CHAPTER THREE- THE JOURNEY TO THE MOON TEMPLE
1417 Words
We left Moonridge before sunset.
There was no goodbye.
No time to pack properly.
My mother placed a few clothes into a small bag while I stood beside the window, staring at the forest.
The silver glow was gone now.
But I could still feel it.
Something was watching me.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
My mother tightened the straps of the bag.
“To the Moon Temple.”
I turned around.
“The Moon Temple is real?”
“Unfortunately.”
I had heard stories about it since I was a child.
According to the villagers, the temple had been abandoned hundreds of years ago.
Some said it had been destroyed.
Others believed it was hidden somewhere beyond the northern mountains.
Children used to dare each other to enter the forest and find it.
Nobody ever did.
“Why are we going there?”
“Because your mother left something there.”
I stared at her.
“The Luna?”
She nodded.
“What?”
“I don't know.”
That answer made me nervous.
“You don't know?”
“She never told me what she left behind. She only told me that if your mark ever awakened, I was to take you there.”
“Why didn't she tell you everything?”
“Because the fewer things I knew, the safer you were.”
I looked down at the glowing mark on my wrist.
“I'm not safe anymore.”
My mother didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
We left through the back of the house.
The village looked different.
People stood in their doorways, watching us.
Some whispered.
Others looked away.
Nobody tried to stop us.
But everyone knew.
The Moon had chosen someone.
And that someone was me.
We entered the forest just as darkness began to fall.
For the first hour, neither of us spoke.
I followed my mother along a narrow path I had never seen before.
The trees grew taller as we went deeper.
The air became colder.
Eventually, I noticed something strange.
There were no birds.
No insects.
Nothing.
“Mother.”
She stopped.
“What?”
“Why is the forest so quiet?”
She looked around.
“I don't know.”
But I knew she was lying.
She knew something.
A branch snapped behind us.
We both turned.
Nothing.
“Keep walking,” she whispered.
We continued.
Another branch snapped.
Closer this time.
My mother grabbed my hand.
“Don't look back.”
“Why?”
“Because if you see them, they'll know you can see them.”
My stomach tightened.
“See who?”
She didn't answer.
We walked faster.
Then I heard footsteps.
Not one person.
Several.
My mother pulled me off the path and behind a large tree.
“Stay here.”
“What are you doing?”
“I'm going to make sure the path is clear.”
“Don't leave me.”
She looked at me.
For the first time that night, I saw how tired she was.
“I won't be long.”
She disappeared between the trees.
I waited.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
“Mother?”
Nothing.
I stepped out from behind the tree.
“Mother!”
Still nothing.
Panic rose inside me.
I ran in the direction she had gone.
Then I saw them.
Three wolves stood between the trees.
My heart stopped.
They were enormous.
Their eyes glowed silver.
One stepped toward me.
I backed away.
“Stay away.”
It lowered its head.
The other two did the same.
They weren't attacking.
They were bowing.
Again.
Just like the night before.
A strange warmth spread through my chest.
I reached toward the nearest wolf.
The moment my fingers touched its fur, images flooded my mind.
A palace.
A woman running through a corridor.
Blood on the floor.
A baby crying.
The Luna.
She was holding a newborn child.
Me.
I gasped and pulled my hand away.
The vision disappeared.
The wolf looked at me.
And suddenly I understood.
They knew me.
Not because of my name.
Because of my blood.
“You remember her,” I whispered.
The wolf lifted its head.
A low howl escaped its throat.
The other wolves joined.
Their voices echoed through the forest.
Then someone stepped out from behind the trees.
I turned sharply.
A young man stood there.
He wore a dark traveling cloak.
His expression was calm, but his eyes were fixed on the wolves.
Then they shifted toward me.
“You shouldn't be here.”
I took a step backward.
“Who are you?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the mark on my wrist.
His expression changed.
“You're the one they're searching for.”
“Who?”
“The royal guards.”
My heart sank.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was one of them.”
I stared at him.
He removed his cloak.
Underneath was the uniform of the royal guard.
My hand moved instinctively toward the small knife my mother had given me.
“Don't come closer.”
He stopped.
“I don't intend to hurt you.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't.”
His honesty surprised me.
He looked toward the direction my mother had gone.
“Where is the woman who was traveling with you?”
“My mother?”
He nodded.
“She disappeared.”
His jaw tightened.
“How long ago?”
“About ten minutes.”
He looked into the darkness.
“Then we don't have much time.”
“What do you mean?”
He stepped closer.
“Your mother didn't disappear.”
My blood went cold.
“What?”
“She was taken.”
I couldn't breathe.
“No.”
“I saw four royal guards enter the forest.”
“Then why didn't you stop them?”
“Because I was trying to find you.”
I shook my head.
“This is your fault.”
He didn't defend himself.
“Perhaps.”
I wanted to hate him.
But there was something in his eyes.
Guilt.
Real guilt.
“Who are you?” I asked again.
He hesitated.
“Kael.”
“Kael what?”
“Just Kael.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the only answer I can give you right now.”
I crossed my arms.
“I don't trust you.”
“You shouldn't.”
He looked toward the wolves.
“But if you want your mother alive, you need to come with me.”
I stared at him.
“Where?”
“The Moon Temple.”
My heart skipped.
“You know where it is?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He looked at the mark on my wrist.
“Because your mother wasn't the only person who was given instructions about your awakening.”
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer, a howl echoed through the forest.
The wolves suddenly became alert.
Kael's expression hardened.
“They're coming.”
“Who?”
“The royal hunters.”
He reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
“I can walk by myself.”
He nodded.
“Then walk.”
We moved quickly through the trees.
The wolves surrounded us.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid of them.
I was afraid of what would happen if they weren't there.
After nearly an hour, the trees began to thin.
Ahead of us stood a mountain.
At its base was an enormous stone door.
A crescent moon had been carved into it.
I stared.
“The Moon Temple.”
Kael nodded.
I stepped forward.
The moment I touched the door, the mark on my wrist began to glow.
The stone trembled.
A deep sound echoed beneath our feet.
Then the door slowly opened.
Inside was darkness.
But from somewhere deep within the temple came a woman's voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
“You took too long, my daughter.”
I froze.
My heart pounded.
Kael stared at me.
“You heard that too?”
I nodded.
We stepped inside.
The door closed behind us.
And on the wall before us, silver letters began appearing one by one.
WHEN THE CHOSEN DAUGHTER RETURNS, THE LUNA'S LOST CROWN SHALL AWAKEN.
I stared at the words.
Then another line appeared.
BUT THE CROWN WILL DEMAND A PRICE.
My breath caught.
“What price?”
No one answered.
Then somewhere beneath the temple, something began to growl.
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