Chapter 5: The Eyes She Shouldn't Remember
1450 Words
The crimson eyes never blinked.
They stared at Lyra with an eerie familiarity that sent a chill racing down her spine.
No.
That couldn't be possible.
She had never seen that creature before.
Yet the instant their gazes met, a forgotten memory flashed through her mind.
A woman with silver hair held a little girl close beneath a moonlit sky.
"Whatever happens," the woman whispered through tears, "never let them find you."
A deafening roar shattered the memory.
The Bloodborn lunged.
"Protect the Queen!"
Captain Magnus Thorn's command rang through the battlefield.
Steel clashed against claws.
The first Bloodborn crashed into the Royal Guard's shield wall, only to be met by flashing silver blades. Black blood sprayed across the broken stones of the arena as two monsters fell.
But three more took their place.
Then five.
Then ten.
"They're endless!" one Lycan shouted.
Kael stepped forward.
His sword carved a brilliant silver arc through the night.
One swing.
Three Bloodborn were cut cleanly in half.
A second strike sent another wave of monsters flying.
The battlefield fell silent for a heartbeat.
Every wolf stared in awe.
"So..."
Damon whispered, unable to hide his shock.
"This is the strength of a Lycan King."
Kael wasn't merely stronger than an Alpha.
He stood on an entirely different level.
The masked leader of the Hollow Fang chuckled.
"As expected."
He raised a hand.
"Release the Second Wave."
The forest exploded.
More Bloodborn poured from the darkness, their snarls shaking the trees.
There were too many.
Even the Royal Guard began giving ground.
Captain Magnus blocked a massive claw, but the impact drove him to one knee.
Another Bloodborn sprang toward him.
Before it could strike
A flash of silver shot across the battlefield.
The creature was hurled away as an invisible force crushed it into the ground.
Everyone froze.
Magnus blinked.
"I... didn't attack."
Kael slowly turned.
His eyes widened.
The silver energy wasn't coming from him.
It was coming from Lyra.
She stood motionless, her feet barely touching the ground as moonlight spiraled around her body.
Her eyes...
They were no longer their warm hazel.
They glowed like molten silver.
The c***ked moonstone answered her awakening.
A beam of moonlight descended from the heavens, enveloping her in radiant light.
Every Bloodborn recoiled in terror.
The ancient voice echoed through her soul once more.
"Do not fear your power."
"You were never born to kneel."
Lyra's heartbeat thundered.
"I... can't control it."
"You don't need to."
The voice was calm.
"Simply remember who you are."
Suddenly, the memory returned.
Not as fragments.
As the truth.
She saw her mother standing before an ancient palace.
A crown rested in her hands.
Behind her, warriors fought desperately against an army wearing bone-white masks.
The Hollow Fang.
Her mother's tear-filled eyes met hers.
"They'll erase our name from history..."
She pressed a silver pendant into young Lyra's tiny hands.
"But one day..."
"...our Queen will return."
The vision shattered.
Lyra gasped.
The pendant hidden beneath her dress burned against her skin.
She had worn it every day since childhood.
She had never known why her mother insisted she never remove it.
Now...
The silver pendant floated into the air on its own.
Cracks spread across its surface.
Then it broke apart.
A brilliant crescent-shaped crystal emerged from within.
The instant Kael saw it, he dropped to one knee.
Every member of the Royal Guard followed.
"The Royal Moon Crest..."
Magnus whispered in disbelief.
"It survived."
Even Elder Rowan fell prostrate.
"The sacred emblem of the First Lycan Queen."
Across the battlefield, the masked leader's laughter disappeared.
His body stiffened.
"No..."
"Destroy it!"
He pointed frantically at Lyra.
"Kill her now!"
The Bloodborn charged with reckless fury.
Kael rose, placing himself between Lyra and the oncoming horde.
"No one touches her."
His aura erupted.
At the same time, Lyra instinctively reached for the floating crystal.
The moment her fingers closed around it—
A pulse of silver light exploded across the valley.
Every Bloodborn screamed.
The Hollow Fang warriors staggered backward.
Far beyond the Blackwood Pack, hidden within the ruins of an ancient fortress, Lucien Nightbane slowly stood from his throne.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
Then, for the first time in twenty years...
He smiled.
"So..."
"The Crown has finally chosen its Queen."
He lifted an ancient black sword from beside his throne.
"Prepare my army."
"This time..."
"I'll claim her myself."
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