Chapter7
735 Words
The fire ate her mother’s words, but not the truth. Liana didn’t flinch as the last edge of the letter curled into ash. Her fingers went over the flames enough to burn her, but she did not move because the voice in her spoke louder. The person who you think loves you most may still be the one who will hurt you more. She opened her hand and left the ashes to fall down, looking at it fall into the fire. Then she rose, slow and steady, her jaw tight. The truth was now out. There was no taking it back.
Maelis stood in the shadows, silent.
“You knew,” Liana said. Her voice was calm, but she looked betrayed. “You knew the curse did not come from me. And you were aware that it came from him.”
Maelis didn’t answer.
“You told me to wait. To train. To trust fate. But fate didn’t kill those other Seers. People did. Bloodlines did.”
Still, Maelis didn’t move.
“You should have told me sooner,” Liana said.
“I wanted to,” Maelis replied.
“But you didn’t.”
“I didn’t know how.”
Liana turned away from the fire. “You weren’t trying to protect me. You were trying to protect the idea of who I might become.”
Maelis didn’t respond.
Liana stepped away from the ashes and said, “I’m not staying here much longer.”
Maelis finally looked up. “You’re leaving?”
“I need to. I can’t stay buried in stone while the world above keeps bleeding.”
Maelis studied her for a while. “Then give me one more moon cycle.”
Liana frowned. “Why?”
“You’re not ready yet. You’re close. But not enough.”
“I’ve trained every day. I’ve learned to use my gifts. I’ve learned to control the bond. What else is there?”
Maelis moved closer. “You’ve grown. But you haven’t tested what that growth can survive.”
Liana stayed quiet.
“One more moon cycle,” she said. “You’ve come this far, and the kind of strength you’ll need out there… you don’t get it overnight.”
Liana didn’t argue. But she didn’t agree either. She just turned and walked toward the training chamber. Her shadow danced along the walls behind her.
One year later
The cave was quiet.
Liana stood at the entrance of it with her bag slung across her shoulder. The dagger Maelis gave her mother was strapped tightly to her hip. Her boots were worn from training. Her fingers were calloused. Her spirit sharpened. She was something else now.
A Seer still, yes. Not broken, not hunted but prepared.
Maelis stood in the stone archway, her expression unreadable.
“You won’t have a map for what’s ahead,” the old woman said.
“I know.”
“The ones who seek you will not stop. Not even after death.”
“I know.”
Maelis stepped closer and handed her a sealed scroll and a crystal pendant. “For emergencies only. And don’t lose yourself in what they want you to be.”
“I already decided who I am,” Liana said softly.
Maelis tilted her head. “Then tell me… what will be your name now out there?”
Liana pulled her hood tighter, turned back to look at the shining cave, and took her first step to go back to the world she had left behind.
“Lyra,” she said.
“Lyra Vale.”
And she didn’t look back.
Nightfall Pack (Present Day)
A cold wind stirred through the trees as a figure approached the border.
Two guards focused as the woman came out of the shadows, her movement silent but deliberate. Her face was hidden under the hood, her scent faint but not unknown.
She handed over a scroll with a red wax seal. Neither guard spoke as they examined it.
“Name?” one of them asked cautiously.
The woman looked up just slightly. Her eyes, silver under the fading sun, held no fear.
“Lyra Vale.”
The name was foreign to them, yet something in it made the guard pause like an echo that didn’t belong to the wind.
Inside the borders, deeper within the heart of the territory, Alpha Kael sat in silence.
And without knowing why…
His wolf stirred.
- Writer
