CHAPTER 6: THE MAN WHO KNELT
1192 Words
Lyra's POV
The words refused to make sense.
Your Highness.
They echoed inside my head long after the old man's voice had fallen silent, as though the forest itself had spoken them.
I stared at him, unable to blink.
The fire between us crackled softly, sending tiny orange sparks into the damp night air. Rain continued to fall in a fine mist, hissing whenever droplets landed on the flames. The comforting aroma of roasted mushrooms and fresh herbs drifted toward me, but my stomach, which had growled only moments ago, had forgotten what hunger felt like.
The old man remained on one knee.
His silver hair, streaked with white, clung to his temples from the rain. His hands were folded respectfully over his chest, his head bowed as though he stood before a queen instead of a confused healer whose world had unraveled in a single night.
"I think..." My voice came out hoarse. I cleared my throat. "I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
He didn't move.
"I have waited twenty-two years for this moment."
A chill crawled up my spine.
"Please," I whispered. "Stand up."
Slowly, he obeyed.
When he lifted his face, tears glistened in his eyes. They weren't tears of grief.
They were tears of relief.
"My name is Orion Moonfall," he said gently. "I was once Captain of the Royal Guardians."
I frowned.
"I don't know what that means."
"I know."
His answer carried no disappointment, only quiet sadness.
"Because someone made certain you never would."
The words settled heavily between us.
He motioned toward the fallen log beside the fire.
"You've had a long night."
I hesitated.
Every lesson my adoptive father had ever taught me screamed not to trust strangers in the forest.
But another part of me—the part that had seen a woman appear in the lake and had watched silver light throw armed rogues through the air—knew my life had crossed a line from which there was no returning.
Slowly, I sat.
The warmth of the fire seeped through my rain-damp cloak, easing the chill that had settled into my bones.
Orion ladled steaming stew into a wooden bowl and offered it to me.
"You should eat."
I accepted it cautiously.
The first spoonful surprised me.
Earthy mushrooms.
Wild thyme.
Tender rabbit.
A hint of rosemary.
It tasted painfully familiar.
My eyes widened.
"My mother used to make this."
Orion smiled sadly.
"No."
I looked up.
"Your adoptive mother did."
The spoon slipped from my fingers, clattering against the bowl.
"How..." My heart lurched. "How do you know about them?"
"I know many things about you, Lyra."
My pulse quickened.
"You know my name."
"I knew it before you were old enough to speak."
The warmth from the fire suddenly felt suffocating.
I pushed the bowl aside.
"Stop."
He blinked.
"I don't understand any of this."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
My voice cracked, surprising even me.
"Tonight I found out my mate rejected me in front of the entire pack." I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow. "Then a woman appeared in a lake, a necklace nearly burned my skin, rogue wolves tried to kill me, and now a stranger is calling me..." I swallowed hard.
"Your Highness."
The title felt absurd in my mouth.
"I'm just Lyra."
"No," Orion said quietly.
"You are much more than that."
Silence settled over us again.
Rain tapped gently against the leaves overhead.
The horse nearby lifted its head briefly before returning to graze.
Finally, Orion reached into the leather satchel resting beside him.
"I hoped I would never have to show you this."
He carefully withdrew a bundle wrapped in faded blue cloth.
His movements were slow, almost reverent.
When he unfolded the fabric, an old painting lay inside.
Time had faded the colors, but not enough to erase the faces.
At the center stood a woman with long silver hair.
The same woman I'd seen reflected in the lake.
My breath caught.
Beside her stood a tall man wearing dark ceremonial armor.
Between them...
A little girl.
No older than two.
She had soft black curls.
Bright gray eyes.
And around her tiny neck...
Hung the same silver pendant I wore now.
The world tilted.
My hands trembled as I reached for the painting.
"No..."
I traced the little girl's face with shaking fingertips.
"It can't be."
Orion's voice was barely above a whisper.
"It is."
I stared at the child.
At the pendant.
At the woman's gentle smile.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
My eyes slowly lifted to Orion.
"Who are they?"
His expression softened.
"The last King and Queen of the Moon Guardians."
A strange ache bloomed in my chest.
"And..." My voice faltered.
"The child?"
He looked directly into my eyes.
"You."
Everything inside me stopped.
The fire.
The rain.
The forest.
It all disappeared beneath the deafening roar of my heartbeat.
"No."
I shook my head repeatedly.
"My parents were Thomas and Evelyn Ashwood."
"They raised you."
"They were my parents."
"They loved you as though you were born from Evelyn herself."
Tears stung my eyes.
"They were my parents."
"I know."
His voice broke with genuine compassion.
"And nothing I tell you tonight will ever change that."
A tear escaped despite my efforts to stop it.
I remembered my father teaching me how to identify edible berries.
My mother humming while drying herbs outside our cottage.
The smell of fresh bread every winter morning.
The warmth of my father's embrace after nightmares.
Those memories were real.
No revelation could take them away.
Orion waited patiently until I wiped my tears.
Then he spoke again.
"The night your kingdom fell..."
I looked at him sharply.
"...your father placed that pendant around your neck."
My fingers instinctively closed around it.
"It is called the Moon Seal."
"He carried you through hidden tunnels beneath the royal sanctuary while your mother and the Royal Guardians remained behind to delay the invaders."
I could almost see it.
Smoke.
Fire.
Blood.
Though I had never lived those memories... something deep within me stirred painfully.
"Did they..."
I couldn't finish.
Orion lowered his eyes.
"They died protecting you."
My chest tightened until breathing hurt.
"I don't remember them."
"You weren't meant to."
"Then why now?"
"Because the Moon Seal only awakens when its rightful heir reaches the point where fate can no longer be denied."
His words lingered in the air.
Fate.
Was that why everything had happened tonight?
The bond.
The rejection.
The light.
The rogues.
None of it was random.
A cold realization settled over me.
"If people know who I am..."
Orion's expression darkened.
"They won't stop hunting you."
Almost as if the forest had been waiting for those words...
A distant wolf howl pierced the night.
Then another.
Closer.
Orion was already on his feet.
His gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by the alertness of a seasoned warrior.
He listened for only a second before turning to me.
"They've found us."
My heart lurched.
"Who?"
He looked toward the darkness beyond the trees, where dozens of glowing amber eyes slowly began to appear.
"The Shadow Fang hunters."
- Writer
