Chapter5
1253 Words
Her mark wouldn’t stop burning. Liana was still on her knees, gripping her wrist like it might rip open. The vision of Kael’s wolf had vanished, but the heat was still crawling up her arm like fire. She didn’t call for Maelis. She didn’t scream. She couldn’t. Something had changed. Something had started, and it wasn’t just the bond.
She clutched her arm as Maelis rushed toward her from the cave. “What happened?” the old woman demanded.
“I saw him,” Liana gasped. “But not really. It wasn’t him, not his body. Just… light. A shape. His wolf.”
Maelis’s eyes went still. Her fingers brushed against Liana’s wrist that glowed. The second she felt it, she pulled her hand away like she’d touched fire.
“You weren’t meant to see him yet,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to. It just… happened.”
Maelis’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t just a bond. It’s waking on its own now. You need to control it, or it’ll control you.”
Liana barely slept that night. Her body wouldn’t rest. The mark on her wrist wouldn’t go away; it kept glowing, silver and soft under her skin. She stood outside in the early hours, breathing in the cold morning air. The forest was quiet again, but something felt off.
Her wolf was quiet—but not calm.
She sensed it before she heard it. A shift in the air. The subtle crunch of dirt under boots, not paws.
She turned.
A man was standing at the edge of the trees. Not Maelis. Not a wolf. Not Kael. He was tall, wearing a dark coat that looked dusty from long travel. His eyes caught the early light not gold, not brown. They were the color of ash.
“You’re late,” he said.
Liana’s fingers curled. “Who are you?”
“Kade,” he said. “You’re the girl they’re hunting.”
Her wolf stirred uneasily. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen the others,” he said. “They’re not looking for a Seer anymore. They’re looking for you.”
Liana opened her mouth, but before she could speak a burst of wind shot through the clearing. Maelis appeared between them in an instant, her staff glowing.
“Kade,” she said coldly. “You should’ve stayed dead.”
Kade raised an eyebrow. “Nice to see you too, Maelis.”
“You’re not welcome here.”
“I didn’t come here for you.”
Maelis took a step forward. “You’re a traitor.”
Kade wasn’t afraid. “And you’re still keeping secrets from her?” he said, nodding toward Liana. “Has she even seen the map? Or the names you scratched out?”
Liana stepped forward. “What is he talking about?”
Maelis didn’t answer.
Kade’s eyes met hers. “You’re not the first Moon Seer to be hunted. And Maelis isn’t the first to think she could keep one alive.”
Maelis snapped her staff down. The ground cracked. “That’s enough.”
Kade raised his hands. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Then stop circling her like a vulture.”
“I came to warn her.”
Liana stepped between them. “Both of you shut up. I want the truth.”
Silence fell.
Maelis stared at her, then lowered her staff.
Kade spoke first. “They’ve found another like you. A girl. Young. Seer mark awakened. They killed her three nights ago.”
Liana’s throat tightened. “Where?”
Kade’s voice softened. “Two valleys north.”
Maelis turned away.
Liana caught it, the flicker of guilt on her face.
“She knew,” Kade said quietly. “Didn’t you?”
Liana stepped back. “You let her die?”
“I didn’t have time.”
“You didn’t tell me there were others,” Liana said. “Why?”
Maelis turned sharply. “Because I couldn’t protect them all.”
“But you could protect me?” Liana asked. “Why just me?”
Kade answered instead. “Because your blood is different.”
Liana turned to him. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen your mark before,” he said. “Once. A long time ago.”
And then, in the mountains far beyond the valley, Kael sat alone in the council chamber. The elders had left hours ago. Their warning still rang in his ears.
“Your control is slipping. If it happens again, we won’t have a choice. You will be removed.”
He stared at the floor, fists tight. The wolf inside him wasn’t calm, just quiet. It paced. Clawed. Watched. He felt her everywhere now—in his breath and in his bones.
Every time he shut his eyes, he saw. Those glowing eyes. The silver rising from her skin felt like smoke. He couldn’t tell anymore if it was a memory or just a dream. He stood up from his seat and slammed his fist into the wall. The stone cracked. Blood ran down his knuckles.
“She’s alive,” he said.
The wolf inside him growled.
“And I’m going to find her.”
Back in the cave, Liana sat by the fire, arms wrapped tight around herself. Maelis paced behind her.
“He should never have come here,” the old woman muttered.
“You knew him?” Liana asked.
“I trained him.”
“What happened?”
Maelis stopped walking. “He betrayed us. Years ago. When the last Seer was taken.”
“Taken?”
Maelis hesitated. “The council didn’t want Seers anymore. Said they were too dangerous. He was assigned to protect one… and she died. Some say he let it happen.”
“And what do you say?”
Maelis looked at the fire. “I say grief breaks people in different ways.”
Liana turned back to the flames. “Is he telling the truth about the girl?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
Maelis didn’t answer.
Liana’s heart ached. Not from pain but from pressure. The pressure of everything rising.
Riel woke up that evening. Liana rushed to him and dropped to her knees beside him. He flinched the moment his eyes met hers.
“No,” he gasped. “No he was here. He was one of them.”
“Who?” Liana asked. “Who was here?”
“Dark coat… scar on his neck… his eyes
“Kade,” she said.
Riel nodded violently. “He was with them. The ones who took me. He watched while they marked me. He didn’t stop them.”
Liana stood up, her thoughts spinning. Kade had lied. Maelis hadn’t told her the truth either. And for a second it felt like the ground had moved under her feet.
Riel’s voice was faint. “Don’t trust him.”
Later that night, Liana walked outside alone. The sky was heavy with stars. The trees whispered her name again. Her mark pulsed on her wrist—slowly at first, then faster.
She followed it.
Every step into the woods made the air feel colder.
Then she saw it.
A tree, charred black, standing alone. At its base, something carved into the bark:
Seer of the Silver Curse.
Liana stared at it. Her breath caught.
Her wolf whispered in her mind. “Someone knows what you are. And they’ve already named your death.”
- Writer
