CHAPTER3:LOVE
1230 Words
Selene POV
The air outside the dungeon was very hot, filled with the earthy scent of dirt and condemned soil. My legs protested as I hurried through the shadowy tunnels, Kieran’s hand securely held with mine, pulling me ahead. The flickering torches on the walls cast dark shadows that felt like ghostly hands reaching for me. My chest heaved, pain radiating from where Morgana’s magic had slammed me against the stone. But I couldn’t stop.
Luca was gone.
Morgana had taken him.
This thought twisted my stomach with a pain so intense I could rarely breathe. My son, Our son was with a woman who once took everything from me, and now she aims to do it again, never.
I clenched my jaw. I wouldn’t allow it.
Kieran remained quiet as we rushed onward, but his grip on my hand was firm, nearly painful. I could feel that he shared my urgency. We had to succeed.
We stumbled into the night, the cold air brushing my skin. I nearly fell. Kieran steadied me with a reassuring hand at my waist. I hated how comfortable it felt. How safe.
I stepped back, refusing to dwell on past wounds.
Kieran ran a hand through his dark hair, his silver-gray eyes scanning the trees. His tension was readable, with his jaw set in anger. “Where would she have taken him?”
I shook my head, breath still uneven. “I don’t know.” My voice cracked, and I hated that weakness. “I just don’t know, Kieran.”
He faced me, his expression softening slightly. “We’ll find him, Selene.”
I swallowed hard. “What if she hurt him?” My voice trembled. “What if, huh?”
“Stop,” Kieran interrupted, stepping closer, gripping my shoulders firmly. “We can’t think like that" She needs him alive for her twisted plans. Luca is strong. He’s special.”
I closed my eyes, trying to trust his words. But the weight of my losses weighed heavily on me like a log of wood.
His fingers brushed my jaw gently, a touch so soft I almost leaned into it. “Look at me, Selene.”
I opened my eyes.
“I know I’ve lost your trust,” he said, his voice low. “I know I hurt you." I let you down in ways that can’t be undone. But Luca is my son, and I promise I will bring him back.”
I yearned to trust him, but the past felt like an unhealed wound to me. It is very painful, honestly.
“Do you think mere promises can fix what you did?” I shot back, my voice filled with bitterness. Do you think I’ve forgotten how you looked at me? How you reject me in front of everyone, like I was nothing, like I was nothing but a pig, huh?
Kieran flinched but held my gaze. “If I could change it, I would for real.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “But you can’t.”
“No,” he agreed, “but I can fight for you now.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t about me. It’s about Luca.”
“I know,” he insisted, his hold tightening on my shoulders. But it’s also about us. I never stopped loving you, Selene. Not for one moment, honestly speaking.
My heart clenched, but I pushed the feeling aside. “I can’t talk about this now.”
“Too bad.” Kieran’s voice was raw, losing the composure it usually maintained. “I need you to hear the truth.”
I took a step back, shaking my head. “The truth? The truth is that you broke me, Kieran. You ruined everything.”
His jaw tightened. “I was under a spell.”
“I understand that now,” I replied more gently, “but it doesn’t erase the suffering and pain I endured alone. I carried your child in silence and abandoned everything because of your actions.”
Kieran’s expression twisted in pain. “I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I promised.”
I wanted to argue, to assert that it wasn’t so simple. But just then, the wind shifted, carrying something dark through the trees.
We froze.
A presence.
I whipped around, my wolf instincts roaring to life. “Someone’s watching us.”
Kieran’s expression hardened, muscles coiling as he got ready for a fight. “Show yourself.”
The shadows shifted.
Then a woman emerged from the trees.
Tall with deep brown skin that glowed under the moonlight, she had long silver braids rolling down her back, her pure white eyes locking with mine.
My breath dropped.
I recognized her.
Elder Miriam.
She was a legend, an ancient seer thought dead years ago. Yet here she stood, her white eyes shining far beyond the present.
She shakes her head, observing me. “You have finally returned.”
Kieran remained tense, fingers twitching toward his knife. “What do you want?”
Ignoring him, Miriam stepped closer, reaching for me. “You carry great sorrow, Selene Rivers.”
I swallowed hard. “Morgana has taken my son.”
Miriam nodded as if she already knew. “And you will retrieve him.”
A flicker of hope ignited within me. “Do you know where he is?”
She inhaled slowly. “I know where he will be.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
Miriam’s eyes pulsed softly. “Time is shifting. Your son’s power is more significant than you realize. But Morgana knows this, and she will do anything to take control of him.”
Kieran stepped forward, voice sharp. “How do we stop her?”
Miriam turned to him, her gaze piercing. “By facing the truth.”
Kieran’s jaw hardened. “And what truth is that?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “That Luca was never just a child. He is something much greater and bigger.”
A chill ran down my soul. “What are you saying now?”
Miriam’s expression darkened. “He was the key to destroying the balance of light and dark. His birth started the prophecy. Morgana is aware of this, and that is why she took him.”
Panic welled within me. “Then we can’t waste any time.”
Miriam shook her head. “Indeed, we don’t. But you must prepare. The war has already commenced.”
Kieran’s fingers brushed against mine, offering silent reassurance. “Guide us.”
Miriam smiled faintly. “Follow me.”
With that, she turned and vanished into the forest.
Kieran and I exchanged a determined glance.
And we followed her into the unknown.
The night was thick with silence, yet in the distance, I thought I heard a sound.
A child is crying.
Luca.
I quickened my pace, my heart raced.
Miriam led us deeper into the woods, her white eyes glowing like beacons in the night.
Suddenly
She paused.
Her face drained of color.
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
“She knows you’re coming.”
The ground shuddered beneath us.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
And then, a shadow rose from the earth, taking shape.
I recognized that form.
I felt that power.
Morgana.
She was waiting for us.
And she was ready….
- Writer
