Marked From Birth

Episode:15

Chapter 15: The Judges of the Moon

The arrival of the Great Council was not marked by trumpets, but by a sudden, unnatural silence that smothered the mountain. The birds stopped singing; the wind ceased its howling. Even the forge fires of Kharos seemed to dim as three black-and-gold carriages, pulled by horses with eyes of solid obsidian, rolled through the gates.

Audrey stood on the balcony of the High Hall, her fingers digging into the cold stone railing. Beside her, Vane stood in full ceremonial plate, her face a mask of iron.

"They are here," Vane whispered. "The Arbiters. The High Inquisitor herself, Lady Morana. She hasn't left the Council Seat in fifty years. To come here personally... she wants to see the White Wolf executed."

"Lucas should be here," Audrey said, her voice trembling.

"The Alpha is still in the healing trance," Vane reminded her, her tone softening slightly. "That mercenary’s blade was dipped in wolfsbane and silver. If he wakes too early, the poison will reach his heart. You are the Luna, Audrey. Memory or no memory, you are the only thing standing between our pack and a decree of extermination."

Audrey looked down at her hands. She still felt like a stranger in her own skin. The "flare" in the woods had given her a glimpse of her power, but it hadn't given her back the years of training or the confidence of a Queen. In her mind, she was still the girl who hid in the pantry.

"I don't know the protocols," Audrey whispered. "I don't know the laws."

"Then don't play their game," Vane said, turning Audrey to face her. "They are coming to test a wolf. Show them a goddess."

The Great Hall was transformed. The Silver Pack warriors were relegated to the shadows, while the center of the room was claimed by the Council’s silent, robed Sentinels.

At the head of the hall, seated on a temporary throne of bone and shadow, was Lady Morana. She looked ancient, her skin like crumpled silk, but her eyes were sharp, violet, and predatory.

Audrey walked down the center aisle. Every step felt like walking through deep water. She was draped in a gown of silver silk that mimicked the pelt of a wolf, her hair flowing like a river of white fire down her back.

She stopped ten paces from the High Inquisitor and did not bow.

"Audrey of the Moon Shadow," Morana’s voice was a dry rasp that filled the cavernous room. "Or should I say, Audrey the Usurper? The King of the Silver Pack is absent. A convenient illness, or a coward’s retreat?"

"The Alpha is recovering from an assassination attempt by mercenaries hired by my father," Audrey said, her voice echoing with a strength she didn't know she possessed. "And I am not of the Moon Shadow. That pack is dead. I am the Luna of the Solar Eclipse."

A murmur went through the Council Sentinels.

"Solar Eclipse," Morana mused, her thin lips curling. "A bold name for a girl who cannot even remember the man she claims to lead. Yes, child, we know of Selene’s ritual. We know your mind is a fractured glass. How can a broken vessel hold the purity required for the Trial?"

Audrey felt a cold sweat on her neck. "The mind may forget, but the spirit remains. My power is not tied to my memory."

"We shall see," Morana said, standing up. She raised a heavy, iron staff and struck the floor. Clang. "The Trial of Purity begins at sunset. But there is a complication. Your father, Alpha Terren, has arrived at our camp. He has filed a formal challenge of 'Parental Reclaim.'"

Audrey’s heart stopped. "What does that mean?"

"It means," a new voice boomed from the back of the hall, "that the Trial is no longer a solo performance."

The doors swung open, and Alpha Terren strode in, flanked by Samantha. Samantha looked radiant, wearing the jewels that had belonged to Audrey’s mother—the very jewels Audrey had been forced to polish for years.

"The Council laws state," Terren said, bowing mockingly to Morana, "that if a child is 'spiritually compromised'—as amnesia surely is—the father has the right to act as her proxy in the Trial. If she fails, her power is forfeited to her next of kin. To Samantha."

Samantha smirked, her eyes darting to the black veins still faintly visible under her own sleeves from the dark magic she had used.

"They want to kill you in the Gauntlet, Audrey," Samantha mouthed silently, her smile widening.

Morana looked at Audrey. "You have a choice, girl. You can face the Gauntlet alone, with your fractured mind and no memory of your training. Or you can submit to your father’s 'Reclaim' and return to the Moon Shadow to be 'healed' under Council supervision."

It was a trap. If she went back, she would be a prisoner until they figured out how to drain her power. If she entered the Gauntlet, she would likely die.

Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed from the private stairs.

Lucas appeared at the top of the hall. He was pale, his shoulder heavily bandaged, and he was leaning on a spear just to stay upright. His silver eyes were burning with a terrifying, cold rage.

"She chooses the Gauntlet," Lucas growled, his voice weak but unwavering.

He walked down to Audrey, his presence acting like an anchor in a storm. He reached out and took her hand, his touch sending a jolt of warmth through her.

"And I will enter it with her," Lucas said to Morana. "The Laws of the Bond state that a King and Queen are one spirit. If she walks the shadows, I walk them beside her."

Morana’s eyes flashed. "If you enter and she fails, Lucas, you will both be executed. No Trial, no appeal. You will be erased from the history of the Silver Pack."

Lucas looked at Audrey. He saw the fear in her eyes, the girl who didn't remember their life together. But he also saw the White Wolf prowling behind her pupils.

"I’d rather be erased with her," Lucas whispered to Audrey, "than live a thousand years without her."

"Sunset," Morana declared. "Prepare your souls. The Gauntlet does not forgive."

The sun dipped below the jagged peaks of the Silver Mountains, bleeding a bruised purple across the sky. In the heart of the fortress, the ground itself seemed to groan as the Council Sentinels used their staves to open the entrance to the Gauntlet of Shadows. It was a jagged rift in the stone floor of the arena, leading down into a labyrinth that existed between the physical world and the spirit realm