CHAPTER 3 - NOCTARYN
1316 Words
"Moonborn! Moonborn!! Moonborn!!!"
The words resounded.
Then the voices changed when a voice rose above the others.
It was a woman's voice.
It heartbreakingly said,"find me, before they do"
Nyra suddenly woke up.
She breathed normally unlike the last time she was remembered.
For some moments she couldn't recall where she was.
The ceiling above her wasn't familiar to her ,neither were the walls.
The soft silver curtains that hung around a massive bed which she may have been on.
Nothing about the room resembled that of Crescent Moon Pack.
Her breathing became steady as she sat uprightly.
“Big mistake,” Nyra whispered to herself.
All her muscles were still and exhausted,as if she had spent days running without rest.
The silver mark beneath her collarbone burned faintly without pain this time around.
The memory returned immediately.
The forest and the attackers.
The strange power and the silver-eyed stranger who stood for her.
Nyra looked around to be sure she was alone.
As she turned, she noticed a tray of food set nearby with fresh bread,fruit and tea.
Someone had expected her to wake up at that time.
Which meant someone had been watching her all the while she was sleeping.
The thought made her uncomfortable and considered running away at that instant.
The door opened quietly.
And a young woman entered carrying folded linens.
She stopped at the sight of seeing Nyra.
"You're awake,” she asked.
Nyra immediately climbed out of the bed.
Her knees nearly buckled like she wanted to fall down.
The woman rushed forward.
"Easy."
But Nyra wasn't after those words.
"I need answers."
The stranger blinked her eyes and replied her
"You sound exactly like him,no wonder he picked interest in you."
Nyra couldn't comprehend what she was saying.
"Him?"
The woman immediately looked with regret on her face.
As if she had said what she wasn't supposed to say.
Nyra noticed it and continued.
"Who brought me here?"
The woman waited for a few moments and then sighed.
"The king."
Nyra stared at her.
"The king?"
The woman nodded.
"King Azriel."
The name had no meaning in her mind.
But the woman's expression suggested it should.
"Who is King Azriel?"
The linen bundle slipped slightly in the woman's hands.
"You truly don't know?"
There appeared a strange look across the woman's face,somewhere between disbelief and concern.
"You've never heard of Azriel Varkayn?"
Nyra slowly nodded her head in affirmation.
Every child in the north knew stories about rogue wolves.Every warrior also knew stories about Lycans.
And everyone knew stories about Azriel Varkayn who was regarded as the Cursed King,the Beast of Noctaryn,the Lycan ruler feared across kingdoms.
Nyra knew none of those things.
Which suddenly explained why she had been foolish enough to argue with him
Inside the forest.
The woman laughed softly.
"Oh, this is going to be interesting."
"I don't like being confused."
The woman placed the linens down.
"My name is Mira."
"Nyra,”a warm smile appeared as she replied.
"No need for that I already know.”
That answer did not make Nyra feel better.
Before she could ask another question, the doors opened again.
This time,six guards entered.
Each carried silver weapons.
Their expressions were suspicious and hostile.
Nyra moved backward.
The room that was once big look smaller in her eyes
One guard looked at her.
"She's awake."
Another nodded.
"Inform His Majesty."
“His Majesty,” she said in her thoughts.
The title was heavy for her to comprehend.
The guards continued staring at her like if allowed she would escape.
Nyra hated all of it
She knew those looks were the same looks she had endured her entire life.
These men weren't looking at her because she lacked a wolf.
They looked at her as if she might suddenly become dangerous and harmful.
The thought frightened her more than she wanted to admit.
Mira noticed what was happening and said
"Leave."
The command surprised everyone,including the guards.
One of them responded immediately.
"We have orders and besides she's barely standing."
The guard hesitated,then eventually nodded and left, leaving the two women.
Nyra released a breath she didn't realize she was withholding.
"They don't trust me."
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
"At least you're honest."
Mira continued
"Things are complicated now because of what happened in the forest?"
The woman's face became serious.
Nobody has displayed Moonborn magic in nearly five hundred years."
Nyra was shocked she didn't know when she looked at Mira with mouths open.
“Moonborn,”
The same word the attackers had used,
Which is still the same word from her dreams.
"What does it mean?"
Mira looked away.
"That isn't my story to tell."
Everyone seemed to know something about her which she herself didn't know.
The door opened again.
But this time the room became silent like when I was alone.
Even Mira stood still.
Nyra didn't need an introduction as she recognized the person who entered.
The stranger from the forest.
But now he wore a black military-style coat embroidered with silver symbols.
He looked more intimidating in daylight
King Azriel was he.
The room seemed to belong to him but no ,one could say the entire world belongs to him.
His eyes were on Nyra.
Azriel dismissed Mira with a glance.
The woman left the room leaving only Nyra alone with him.
No one said anything.
Azriel studied her carefully,like someone searching for something.
Finally he broke the silence.
"How do you feel?"
The question caught her off guard because she was expecting interrogation and not concerned.
"Confused."
Nyra folded her arms.
"I have questions."
"So do I," this answer irritated her.
"Then perhaps you should answer mine first since I woke up in an unfamiliar kingdom."
The room felt silent again.
Then something unexpected happened.
Azriel laughed.
The sound startled Nyra which also startled him too.
But when his amusement disappeared
"You speak boldly."
"You kidn*pped me."
His eyebrow rose.
"I rescued you."
"Without permission."
"You were unconscious."
"Still counts."
For some seconds he only looked at her then shook his head.
"You are not what I expected."
Something about that statement made her uneasy but in her heart,she knew no matter what, she was still safe.
"What did you expect?"
His expression darkened.
"A corpse."
The answer silenced her immediately.
Azriel moved toward the window.
The sunlight made her see old scars from one side of his to another neck which she couldn't notice earlier on.
"You were hunted."
His voice became softer this time.
"Professional assassins crossed kingdom borders to kill you."
Nyra tried to comprehend why anyone would want her dead,an unwanted omega.
She remembered the men in masks earlier on with their weapons.
As if he was reading her thoughts, Azriel turned toward her.
"No,you are not a nobody."
Tensions filled the entire room while his silver eyes were looking into Nyra’s.
"The people hunting you know exactly who you are."
"Then tell me."
Azriel looked at her and smiled like someone that would bring hope alive.
Then he replied to her.
"Not yet,It isn't safe."
"Safe for who?.”
The king didn't answer this time.
Which occurred to her that whatever secret surrounding her was far bigger than she imagined and also more dangerous.
A knock interrupted their discussion as a soldier entered hurriedly.
The man's face looked concerned.
"Your Majesty."
Azriel immediately became alert.
"There is a problem."
"Which is ..,” Azriel tried to set the ground fertile to receive his answers.
The man's face looked more serious than ever.
"A message arrived this morning."
Azriel's eyes became inquisitive to know who the message was from.
But the soldier looked directly at Nyra and with that look she knew the answer wasn't going to favour her as usual.
"From the Blood Court."
The soldier's voice dropped even lower.
"The vampires know she's alive."
- Writer
