chapter six
1128 Words
Kael moved through the forest like a shadow. The wind whispered through the trees, but even it seemed to part around him, bending instinctively to his presence.
The deeper he went, the darker it became.
Branches twisted overhead, choking out what little moonlight tried to filter through. There were layers of protection around the forest
The kind that did not welcome intruders.
The kind that punished them.
Kael didn’t slow down even though he knew this already. The only difference was he wasn't an intruder.
His gaze remained fixed ahead, his expression hard. But beneath that controlled exterior, something sharp coiled tightly in his chest.
Doubt.
He didn’t like it or entertain it and yet the witch’s words lingered.
It’s gone.
His jaw tightened.
“No,” he muttered under his breath.
it wasn't possible, it couldn’t be.
The cave came into view.
Hidden between jagged cliffs, its entrance barely visible beneath layers of overgrowth and trees. To an untrained eye, it would seem like nothing more than a natural formation. Something forgotten and insignificant.
But Kael knew better.
He could feel the spells around the place.
They pulsed faintly beneath the surface, woven together with precision and intent. Ancient magic wrapped around the cave like chains, layered upon layers, each one designed to repel, confuse… destroy.
No one entered or even got close.
Unless they were him.
Kael slowed as he approached.
For the first time since leaving the palace, he stopped.
He exhaled slowly, then lifted his hand slightly, his fingers curling as he focused.
His lips moved quietly and words slipped from him. A language long buried beneath time, known only to those who had worn the crown before him.
A king’s right and a king’s command.
The forest stilled and the magic trembled and then itt parted. It was lifted just enough for him.
Kael lowered his hand, his expression unchanged, and stepped forward.
The moment he crossed the air inside the cave was colder, thick with the weight of centuries. The silence was absolute, pressing against his senses. He didn’t like this place very much.
He walked forward slowly, his boots echoing faintly against the stone floor.
One torch ignited as he walked then anothe and another.
Their flames flickered to life along the walls, one by one, illuminating the path ahead as if welcoming him back.
Kael didn’t react or pause.
His eyes moved carefully, scanning every inch of the cave as he walked deeper inside.
Everything looked the same, exactly as it had always been.
Good, that was good.
It meant....
His steps slowed slightly.
No.
He clenched his jaw.
He would see it for himself.
The center of the cave came into view.
A wide, open space carved into perfect stillness and there at its heart stood the pedestal.
It rose from the ground like it had always belonged there, etched with markings that pulsed faintly beneath the torchlight.
Kael stopped a few steps away.
For a moment, he simply stood there in silence.
Then he exhaled deeply and stepped forward.
His hand lifted and paused for a second befoee he pressed it firmly against the surface of the pedestal.
Nothing happened at first but soon a low hum filled the air.
The markings began to glow faintly, responding to his touch.
Slowly and gradually the stone shifted.
The pedestal began to open, splitting apart in careful precision, revealing what had been hidden within for generations.
Kael’s eyes remained fixed on it.
It would be there, it had to be.
The stone completed its movement and for a single moment time stopped.
His breath caught and his heart dropped....
It was empty.
The space where the Moon Stone should have rested…was empty.
There was no glow or energy, nothing.
It was just gone.
Kael didn’t move or breathe, for a moment, the world simply… ceased.
“No…”
The word slipped out, barely more than a whisper.
His eyes darkened as he stepped closer, his gaze scanning the pedestal as if the stone might suddenly appear.
But it didn’t.
It wasn’t there, itwasn’t anywhere.
His hand clenched tightly against the edge of the stone, the control he carried so effortlessly beginning to crack.
Impossible.
No one knew, no one could have known.
The location was never spoken or written. It was simply passed only from king to king.
A secret buried so deep it should have been untouchable and yet it was gone.
The witch’s voice echoed in his mind.
'The Moon Stone is no longer in this realm.'
His jaw tightened sharply, she had been right.
The realization hit hard.
A low breath left him as he straightened slowly, his expression darkening with every passing second.
This wasn’t just a loss.
It was a threat.
The Moon Stone was more than an artifact.
It was balance and power for the lycanthrope.
Without it, the Lycans were already beginning to lose themselves.
They would become feral and rogue, well that was already happening and if word of this got out...
Kael’s gaze hardened, it would be chaos.
Their enemies would seize the opportunity.
Pack against pack.
Kingdom against kingdom.
War.
And worse, fear.
Fear would spread faster than anything and once it did it would not be contained.
His hands curled into fists at his sides.
No.
He wouldn’t allow it. not under his rule or in his kingdom.
Kael turned sharply.
The decision was instant and final
He didn’t waste another second or look back.
He strode out of the cave, his steps faster now, sharper, driven by something far more urgent than before.
The torches flickered behind him as he moved, the light fading the moment he passed.
By the time he crossed the threshold the spells sealed themselves once more.
As if nothing had ever been disturbed.
As if the truth hadn’t just shattered everything.
The journey back was quicker and more focused.
The doubt from earlier was gone.
Replaced with something far more dangerous, anger.
By the time the palace came into view, the first hints of dawn had begun to creep along the horizon.
But Kael didn’t slow or rest.
He entered the palace the same way he had left it useen and unnoticed and the moment he stepped inside his voice cut through the silence like a blade.
“Summon Seraphine.”
The command echoed down the corridor, sharp and immediate.
The guards straightened instantly.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kael didn’t stop walking.
“Now.”
There was no room for delay or for error.
Because everything had changed.
And the moment Seraphine stepped back into that chamber he would make sure she understood exactly how serious it was.
The Moon Stone was gone and whatever had taken it had just declared war.
- Writer
