Chapter 10:The Truth She Left Behind
1244 Words
“Lyra, now!”
Kael's voice pulled her back.
She stumbled as he dragged her down the passage.
“Wait!”
She turned her head.
Her mother was still standing where they'd left her.
“Mom!”
Her mother's eyes met hers.
For a second, Lyra saw the same sadness she'd carried in every memory of her childhood.
Then her mother smiled.
A small, tired smile.
“Keep the key safe.”
The words barely reached her before the passage shook again.
Kael pulled Lyra around the corner.
The sound of stone cracking followed them.
“Kael, let go!”
“No.”
“My mother is back there!”
“I know.”
“Then stop!”
He finally released her.
Lyra turned on him.
“You can't just drag me away from her.”
“If I hadn't, you would still be standing there.”
“I don't care!”
“I do.”
His voice was sharper than usual.
Lyra stopped.
Kael took a breath and lowered his voice.
“I do care, Lyra. That's the problem.”
She looked at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Maya hurried around the corner.
“Are you both okay?”
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
Maya looked at her.
“What happened?”
“My mother is alive.”
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
“I know.”
Lyra stared at her.
“You knew?”
“Not that she was still alive.”
“But you knew she wasn't dead.”
Maya looked away.
Lyra felt something inside her c***k.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew enough to tell me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because she asked me not to.”
Lyra laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Maya flinched.
“My mother asked you not to tell me. The High Seer said the same thing. Kael's father left a letter warning him about me. How many people have known about my life while I was the only person who didn't?”
No one answered.
Lyra wiped the tears from her face.
“I spent years thinking my mother was gone.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Her voice broke.
“You don't know what it's like to keep remembering someone who isn't coming back.”
Maya stepped closer.
“I do.”
Lyra looked at her.
Maya's eyes were wet.
“Because I watched your mother leave you behind.”
Lyra went still.
“What?”
Maya swallowed.
“She came to my house the night before she disappeared.”
“Why?”
“She was scared.”
“Of what?”
“People were already looking for her.”
Lyra's anger faded slightly.
“What did she say?”
Maya hesitated.
“She said you weren't safe anymore.”
Lyra glanced at the silver key in her palm.
“And she gave you the pendant?”
“No.”
“Then what did she give you?”
Maya shook her head.
“Nothing.”
“You're lying again.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“I was told never to tell you.”
“By my mother?”
“Yes.”
“About what?”
Maya looked at Kael.
He remained silent.
Maya finally said, “She told me that if you ever found the door, I had to make sure you didn't go through the second one.”
Lyra looked down at the key.
“There really is a second door.”
“Yes.”
“What happens if I open it?”
Maya's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
Lyra stared at her.
“You don't know?”
“No.”
A deep rumble came from somewhere behind them.
They all turned.
Kael's expression hardened.
“We need to leave.”
Lyra looked toward the passage.
“What about my mother?”
“If she's alive, we'll come back for her.”
“You promise?”
Kael looked at her.
“Yes.”
It wasn't the kind of promise people made lightly.
Lyra nodded.
“Then let's go.”
They hurried through the passage.
The blue light gradually faded behind them.
When they reached the doorway, Lyra stopped.
She looked back.
For a moment, she thought she saw her mother's silhouette at the far end of the passage.
Then the darkness swallowed it.
Lyra stepped outside.
The forest looked different.
The moon was still above the trees, but the silver light around the Moon Tree had disappeared.
Kael came out behind her.
Maya followed.
No one spoke.
They had barely reached the clearing when several warriors rushed toward them.
“Alpha!”
Kael turned.
“What happened?”
“The eastern patrol found the intruders.”
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Alive?”
The warrior shook his head.
“All dead.”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“Any survivors?”
“One.”
“Where?”
“Near the northern boundary.”
“Take me there.”
The warrior hesitated.
“Alpha, there's something you should see first.”
Kael's expression changed.
“What?”
The warrior looked at Lyra.
Then at Maya.
“We found this beside the bodies.”
He held out a small piece of black cloth.
There was a symbol stitched into it.
A crescent moon.
Three stars.
Lyra's stomach tightened.
“The same symbol.”
Kael took the cloth.
His fingers went still.
“What?”
Lyra looked at him.
“You recognize it.”
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said quietly, “My father's old crest.”
Lyra stared at him.
“Your father's?”
“Yes.”
Maya stepped closer.
“That's impossible.”
Kael looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because that crest disappeared with him.”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“What are you talking about?”
Maya looked frightened.
“My mother told me the crest belonged to a group that existed before this pack.”
Lyra looked between them.
“Who?”
Maya shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Kael's patience finally snapped.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
He threw the piece of cloth onto the ground.
“If someone knows something, now would be a good time to say it.”
Silence.
Then Lyra noticed something.
There was writing on the inside of the cloth.
She bent down and picked it up.
Three words had been stitched into the fabric.
SHE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING.
Lyra's heart began to pound.
“Who?”
Kael looked at her.
The warrior's face had gone pale.
“Alpha…”
“What?”
The warrior swallowed.
“The survivor.”
Kael turned.
“What about him?”
“He's awake.”
“And?”
“He keeps asking for the girl.”
Lyra felt cold.
“What did he say?”
The warrior looked directly at her.
“He said…”
He hesitated.
“He said her mother told him where to find her.”
Lyra couldn't breathe.
Kael stepped in front of her.
“That doesn't make sense.”
The warrior shook his head.
“He said one more thing.”
“What?”
“He said the woman in the forest isn't Lyra's mother.”
Silence.
Lyra stared at him.
“What?”
The warrior lowered his voice.
“He said the woman you saw…”
He looked at Lyra.
“…isn't your mother.”
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