CHAPTER 10 THE NEW ELARA
655 Words
The battle ended at sunrise.
Kael survived.
But the poison in his wound was dangerous.
My mother examined it.
“The Council used Lunarbane.”
“Can you cure it?”
“Maybe.”
I looked at Kael.
He was unconscious.
For a moment, he looked younger.
Less like a king.
More like the man I had once loved.
Ryder approached.
“He took the arrow for you.”
“I know.”
“You still love him.”
I looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
Ryder smiled sadly.
“You don’t have to know yet.”
I sat beside Kael.
When he woke, his eyes immediately found mine.
“Elara.”
“I’m here.”
He tried to sit.
“Don’t.”
He obeyed.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
“You almost lost your life.”
“Would have been worth it.”
“Don’t say that.”
His eyes softened.
“I meant what I said.”
“What?”
“I’ll wait.”
I looked away.
“You shouldn’t.”
“I will.”
Silence settled between us.
Then I asked the question that had haunted me.
“Why did you really reject me?”
Kael’s expression changed.
“Because of a blood oath.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Three years ago, the Moon Council forced me into an oath.”
“What kind?”
“If I ever accepted you…”
He swallowed.
“…the oath would take my life.”
I stared at him.
“So you rejected me to save yourself?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I rejected you because I thought the oath would kill me and then come for you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the oath forbade me.”
I stood.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
“You should have let me choose.”
“I know.”
“You should have fought.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I was afraid.”
Those three words changed something inside me.
The mighty Alpha King had finally admitted that he had been afraid.
I sat again.
“I don’t forgive you.”
“I know.”
“But…”
I hesitated.
“I’m listening.”
His eyes met mine.
That tiny hope nearly broke me.
Before I could continue, my mother entered.
Her expression was grim.
“Elara.”
I stood.
“What happened?”
She looked at Kael.
Then at me.
“The blood oath has awakened.”
Kael went pale.
“What does that mean?”
My mother looked toward the mountains.
“It means the Council no longer needs Kael.”
I frowned.
“Then what do they want?”
My mother’s eyes met mine.
“They want you.”
“Why?”
“Because your power is now strong enough to open the Lunar Gate.”
“What is behind it?”
She hesitated.
“The ancient army.”
I felt cold.
“What army?”
My mother whispered:
“The army that destroyed the old kingdom.”
Silence.
“Why would they want to open the gate?”
My mother looked at Kael.
“Because the person who controls that army…”
She paused.
“…controls every wolf kingdom.”
Suddenly, a black mark appeared across Kael’s chest.
He screamed.
The blood oath had activated.
And from somewhere beyond the mountains, a thousand wolves began howling.
My mother looked at me.
“The war has begun.”
I looked toward the moon.
Three years ago, I had run from the Alpha King.
Now I stood as the heir to an ancient kingdom.
But the truth was worse than I imagined.
The Council hadn’t wanted me dead.
They wanted me alive.
They had been waiting for my power to awaken.
And now that it had…
they were coming for their queen.
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