CHAPTER 9: THE WEIGHT OF A NAME
1025 Words
Lyra's POV
I hit the ground with a gasp.
The scent of smoke disappeared.
The roar of flames faded.
Cold rain kissed my face, and damp earth pressed against my palms. For a few terrifying seconds, I couldn't tell which world was real—the burning palace or the moonlit forest.
My lungs burned as I dragged in one shaky breath after another.
The vision was gone.
But the grief...
The grief had followed me back.
I curled onto my side, pressing a trembling hand against my chest. My heart ached as though it had truly watched two parents sacrifice everything for their child.
No.
Not just a child.
For me.
A tear slipped down my cheek before I realized I was crying.
"I remember them..." I whispered.
Not completely.
Only fragments.
A soft lullaby.
A woman's laughter carried by the wind.
Strong arms lifting me high into the air while I squealed with delight.
The memories were blurry, like reflections dancing on water, but they felt real enough to leave an emptiness inside me I had never known existed.
"Lyra!"
Orion's voice cut through the haze.
I blinked.
The forest came back into focus.
The wolves were still there.
Cassian stood only a few feet away, his expression no longer smug. His dark eyes were fixed on the glowing pendant around my neck, and for the first time since I'd met him...
He looked afraid.
"What did you see?" he demanded.
I struggled to my feet, my legs unsteady beneath me.
"I don't know."
It wasn't entirely a lie.
How could I explain a memory from a life I couldn't remember?
Cassian took one slow step toward me.
"You remember them, don't you?"
His voice had changed.
The confidence was gone.
In its place lingered something closer to desperation.
I tightened my fingers around the pendant.
The metal had cooled again, but I could still feel a faint pulse beneath my skin, almost like another heartbeat.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
His jaw clenched.
"You're a terrible liar."
Rain dripped from the ends of his hair as he studied me. Around us, the Shadow Fang warriors remained tense, their wolves pacing restlessly in the darkness.
None of them moved.
It was as though they were waiting for permission.
Or for something worse.
Orion stepped beside me, his sword raised.
"She's leaving with me."
Cassian didn't even look at him.
"My orders were to bring the girl alive."
He sighed, rubbing the scar that crossed his jaw.
"I was hoping you'd make this easy."
"You've always hoped for things you couldn't have," Orion replied.
A flicker of amusement crossed Cassian's face.
"You still talk too much."
Without warning, he lunged.
Steel crashed against steel.
The force of the impact echoed through the trees, startling birds into flight.
Orion held his ground.
Their swords locked, muscles straining as rain streamed over their faces.
For a moment, neither man gained the advantage.
Then Cassian twisted sharply, forcing Orion back several steps.
The older man stumbled, catching himself just before falling.
My heart lurched.
"Orion!"
"I'm fine!" he called without taking his eyes off his opponent.
He wasn't.
I could hear it in his breathing.
Heavy.
Labored.
He was strong, but age had begun to claim what time spared no one.
Cassian noticed it too.
"Pity," he murmured.
"You would've beaten me twenty years ago."
"Try me."
Cassian smiled.
"I already am."
He attacked again.
Faster this time.
Their blades became flashes of silver beneath the moonlight, moving so quickly my eyes struggled to follow.
Every strike sent sparks flying.
Every clash echoed through the forest.
I backed away instinctively, my pulse racing.
I was useless.
A healer.
Not a warrior.
If Orion fell...
What could I possibly do?
The thought settled like ice in my stomach.
A sharp cry split the air.
I looked up just in time to see blood bloom across Orion's shoulder.
He staggered backward.
His sword slipped from his fingers and landed in the mud with a dull thud.
"No!"
I ran toward him before I could think.
Cassian raised his axe.
Time seemed to slow.
The blade gleamed as it arced toward Orion's chest.
I didn't think.
I simply moved.
Throwing myself between them, I spread my arms instinctively.
"Stop!"
The word tore from my throat.
The pendant exploded with light.
Not a violent burst like before.
This light flowed outward gently, wrapping around Orion and me like liquid silver.
Cassian's axe struck the glowing barrier.
A deafening crack echoed through the forest.
The barrier held.
Shock flashed across Cassian's face.
He swung again.
The second blow never landed.
The silver light surged forward, throwing him backward as though an invisible giant had struck him.
He crashed into a tree with enough force to split the trunk.
The surrounding wolves whimpered, lowering themselves to the ground.
Not in pain.
In submission.
A strange warmth spread through my body.
I could feel it now.
Not just the pendant.
Something inside me had awakened.
It was quiet.
Gentle.
Ancient.
And it recognized every tree, every breeze, every heartbeat around me.
The forest wasn't silent anymore.
It was speaking.
The rustling leaves carried whispers too soft to understand.
The streams hummed with life.
Even the wolves' heartbeats pulsed through the earth beneath my feet.
I gasped, overwhelmed by the flood of sensations.
"What... is this?"
Orion stared at me with wide eyes.
"The Blood of the Guardians," he breathed.
"It has begun."
Before I could ask what he meant, another howl shattered the night.
Different.
Deeper.
Stronger.
Every Shadow Fang warrior froze.
Cassian slowly climbed to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
His face had turned pale.
"No..."
He wasn't looking at me anymore.
He was staring beyond us.
Toward the ridge overlooking the forest.
I turned.
A massive black wolf stood at the top of the hill, his coat gleaming beneath the moonlight like polished obsidian.
His icy blue eyes burned with unmistakable fury.
I knew those eyes.
Even before he shifted.
Even before the moonlight revealed the man beneath the wolf.
Alpha Kael Blackthorn had found me.
- Writer
