Blood Moon

The Heir

Imelia`s POV

I had seen it in my vision already, one of the Lycan prince turned to a mere human. I had prayed to the moon goddess to direct my footsteps and she asked me to bring my son, Nathaniel. I was strongly against this as every villager saw the palace as a bad omen. But as her servant, I had no right to disobey else I bear the consequences.

I anointed his head with the holy ashes, ones reserved for dire situations and blessed his feet with cannons, I made him wear the crystal moon necklace, his innocence to protect him and we left.

I took my time gracefully striding down the stairs, I couldn`t let anyone not even my son know that I understood the reason for King Mateo`s urgent call, I could see the palace maid shivering, her lips caught in between her teeth. I knew what she was trying to do, she didn`t want the attention to be drawn to the situation, so she let me take my sweet time.

At the foot of the stairs, I look her straight in the eye,

" Why is my presence needed at the palace?”,

“Pri-, pri-,priestess, I ,I have no idea”, her gaze darting across the temple admiring everywhere but my face, the owner of the place. I give her a cold smile and for the sake of the moon goddess, prayed prayers of peace. I give my son my arm and we walk to the stable, I had always loved Alex, but I was pratically going into a nightmare and the last thing I needed was my soft side, I stroll over and I see Lola, black mane, fierce eyes, stable hoofs, this is just what I was looking for.

Nathaniel goes round the stable searching for the perfect horse for this occasion but unlikely me, his innocence draws a meek horse, I almost want to grumble, and the palace maids reminds me once again of the king`s call.

We mount our horses, strap our leather shoes to the ridges of the horses and we start galloping, each gallop higher and faster than the last. We pass the villagers seeing the effects of the blood moon, some shops scattered, blood, dark and crimson blood soils the land, families wailing, some still dumbfounded, the older villagers, who had experienced the blood moon more than once were already living their lives like the blood moon never came, some were able to make it, still shivering, they turn their heads to our directions until we become tiny dots. The gates to the palace were wide open and the guards less strict than their usual selves, if there was any time to invade the palace, this would be the perfect time.

We quickly ride past the entrance straight into the palace. Unmounting our horses, the palace maid takes us to the dungeon and we see him.

His skin has gone pale, purple veins, the color of royalty living the prince, eyes as red as moon, his tail swooshes around slower than his breath and I know, he can only make it with the intervention of the moon goddess, luckily, she was on his side, I keep my face as passive as I can, refusing to let any emotion show across my face.

“Imelia, can you help him?”, I take another look at him and the sound of the temple gong echoes in my head. The sounds of blessing.

“Yes, your highness, I can,”

I lift my moon necklace to my lips and it suddenly feels hot, I gaze across the room and I see a shocking revelation, Selena, the rejected breed sits on the throne in my vision, she is the heir to the throne and not Lucas, I look at her for a long time and a deadly stare brings me back.

“Imelia, I see you came here to seduce the last breed and not to answer my call”

I almost spill the vision but I know he will murder Selena immediately, instead I smile and I return back to my prayers, I

close my eyes, harnessing the energy of the environment, I bless Damien with peace. Using the energy of the trees and forests, I bless him with life, I pray to the moon goddess to save her subject and I sense a tranquil environment and I know that the moon goddess answered my prayer.

Damien is back into his human form, taking torturous shallow breaths, regaining himself slowly, his lips are dry and parched, I remove my cape blessing it and hand it over to the guards to dress their prince, I bless the lavender oil as well mainly asking for peace and calmness, the ultimate rival of the blood moon.

They all stare at me waiting for me to say something else, I close my eyes and I decide to take a deep slow breath. I need to do this so I can get rid of the negative energy that comes with dispensing the Blood Moon. I wait until I feel all my pores open and the wisps of dark energy flows out. Finally,my spirit is light again. Relieved, I open my eyes with a smile.

"He will be just fine although the Blood Moon dragged a lot of his soul, he needs to rest well so he can recover fully." I say this, my gaze unconsciously straying to Selena,the rightful heir to the throne.

"Priestess Imelia, is there something you're supposed to tell me that you're yet to?" Alpha Mateo from the beginning has always been one to easily latch on things. From his question, I know he is already suspecting something, a vision I dare not reveal if I hope for Selena's head to remain on her neck. Alpha Mateo being the murder weapon that he is.

"No, your highness, I am not seeing anything, the palace looks somewhat peculiar." I said, hiding the lies with a perfect smile.