Chapter 17: The First Attack
2530 Words
The next few days were a blur.
Elara trained from dawn till dusk. Every day. Without fail.
She got stronger. Fast.
She could move things with her mind now. Big things. Heavy things. She could create shields strong enough to stop a bullet. She could shoot blasts of silver energy that could knock a full-grown wolf across a room.
It was amazing.
And terrifying.
She was becoming powerful. Very powerful. More powerful than she'd ever imagined.
But with great power came great pain.
The curse was getting worse. Every time she used her power, the pain came back. Sharper. Stronger. Lasting longer.
Selene said it was normal. That the Shadow was feeding on her power. Growing stronger as she grew stronger.
It was a race.
And Elara wasn't sure she was winning.
She hadn't seen Kairos since their fight.
Three days.
Three long, lonely days.
He'd sent her messages. Notes. Apologies. Asking if she was okay. Asking if they could talk.
But Elara hadn't replied.
She couldn't.
Not yet.
Not until she was strong enough. Not until she could tell him everything. Not until she could protect him.
Protect them both.
It was better this way. Safer.
Right?
Right.
Probably.
Maybe.
Elara sighed and pushed the thought away. She didn't have time to think about Kairos. Not today.
Today was important.
Today, she was going to try something new.
Something big.
"Are you sure about this?" Selene asked, for the tenth time.
Elara nodded. "I'm sure. I'm ready."
They were standing in the temple's training arena. A big, open room with stone walls and a high ceiling. Perfect for testing big powers.
In the middle of the room was a boulder. A big boulder. Probably a ton, maybe more.
Elara was going to try to lift it.
With her mind.
"Okay," Selene said, stepping back. "Take it slow. Don't push too hard. If it hurts, stop. Immediately."
"I know, Mom." Elara rolled her eyes. But she was smiling.
She was getting used to having a mom. It was weird. Nice weird.
Selene rolled her eyes back. "Don't 'mom' me. I'm being serious. This is dangerous. If you push too hard, you could hurt yourself. Or worse."
"I'll be fine." Elara took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
She reached for her power. Deep inside her. The silver light. The warmth. The strength.
She wrapped it around the boulder. Gentle at first. Careful.
And then she lifted.
The boulder shook.
And then... it moved.
Slowly. Painfully slowly. But it moved.
Off the ground. An inch. A foot. Two feet.
Elara grunted with the effort. Her whole body was tense. Her head was starting to hurt.
But she kept going.
Higher. Higher.
Five feet. Ten feet.
The boulder was now floating ten feet in the air.
Elara opened her eyes, breathing hard. She did it. She actually did it.
"Wow," she said, grinning. "I did it."
"You did it," Selene said, smiling. Proud. Warm. "I'm so proud of you."
Elara was about to say something else—
When the pain hit.
Hard.
Like a sledgehammer to the chest.
Elara gasped. Her grip on the boulder slipped.
It fell.
CRASH!
The boulder hit the ground with a thunderous noise, shaking the whole room. Dust went everywhere.
Elara fell to her knees, clutching her chest. The pain was unbearable. Like her heart was being torn out. Like her blood was on fire. Like she was dying.
"Elara!" Selene ran to her, kneeling down next to her. "Elara, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Elara couldn't answer. She could only gasp and cry and hold her chest.
The pain was worse than ever.
Way worse.
"Hold on, baby." Selene's voice was tight with fear. "I'm here. I've got you. Just breathe. Breathe through it."
She put her hands on Elara's chest, her own silver power flowing into Elara. Trying to help. Trying to ease the pain.
It helped. A little.
But not much.
The pain lasted for what felt like hours. But it was probably only minutes.
Slowly. Painfully slowly. It faded.
Until it was just a dull ache. A reminder.
Elara collapsed against Selene, exhausted. Her whole body was soaked with sweat. Her clothes were sticking to her skin. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck.
But she was alive.
Barely.
"That was... bad," she said, her voice weak.
"Yeah." Selene stroked her hair, gentle. "That was bad. I told you not to push too hard."
"I know." Elara sighed. "I just... I wanted to be stronger. Faster. I wanted to be ready."
"I know, baby. I know." Selene kissed her forehead. "But you can't rush this. It takes time. And if you push too hard, you'll kill yourself. And then what good are you? Hmm?"
Elara didn't answer. She knew her mother was right.
But she didn't have time.
The Shadow was coming.
