Questions Without Answers
703 Words
Chapter Twenty-Two: Questions Without Answers
Elara's POV
No one spoke.
The bracelet rested comfortably around my wrist, as though it had always belonged there.
The silver crescents shimmered beneath the lights of Nightshade's great hall.
I couldn't stop staring at it.
Neither could the Vampire King.
His crimson eyes remained fixed on my wrist.
His expression...
Hope.
Fear.
Disbelief.
It was as though he wanted to reach for me but didn't dare.
Finally, Alpha Magnus cleared his throat.
"Perhaps we should all sit."
The room seemed to breathe again.
Servants quickly prepared refreshments while everyone moved into the council chamber.
Everyone except me.
I still stood where I was.
Confused.
Overwhelmed.
Draven walked over quietly.
"You don't have to answer anyone's questions today."
I looked at him.
"What if I have questions?"
His smile was gentle.
"Then ask them."
I laughed softly.
"I don't even know where to begin."
"Start with the easiest one."
I looked across the room at the Vampire King.
"Why does he keep looking at me like that?"
Draven followed my gaze.
Cassian immediately looked away.
Almost guiltily.
"I don't know."
His voice was honest.
"But I intend to find out."
Lunara spoke quietly.
"He carries grief."
Vespera remained silent.
That worried me.
She was never silent.
"Vespera?"
Nothing.
"Vespera?"
Finally...
"I'm remembering pieces."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Of what?"
"Your mother."
I stopped walking.
"What?"
Draven immediately turned.
"What happened?"
I hadn't realized I'd spoken aloud.
"I..."
I shook my head.
"Nothing."
I wasn't ready to explain the voices inside my head.
Not yet.
---
A short while later, everyone gathered around a long oak table.
Alpha Magnus sat at one end.
The Vampire King at the other.
Draven remained beside me.
Not because he had to.
Because he wanted to.
Cassian folded his hands together.
"Miss Elara."
I looked up.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
His expression softened at the title.
"I'd like to ask you a few questions."
I nodded.
"How much do you know about your parents?"
The answer came easily.
"Nothing."
His jaw tightened.
"I was found outside Silvercrest Pack as a baby."
"I don't know where I came from."
"I don't know who left me there."
"I don't even know my birthday."
Luna Elena always celebrated it on the day they found me.
Silence filled the room.
Cassian lowered his eyes.
For a moment...
He looked like a broken man.
"When were you found?"
"Eighteen years ago."
"What were you wrapped in?"
I blinked.
"I don't remember."
Luna Celeste smiled gently.
"We can ask Alpha Ronan."
Cassian nodded slowly.
"Please."
His fingers tightened around the arm of his chair.
"So many things matter."
He seemed to be speaking more to himself than anyone else.
Then he looked back at me.
"Have you ever..."
He hesitated.
"...experienced strange dreams?"
My breath caught.
The room blurred.
The moonflower.
My mother.
The field.
The Hollow Court.
I slowly nodded.
"Last night."
Every vampire in the room became still.
Cassian leaned forward.
"What did you dream?"
"I met a woman."
His breathing stopped.
"She..."
Tears filled my eyes.
"...called me her daughter."
Cassian closed his eyes.
A single tear escaped.
He quickly wiped it away before anyone else noticed.
But I noticed.
Draven noticed.
Lunara noticed.
---
Before anyone could speak again...
The doors to the council chamber burst open.
A Nightshade warrior rushed inside.
"Alpha!"
He was breathing hard.
Covered in dirt.
"What happened?" Draven asked.
"The eastern border."
The warrior swallowed.
"We found another message."
Ryder frowned.
"What message?"
The warrior looked directly at me.
His face had gone pale.
"They know she's here."
The room became deathly quiet.
"What exactly did it say?" Alpha Magnus asked.
The warrior's voice shook.
"It was carved into one of our border stones."
He swallowed hard before repeating the words.
«Return the Princess... or Nightshade will burn.»
Silence.
Complete silence.
Cassian slowly stood.
For the first time since arriving...
The grief disappeared from his face.
In its place stood a king.
Power radiated from him.
His crimson eyes burned with controlled fury.
He looked directly at Alpha Magnus.
Then at Draven.
Finally...
At me.
His voice echoed through the chamber.
"No one..."
"...touches that girl."
Not while I still draw breath.
- Writer
