Chapter Five
905 Words
Lyra stared at the name carved into the tree long after the stranger had disappeared.
Kael.
The letters looked fresh, as if the tree itself had been marked only moments ago.
She reached out slowly, running her fingers over the carving.
The moment she touched it, a strange warmth traveled through her hand.
The same warmth from her pendant.
She quickly pulled away.
“What are you?”
The forest gave no answer.
Only the sound of the wind moving through the branches.
For the first time in her life, Lyra wished she could hear what the world was trying to tell her.
Because something was happening.
And everyone seemed to know except her.
When she returned home, her grandmother was waiting.
One look at Lyra’s face and she knew.
“What did you see?”
Lyra stopped.
“You knew?”
Her grandmother looked away.
“That is not an answer.”
Lyra stepped closer.
“Then give me one.”
The old woman sighed.
“I hoped you would have more time.”
“Time for what?”
Silence.
Lyra’s patience finally broke.
“Grandma, I saw a stranger in the forest. Someone was looking for me. There is a secret room beneath our house filled with things about my mother. My necklace reacts to a red moon that should not exist.”
Her voice shook.
“And now there is a name written in a tree.”
Her grandmother’s expression changed.
“What name?”
Lyra studied her.
“Kael.”
The reaction was immediate.
Her grandmother went completely still.
And that scared Lyra more than anything.
“You know him.”
It wasn’t a question.
Her grandmother slowly sat down.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
The older woman looked toward the window.
“A warning.”
Lyra frowned.
“That doesn’t explain anything.”
“No,” her grandmother whispered. “It doesn’t.”
That night, Lyra sat in the hidden room again.
She had searched through every book, every letter, every piece of history she could find.
Nothing.
Except one page.
An old piece of parchment hidden inside her mother’s belongings.
The writing was faded, but she could still read a few words.
When the Crimson Moon rises…
The heir shall awaken…
The kingdoms shall fall or unite…
Lyra stopped.
Heir.
Again.
She hated that word.
Because every time someone said it, they talked about her like she was a person in an old story.
Not a real girl.
Not someone who had dreams, fears, and a life she wanted.
She closed the book.
“I’m not a prophecy.”
Her voice echoed softly.
“I’m Lyra.”
The next morning, her grandmother found her sitting outside.
“You should rest.”
Lyra looked at her.
“I don’t want to rest.”
She held the old parchment in her hands.
“I want the truth.”
Her grandmother sat beside her.
For a while, they watched the village wake up.
People laughed.
Children played.
The world continued as if nothing had changed.
Finally, her grandmother spoke.
“Long ago, there were kingdoms beyond the human lands.”
Lyra listened.
“Creatures most humans believe are only stories.”
“Like what?”
Her grandmother hesitated.
“Wolves who walk like men. Witches who remember things forgotten by time. Vampires who rule kingdoms hidden from the sun.”
Lyra felt a chill.
“And me?”
Her grandmother looked at her.
“You are connected to all of it.”
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
“I don’t belong there.”
Her grandmother’s eyes softened.
“Maybe not yet.”
That evening, Lyra returned to the forest.
She didn’t know why.
Maybe curiosity.
Maybe because some part of her was tired of being afraid.
She carried a small lantern and walked deeper between the trees.
“Kael.”
The name felt strange on her tongue.
But she wanted answers.
“You wrote your name.”
The forest remained silent.
Then—
“You came looking for me.”
Lyra froze.
The voice came from behind her.
She turned.
A man stood between the trees.
This time, she saw him clearly.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
A presence that made the entire forest feel smaller.
He looked at her as if he had been searching for her for a very long time.
Lyra tightened her grip on the lantern.
“Who are you?”
The stranger studied her.
“You already know my name.”
Her heart raced.
“Kael.”
He stepped closer.
“Yes.”
The wind moved between them.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then his eyes fell to the pendant around her neck.
And something in his expression changed.
Not surprise.
Not curiosity.
Recognition.
“You have no idea what you’re carrying, do you?”
Lyra lifted her chin.
“Then explain.”
Kael looked toward the sky.
Toward the Crimson Moon that still stained the darkness.
“I can’t.”
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“Why?”
Because the answer frightened him.
And that frightened Lyra even more.
“Because if I tell you the truth…”
Kael looked back at her.
“Your life will never be the same again.”
The lantern flame flickered.
The forest went silent.
And Lyra realized something.
The stranger she had been searching for…
Had been waiting for her too.
- Writer
