Chapter 7
1384 Words
CHAPTER 7
Questions Without Answers
Lyra stared at her grandmother, waiting for an explanation.
But Grandma Mira said nothing.
Her eyes remained fixed on the faint crimson mark on Lyra’s wrist.
The same mark that had appeared moments after the strange relic touched her.
Lyra slowly pulled her hand closer to herself.
“Grandma?”
Mira blinked, as though she had suddenly remembered that Lyra was standing in front of her.
“Yes?”
“What is this?”
Her voice was quiet, but the confusion in it was obvious.
Mira looked at the mark again.
“I don’t know.”
Lyra frowned.
“You don’t know?”
Mira shook her head.
“No.”
“But you looked terrified when you saw it.”
Mira’s lips parted, but no words came out.
Lyra noticed.
She had known her grandmother her entire life. She knew when Mira was angry, when she was worried, and when she was hiding something.
And right now, Grandma Mira was definitely hiding something.
“Grandma,” Lyra said slowly, “please don’t lie to me.”
Mira looked away.
“I am not lying.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
“I can’t.”
Lyra’s heart dropped.
“Why?”
Mira sighed and moved toward the small wooden table beside the window. She placed both hands on it and lowered her head.
She needed to think.
She had always known this day might come.
She had simply hoped it would come much later.
Perhaps never.
For twenty-two years, she had kept certain truths buried.
She had watched Lyra grow up without telling her about the things that had happened before she was born.
She had convinced herself that silence was the safest choice.
But now the Infernal Relic had awakened.
And somehow, it had marked Lyra.
Mira closed her eyes.
How is this possible?
The relic had been missing for generations.
No one had seen it.
No one was supposed to find it.
Yet Lyra had somehow come into contact with it.
And now the mark was on her skin.
Mira slowly turned around.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Lyra hesitated.
“I already told you.”
“I want you to tell me again.”
Lyra swallowed.
She began explaining everything from the beginning.
The Blood Moon.
The strange feeling in the forest.
The relic.
The darkness.
The strange energy that had surrounded her.
And finally, the moment she felt something burn against her skin.
“I didn’t even understand what was happening,” Lyra said.
She looked down at her wrist.
“I thought I was going to faint.”
Mira listened without interrupting.
“And then…” Lyra continued, “everything stopped.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Lyra shook her head.
“It was like the whole world disappeared for a second.”
Mira’s expression became serious.
“Did you hear anything?”
Lyra thought about it.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A voice.”
Mira’s eyes widened slightly.
“What did it say?”
“I couldn’t understand it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Lyra frowned.
“Why are you asking me so many questions?”
Mira immediately looked away.
“Because I want to understand what happened.”
Lyra studied her.
“No.”
Mira looked back at her.
“No?”
“You’re not trying to understand.”
Lyra’s voice became firmer.
“You already know something.”
Mira remained silent.
Lyra stepped closer.
“You knew what the mark was the moment you saw it.”
“I told you—”
“You said you didn’t know.”
Mira stopped.
Lyra’s eyes filled with frustration.
“But your face said something different.”
Mira couldn’t deny it.
She had tried to hide her reaction.
She had failed.
Lyra looked at her wrist again.
“Why me?”
Those two words broke something inside Mira.
She looked at her granddaughter.
Lyra’s eyes were no longer filled with curiosity.
They were filled with fear.
“Why did it choose me?”
Mira’s heart tightened.
She wanted to give her an answer.
She wanted to tell her that everything would be fine.
But she didn’t know if that was true.
The Infernal Relic had never chosen someone without a reason.
And if the ancient stories were true, then Lyra’s life was about to change forever.
“Maybe it didn’t choose you,” Mira said quietly.
Lyra frowned.
“Then what happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“You keep saying you don’t know.”
Mira sighed.
“Because there are things I cannot explain yet.”
“Yet?”
Lyra caught the word immediately.
Mira realized her mistake.
“Grandma…”
Lyra moved closer.
“What do you mean by yet?”
Mira looked into her eyes.
For a moment, she almost told her.
She almost told her everything.
The truth about her family.
The old stories.
The relic.
The reason she had always been so protective of her.
But she stopped herself.
Not yet.
Lyra wasn’t ready.
And perhaps neither was Mira.
“You don’t need to worry about this tonight,” Mira said.
Lyra stared at her.
“How can you say that?”
“Because you’re safe.”
“Am I?”
Mira didn’t answer immediately.
That hesitation was enough to make Lyra’s stomach twist.
“Grandma?”
Mira forced herself to smile.
“Yes.”
“You’re lying again.”
Mira’s smile disappeared.
Lyra looked down at her wrist.
“Something happened to me tonight, and I don’t even know what it means.”
Her voice cracked.
“I don’t know why that thing found me.”
Mira’s heart ached.
“I don’t know why it marked me.”
She looked back at her grandmother.
“And I don’t know why you look like you’re afraid of me.”
Mira immediately stepped forward.
“I am not afraid of you.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
Mira froze.
She had no answer she could give.
Because she wasn’t afraid of Lyra.
She was afraid of what was coming for her.
She was afraid that the past had finally found them.
And most of all, she was afraid that the secrets she had protected Lyra from all these years would no longer remain buried.
Mira reached for Lyra’s hand.
Lyra allowed her to take it.
Mira gently turned her wrist over.
The crimson mark was still visible.
She stared at it for several seconds.
Then she quickly covered it with Lyra’s sleeve.
“Don’t show this to anyone.”
Lyra looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Just promise me.”
“But—”
“Lyra.”
There was something in Mira’s voice that made her stop.
“Promise me.”
Lyra hesitated.
“Okay.”
Mira nodded.
But her mind was racing.
She needed time.
She needed to remember everything she knew about the relic.
And she needed to decide whether telling Lyra the truth would protect her…
or put her in even greater danger.
That night, after Lyra had gone to bed, Grandma Mira remained awake.
She sat alone beside the dying fire, staring into the flames.
Her hands trembled slightly.
She had spent years convincing herself that the past was gone.
That the old danger had disappeared.
That Lyra could live a normal life.
But the mark had proven her wrong.
Mira slowly whispered to herself.
“It has found her.”
She looked toward the room where Lyra slept.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I should have told her years ago.”
She wiped it away.
“But if I tell her now…”
Mira stopped.
She didn’t know what frightened her more.
Keeping the truth from Lyra…
or finally telling her.
Outside, the wind moved through the trees.
The Blood Moon still hung high in the sky.
And somewhere far away, something ancient stirred.
Mira looked toward the window.
Her expression hardened.
Whatever had awakened that night was not finished.
And sooner or later, Lyra would demand the truth.
When that day came, Grandma Mira knew she would no longer be able to hide it.
But for now…
the secret remained hers.
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