

“You want an official summons.”

“I want something Moonveil cannot immediately reject.”

The dark mage considered the idea.

Then slowly smiled.

“I can do that.”

Veyron’s eyes narrowed.

“How long?”

“An hour.”

“Do it.”

Morris moved to a nearby table.

Ancient parchment already waited there.

He placed one hand over the page.

The torches dimmed.

Black mist crawled from his fingers.

The air grew cold.

Very cold.

Lilith took an uneasy step back.

Even after years in Nighthowl, she hated watching Morris work.

Dark symbols appeared across the parchment.

Not written.

Growing.

Like wounds spreading through skin.

Morris murmured words in a forgotten language.

The shadows around the room responded.

Twisting.

Curling.

Listening.

Slowly, an official seal appeared at the bottom of the page.

Perfect.

Identical to the lost royal crest of the kingdom Nyra supposedly belonged to.

A seal nobody at Moonveil would recognize well enough to challenge immediately.

When the magic finally faded, Morris lifted the parchment.

“It is done.”

Veyron took it.

His eyes scanned the elegant handwriting.

Princess Nyra,

By authority of the Crown and surviving royal bloodline, you are hereby summoned to return immediately to your rightful homeland.

Evidence concerning your lineage and inheritance has been secured.

An escort has been dispatched for your protection.

Delay risks the loss of information critical to your claim.

The words were convincing.

Carefully crafted.

Designed to strike directly at Nyra’s greatest weakness.

Her need to know who she was.

Veyron handed the letter back.

“Excellent.”

Lilith hesitated.

“My Alpha… what if Lucien refuses?”

For the first time, Veyron laughed.

The sound carried no humor.

Only threat.

“Then the letter serves its second purpose.”

Morris already understood.

“It lets us learn exactly how far Moonveil is willing to go for her.”

Veyron’s eyes darkened.

“And if Lucien interferes…”

The black fire around the room flared violently.

“…we stop pretending this is a negotiation.”

A heavy silence followed.

Then Veyron turned toward the guards waiting by the doors.

Six elite Nighthowl warriors immediately knelt.

Their armor bore the mark of the black wolf.

“The letter goes to Moonveil Castle.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“You will deliver it personally.”

One of the guards looked up.

“And if they refuse?”

Veyron’s expression became terrifyingly calm.

“Return.”

The guard frowned.

“That’s all?”

“No.”

Veyron stepped forward.

His golden eyes gleamed in the darkness.

“Return and tell me exactly where they keep her.”

Understanding spread through the room.

This was never about the letter.

The letter was merely the first move.

The hunt had already begun.

And Veyron had no intention of losing.

As the guards departed into the night, Morris watched them go.

Then he glanced toward the distant horizon where Moonveil Castle stood.

“The girl has no idea what’s coming.”

Veyron looked toward the same horizon.

His voice was quiet.

Certain.

“She will.”