And she had to be ready.
* * *
They took the rest of the day off.
Elara was too tired. Too sore. Too... everything.
She lay on a couch in the temple's living quarters, wrapped in a blanket, while Selene made her tea and fussed over her.
It was nice.
Having a mom.
Being taken care of.
Elara had never really had that before. Her father had loved her, of course. But he'd been busy. Distant. Grieving for his dead wife.
Or not-so-dead wife, as it turned out.
"Hey, Mom?" Elara said, after a long silence.
"Yeah, baby?"
"Why did you really leave? I mean... the Moon Goddess told you to. But... was that the only reason?"
Selene sat down next to her, her silver eyes sad.
"No," she said, quiet. "That wasn't the only reason."
She paused, like she was trying to find the right words.
"When I was young... I was the Blessed Healer. Before you. I was strong. Stronger than anyone had ever seen. Everyone thought I'd be the one to break the curse. The one from the prophecy."
She laughed, bitter.
"But I wasn't. I tried. Oh, how I tried. But I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't... enough."
Her voice got quieter.
"And then I got pregnant with you. And the Moon Goddess spoke to me. She told me you were the one. The real one. The one who would break the curse. The one who would save us all. But only if I let you go. Only if you grew up without me. Without the pressure. Without the expectations. Without knowing what you were."
She touched Elara's face, gentle.
"I wanted to stay. More than anything. I wanted to watch you grow up. To be your mom. But I couldn't. Not if it meant you'd never reach your full potential. Not if it meant the world would end."
She smiled, sad.
"So I left. And I watched you from afar. And I waited. And I prayed that the Moon Goddess was right. That I was doing the right thing."
Elara stared at her.
Her mother had been the Blessed Healer too.
And she'd failed.
And then she'd left her own daughter, just so Elara could succeed where she'd failed.
That was... a lot.
Too much, maybe.
But Elara understood.
Sort of.
"Did you ever regret it?" she asked, quiet. "Leaving me?"
Selene laughed, and there were tears in her eyes.
"Every single day," she said. "Every second of every day. I missed your first steps. Your first words. Your first day of school. Your first heartbreak. I missed everything."
She wiped her eyes.
"But I'd do it again. In a heartbeat. Because you're amazing, Elara. You're strong. And brave. And kind. And you're going to save us all. I know you are."
Elara's eyes filled with tears too.
She reached out and hugged her mother. Tight.
"I love you, Mom," she said, her voice breaking.
Selene hugged her back, just as tight.
"I love you too, baby," she said. "More than anything. More than you'll ever know."
They sat there like that for a long time, just holding each other.
It was nice.
Weird. But nice.
Elara had a mom now.
And for the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged somewhere.
Like she had a family.
* * *
But the peace didn't last.
It never did.
That night, Elara was walking back to the palace. It was late. Dark. The moon was full and bright in the sky.
She was almost there—
When she heard it.
A growl.
Low. Deep. Feral.
Elara froze.
She turned around.
And there it was.
A wolf.
But not a normal wolf.
This one was big. Too big. With matted black fur and red eyes that glowed in the dark. Just like the rogues. Just like the warrior from the infirmary.
But this one was different.
Bigger. Darker. Stronger.
And it was looking right at her.
Elara's heart raced.
This wasn't an infected warrior.
This was something else.
Something worse.
The Shadow.
It had found her.
Already.
Elara backed up slowly, her hand raised, silver light gathering at her fingertips.
"Stay back," she said, her voice steady. Strong. "I'm warning you."
The wolf just growled. It stepped closer. Its red eyes were hungry.
Hungry for her.
For her power.
Elara didn't wait.
She shot a blast of silver energy at it.
The wolf dodged. Fast. Too fast.
It lunged.
Elara threw up a shield.
The wolf hit the shield with a THUD! The shield cracked. But it held.
For now.
Elara grunted with the effort. This thing was strong. Stronger than anything she'd ever fought.
She shot another blast. And another. And another.
The wolf dodged some. Took some. But it kept coming.
It was like nothing hurt it.
Nothing slowed it down.
Elara was getting tired. Her power was running low. The pain was starting to come back.
She couldn't keep this up forever.
She needed help.
But no one was coming.
No one knew she was here.
She was alone.
The wolf lunged again.
The shield shattered.
Elara fell back, hitting the ground hard.
The wolf loomed over her, jaws open, teeth sharp and stained with blood.
