Blood moon , silver heart

Chapter 4

LUCIAN'S POV

There were three things I had been taught from the moment I could understand words.

Never expose the existence of the vampire kingdom to humans.

Never trust a werewolf.

And never, under any circumstances, approach the eastern border of Mooncrest alone.

I had broken the third rule last night.

The second one was becoming complicated.

And the first...

Well, that depended on how much Aria Vale had seen.

I stood on the balcony of my bedroom, staring toward the distant forest.

Mooncrest territory stretched beyond the horizon, hidden beneath layers of ancient trees.

The vampire kingdom stood on the opposite side of the mountains.

Our castle was built into the cliffs, surrounded by black stone walls and towering iron gates. From the outside, it looked abandoned.

It wasn't.

Behind those walls lived hundreds of vampires.

Families.

Guards.

Healers.

Nobles.

And the royal bloodline.

My family.

I hated the word royal.

It made people think I had been born into some beautiful fairytale.

There was nothing beautiful about being the heir.

Every decision I made was watched.

Every mistake became gossip.

Every weakness became an opportunity for someone to challenge me.

And lately, the court had been restless.

Something was changing.

I could feel it.

Even before I met her.

I closed my eyes.

The image appeared immediately.

Aria.

The werewolf girl standing in the forest.

She had looked terrified when she'd realized what I was.

Yet she hadn't run.

That was unusual.

Most young werewolves were taught to fear vampires before they were old enough to understand why.

Aria had been different.

Stubborn.

Suspicious.

Annoyingly brave.

And completely unaware of what was happening to her.

I opened my eyes.

My hand moved toward the ring on my finger.

The black stone embedded in it was cold.

It had belonged to my grandfather.

The previous king.

He had given it to me three years ago.

His final words had been simple.

When the moon turns red, find the girl with the silver mark.

At the time, I thought he'd been delirious.

Now I wasn't so sure.

I had seen the mark.

It was engraved into Aria's pendant.

The same symbol.

The same symbol that had appeared in the oldest vampire records.

A symbol that wasn't supposed to exist anymore.

A knock sounded at my door.

I didn't turn around.

"Come in."

The door opened.

"Prince Lucian."

I recognized the voice.

Adrian.

My personal guard.

He was one of the few vampires I trusted.

He walked onto the balcony.

"You disappeared last night."

"I went for a walk."

He stared at me.

"To the werewolf border?"

I turned.

His expression was serious.

"Who told you?"

"The guards."

Of course.

Nothing stayed secret in the palace.

"Why were you there?"

I said nothing.

Adrian studied me.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"You found something."

I looked toward the forest.

"I found someone."

"Who?"

"A werewolf."

His expression immediately hardened.

"Kill her."

I looked at him.

"No."

Adrian blinked.

"You don't understand."

"I understand perfectly."

"Then why is she alive?"

"Because she wasn't attacking me."

"She's a werewolf."

"So?"

Adrian stepped closer.

"Prince Lucian, you know the history."

I did.

Too well.

Centuries ago, vampires and werewolves had lived alongside one another.

Then came the war.

Neither side remembered exactly how it had begun.

The records had been destroyed.

Generations had been taught to blame the other species.

Vampires said werewolves were violent beasts.

Werewolves said vampires were bloodthirsty monsters.

Children grew up hearing stories designed to make them afraid.

Fear became hatred.

Hatred became tradition.

And tradition became law.

I had never questioned it.

Until last night.

I looked down at my hands.

"I didn't kill her."

Adrian sighed.

"The king will want an explanation."

"I'll give him one."

Before he could respond, another voice came from inside the room.

"Perhaps I can give him one."

I turned.

My mother stood in the doorway.

Queen Eveline Veyre.

She wore a long dark dress that reached the floor, her silver-blonde hair falling down her back.

She looked elegant.

Beautiful.

And terrifying.

She had ruled beside my father for nearly two centuries.

Her eyes moved from me to Adrian.

"Leave us."

Adrian bowed.

"Your Majesty."

He walked away.

My mother waited until the door closed.

Then she looked at me.

"You saw the girl."

It wasn't a question.

I remained silent.

"Lucian."

"Yes."

"Did she have the mark?"

I nodded.

My mother's face lost its colour.

"Then the prophecy is real."

I frowned.

"You knew?"

"I knew there was a possibility."

"That's not an answer."

She walked toward me.

"Your grandfather spent decades searching for her."

I stared at her.

"Who?"

"The child described in the prophecy."

My chest tightened.

"Aria?"

My mother looked away.

"We don't know her name."

"But you knew she existed."

"We knew someone would be born."

"And you never told me?"

"You were too young."

"I'm nineteen."

"And now you're old enough to understand why I kept it from you."

I laughed bitterly.

"You sent me into the world knowing someone like her existed and never thought it was important?"

"I was trying to protect you."

"From what?"

My mother looked directly into my eyes.

"From the war that will follow her."

Silence filled the room.

I thought about Aria.

The way she'd argued with me.

The way she'd looked at the pendant.

The way the symbol had glowed.

"What exactly is she?"

My mother didn't answer.

That frightened me more than anything.

"Mother."

"There are things even the royal family doesn't know."

I stepped closer.

"Then find out."

She sighed.

"We've been trying."

A horn sounded in the distance.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

My mother's expression changed.

"What's happening?"

She turned toward the window.

"The border."

I immediately moved past her.

Outside, the castle guards were running toward the gates.

Something had crossed into our territory.

Something that didn't belong.

I could hear their footsteps even from the tower.

Then another sound reached me.

A howl.

My body went completely still.

Werewolves.

My mother looked at me.

"Stay here."

I shook my head.

"I'm going."

"Lucian."

"I need to know what happened."

"You are the heir."

"And that's exactly why I need to know."

I left before she could stop me.

---

The forest was different in vampire territory.

The trees were darker.

Older.

Their roots twisted through the earth like veins.

I moved quickly through the shadows, using my vampire speed to reach the border.

Within minutes, I found the guards.

Three vampires were standing near the boundary.

One was injured.

"What happened?"

The nearest guard bowed.

"Something attacked us."

"What?"

"We don't know."

I crouched beside the tracks.

They weren't wolf tracks.

They weren't vampire tracks.

They were larger.

Much larger.

My stomach tightened.

The prophecy.

An ancient creature.

The oldest enemy.

I stood.

"Where did it go?"

The guard pointed toward Mooncrest.

I looked through the trees.

And then I felt it.

A familiar presence.

Aria.

I didn't know how I knew.

I simply did.

I looked toward the distant pack territory.

There.

A figure stood near one of the houses.

Her.

Even from this distance, I could recognize her.

She was looking directly at me.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

I wondered if she could hear my thoughts.

Probably not.

Werewolves and vampires didn't share that ability.

Then something moved behind her.

I looked past her shoulder.

My blood ran cold.

The creature was there.

Watching.

Waiting.

I stepped forward.

Aria disappeared from my view.

The creature moved closer.

I clenched my fists.

This wasn't about vampire pride anymore.

It wasn't about werewolves.

It wasn't even about the prophecy.

Something had awakened.

And somehow, that something was connected to her.

I turned toward the pack territory.

For the first time in centuries, the boundary between vampires and werewolves no longer felt like a wall.

It felt like the beginning of a war.

And I had a terrible feeling Aria Vale would be standing at the center of it.