Chapter13:The Blood Beneath
958 Words
Lyra couldn't breathe.
The sound came again from beneath the floor.
Thump.
Kael moved in front of her.
“Stay behind me.”
Lyra barely heard him.
Her wrist was burning. The Moonborn mark glowed beneath her skin, pulsing with every beat coming from below.
Maya backed toward the wall.
“This isn't supposed to happen.”
Lyra looked at her.
“What isn't?”
“The awakening.”
Kael turned.
“You knew this could happen?”
Maya swallowed.
“I knew it was possible.”
“That's not what I asked.”
“I didn't know when it would happen.”
Another beat shook the room.
Thump.
The old photograph slipped from Kael's hand and landed on the floor.
Lyra looked down.
For a moment, she forgot about the heartbeat.
The photograph had landed face-up.
Her younger self stared back at her.
So did her mother.
And Kael's father.
Lyra crouched and picked it up.
There was something written beneath the date that she hadn't noticed before.
A name.
Elara.
She frowned.
“Who is Elara?”
Kael looked at the photograph.
“I don't know.”
Maya went pale.
Lyra noticed immediately.
“You do.”
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
“You just reacted.”
“I've heard the name before.”
“Where?”
Maya hesitated.
“From your mother.”
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
“What did she say?”
Maya looked toward the closed door.
“She told me never to say that name in front of you.”
Lyra's frustration returned.
“Why does everyone keep deciding what I can and can't know?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone says that.”
Her voice cracked.
“But nobody ever asks what I want.”
Kael looked at her.
“What do you want?”
Lyra turned toward him.
“The truth.”
There was no hesitation in her answer.
“I want all of it.”
Kael held her gaze.
“Then we'll find it.”
Before Lyra could respond, the heartbeat came again.
This time, the entire floor shook.
The desk moved.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Maya grabbed the edge of the table.
“Kael!”
“I know.”
A c***k appeared across the stone floor.
Lyra stepped back.
“What's happening?”
Kael reached for her.
“Get away from the center.”
But the c***k was already widening.
A faint silver light seeped through it.
Lyra's mark burned hotter.
She cried out and grabbed her wrist.
Kael caught her before she fell.
“Lyra!”
“I can't—”
Her knees gave way.
He lowered her carefully to the floor.
The silver light grew brighter.
Then Lyra heard something.
Not from the room.
Not from the forest.
Inside her head.
Lyra.
Her eyes widened.
“Did you hear that?”
Kael frowned.
“Hear what?”
She looked at Maya.
Maya shook her head.
Lyra closed her eyes.
The voice came again.
You shouldn't have opened the door.
Her breathing became uneven.
“Who are you?”
No answer.
Then another whisper.
Your mother knew this would happen.
Lyra opened her eyes.
“My mother?”
Kael looked at her.
“What did you hear?”
Before she could answer, the c***k in the floor suddenly widened.
A rush of cold air swept through the room.
Something was rising from the darkness.
Kael pulled Lyra behind him.
Maya stepped back.
A hand appeared through the opening.
Pale.
Human.
Lyra stared.
Then another hand followed.
Someone slowly pulled herself out of the darkness.
A woman.
She wore an old black cloak.
Her hair was wet, and her face was hidden beneath the hood.
Kael's claws appeared.
“Who are you?”
The woman didn't answer.
She lifted her head.
Lyra froze.
The woman looked directly at her.
Then she smiled.
“You really do look like her.”
Lyra's heart pounded.
“Like who?”
The woman slowly lowered her hood.
Lyra didn't recognize her.
But Kael did.
His expression changed completely.
“No.”
The woman gave him a faint smile.
“You remember me, Alpha.”
Kael took a step back.
“You died.”
The woman's smile faded.
“So did your father.”
Silence filled the room.
Lyra looked at Kael.
“Who is she?”
He didn't answer.
The woman looked at Lyra.
Then at the silver key in her hand.
“Your mother gave you that?”
Lyra tightened her grip.
“Yes.”
The woman's eyes darkened.
“Then she has finally decided to tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
The woman looked at Kael.
“The truth about your father.”
Kael's jaw tightened.
“Don't.”
“You still don't know.”
“Know what?”
The woman studied him for a moment.
Then her gaze returned to Lyra.
“Your father wasn't the man you were told he was.”
Lyra's stomach dropped.
“What are you talking about?”
Kael stepped forward.
“Enough.”
The woman ignored him.
“Your mother kept the truth from you because she thought it would keep you safe.”
Lyra shook her head.
“Who was my father?”
The woman was silent for a moment.
Then she said quietly,
“He wasn't the Alpha.”
Lyra stared at her.
Kael's face had gone pale.
“Don't listen to her,” he said.
But Lyra couldn't look away.
“Then who was he?”
The woman's expression became unreadable.
“A king.”
The silver key in Lyra's hand suddenly cracked.
A sharp pulse of light filled the room.
And somewhere far beneath them...
Something began to wake.
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