This was it.
She was going to die.
Here.
Alone.
In the dark.
The wolf bit down—
And then there was a roar.
Loud. Powerful. Kingly.
And a massive black wolf came out of nowhere, tackling the Shadow wolf to the ground.
Kairos.
He'd come.
He'd saved her.
The two wolves fought. Teeth and claws and fur flying everywhere.
Kairos was big. Strong. Powerful.
But the Shadow wolf was bigger. Stronger. Darker.
It was winning.
Elara had to do something.
She had to help.
She gathered her power. All of it. Every last bit.
And she shot it at the Shadow wolf.
A massive blast of silver light. Brighter than the sun. Stronger than anything she'd ever done.
It hit the Shadow wolf square in the chest.
The wolf howled. A loud, terrible sound.
And then... it dissolved.
Into smoke. Into shadow. Into nothing.
Gone.
Elara collapsed, breathing hard. Her whole body ached. Her head was spinning. The pain was unbearable.
But she was alive.
Barely.
Kairos shifted back into human form. He ran to her, kneeling down next to her.
"Elara!" His voice was tight with fear. "Elara, are you okay? What was that thing? What happened?"
Elara couldn't answer. She was too tired. Too hurt.
She looked up at him. At his golden eyes. Full of worry. Full of fear. Full of... love?
Maybe.
"Kairos..." she whispered.
And then everything went black.
* * *
Elara woke up in her bed.
The sun was shining through the windows. Birds were singing. It was a beautiful day.
And Kairos was sitting in a chair next to the bed, watching her.
He looked tired. Exhausted, actually. Like he hadn't slept all night.
"Hey," he said, soft, when he saw she was awake.
"Hey," she said, her voice rough. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
Elara thought back. The wolf. The fight. The Shadow. Kairos saving her.
Oh yeah.
She remembered.
"Yeah," she said. "I remember."
Kairos was quiet for a long moment.
"What was that thing, Elara?" he asked, quiet. "And don't lie to me. Not again. Please."
Elara sighed.
She couldn't keep lying to him.
Not after last night.
Not after he'd saved her life.
It was time to tell him the truth.
All of it.
"Okay," she said, sitting up. "I'll tell you. Everything. But you have to promise me you won't get mad. And you won't send me away. Promise?"
Kairos stared at her. And then he nodded.
"I promise," he said.
So Elara told him.
Everything.
About the Shadow. About the training. About her mother being alive. About the curse spreading to her. About the prophecy. About all of it.
Everything.
Kairos listened. He didn't interrupt. He didn't get angry. He just sat there, his golden eyes dark and serious, and listened.
And when she was done... he was quiet.
For a long time.
Elara held her breath, waiting for him to say something. To yell. To leave. To send her away.
Anything.
Finally, he spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, quiet.
"Because I knew you'd do this." Elara's voice got shaky. "I knew you'd want to send me away. To protect me. Even if it meant losing me. And I didn't want to lose you. Not now. Not ever."
Kairos stared at her. And then he sighed.
"You're right," he said. "I would have sent you away. I still want to, honestly. If it would keep you safe."
He paused.
"But I know you won't go. You're too stubborn. Too brave. Too... you."
He reached out, touching her face, gentle.
"And I'm not going to lose you. Not without a fight. Not to the Shadow. Not to the curse. Not to anything."
Elara's eyes filled with tears.
"Really?" she said, quiet.
"Really." Kairos smiled, small. "We're partners, right? We're supposed to do this together. And I'm sorry I got mad. I'm sorry I left. I should have trusted you. I should have known you had your reasons."
"I'm sorry I kept secrets," Elara said. "I should have told you. I just... I didn't want to hurt you."
"I know." He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. "I know, baby. And I forgive you. Just... promise me you won't keep secrets from me again. Okay? Whatever it is, we'll face it together."
"I promise," Elara said.
And then he kissed her.
Soft. Gentle. Full of everything they couldn't say.
Elara melted into him, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer.
This was right.
This was real.
They were going to do this together.
And they were going to win.
Or die trying.
Either way, they'd do it together.
And that was enough.
For now.
But Elara knew the Shadow would be back.
It wasn't gone. Not really.
It was just... waiting.
Growing stronger.
And next time... it would be worse.
Much worse.
But they'd be ready.
Together.
Elara just hoped it would be enough.
She had a feeling they were going to need all the help they could get.
- Writer
