chapter 8 The heir within
636 Words
The stars still clung to the early morning sky as Araya moved quietly through the narrow stone corridors of the inner keep. The hallways were quiet, save for the occasional howl from the distant cliffs. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, feeling the shifting weight of her unborn child—or children.
For days now, she had sensed something was different. It wasn’t just the deepening heartbeat she felt beneath her own, but the way her body responded to the child—no, children—growing within her. There were two distinct pulses. Two rhythms. Two energies.
She needed answers.
The den of Elder Solena was warm with the scent of lavender and burning sage. The walls were lined with herbs, scrolls, and carved tokens of the Moon Goddess. Solena, the revered midwife and seer of Silver Moon, stood at the hearth grinding a pale root.
“You came early,” Solena said without turning.
“I had to know,” Araya murmured. “Before I leave.”
Solena motioned her to the table padded with thick wolf pelts. “Lie down. Let the Moon speak.”
Araya obeyed, settling back against the warmth. Her hands trembled slightly as she lifted the front of her tunic.
Solena placed her hands gently on Araya’s belly, whispering in the Old Tongue. The air thickened. Magic stirred. Then a soft hum rose from her throat.
After a long pause, the elder smiled.
“Well now,” she said softly. “You carry not one heartbeat, but two.”
Araya’s breath caught. “Twins?”
“Twins,” Solena confirmed. “Both strong. One wild like fire, the other calm like air. Balanced—opposites, yet bonded.”
Tears stung Araya’s eyes. She hadn’t dared hope. She had feared this journey alone. But now… now there were two.
“Do they sense each other?” she whispered.
Solena nodded. “Even now. Even in the womb. They speak without sound.”
Araya placed her hand over her stomach, overwhelmed.
“You must protect them,” Solena said. “This is no ordinary birth. They carry more than lineage. They carry a prophecy older than any crown.”
“What prophecy?”
But Solena only smiled and brushed a cool hand against Araya’s cheek. “The Moon will reveal in time.”
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Later, with her travel cloak fastened and her guards waiting near the gates, Araya found her father in the outer court.
Darion stood at the stone railing overlooking the forest, his arms crossed tightly. The moment he heard her footsteps, he turned.
“You’re ready?” he asked.
“As ready as I can be,” she said.
He didn’t speak for a long moment. Then he reached forward—something he rarely did—and placed his palm gently over her belly.
“They are strong,” he said quietly.
“You knew?” she asked, startled.
“I suspected. I raised you, Araya. You’ve changed. Your scent is shifting. Your soul feels deeper.”
She nodded, lips trembling.
He didn’t ask who the father was. Not this time.
“I don’t like this,” he muttered. “But I see that it must be done. Just… be careful.”
“I will.”
“Promise me. For their sake.”
“I promise.”
Darion stepped back, his expression unreadable. But his voice softened.
“Come home to us. Come back whole.”
“I will,” she said, voice firmer now. “For them.”
And with that, she mounted her horse, the fur-lined cloak wrapped tight, and rode out of Silver Moon’s gate under a sky kissed with morning light.
Two heartbeats beat steadily inside her.
And far beyond the horizon, an ancient Alpha waited.
Not for her surrender.
But for her return.
- Writer
