Chapter no 2 : The Awakening
1059 Words
Chapter Two — The Awakening
Darkness.
That was the first thing Elara felt.
Not the darkness of night, but something deeper. Something that seemed to have no beginning and no end.
She couldn't feel the ground beneath her.
She couldn't hear the wind.
She couldn't even hear her own breathing.
Then, slowly, she heard a voice.
“Elara.”
She tried to open her eyes.
Nothing.
“Elara, wake up.”
The voice sounded distant, almost as though it were coming from beneath the earth.
She recognized it.
Kael.
Her eyes opened suddenly.
She gasped.
She was lying on cold stone.
Moonlight spilled through a narrow window above her, painting silver patterns across the floor. Her head throbbed, and for several seconds she couldn't remember where she was.
Then everything returned.
The forest.
The wolves.
The glowing mark.
Kael.
She pushed herself upright.
“Kael?”
No answer.
Panic rushed through her.
She looked around the room.
It was enormous. Dark wooden walls surrounded her, decorated with ancient symbols and weapons she didn't recognize. A large fireplace burned on the opposite side, though no one appeared to be tending it.
She slowly stood.
Her clothes were still the same.
The herbs she'd collected were scattered beside the bed.
But Kael was nowhere to be seen.
Elara walked toward the door.
Before she could touch the handle, it opened.
A young woman stood outside.
She had long silver hair and pale blue eyes.
Elara recognized her immediately.
The woman from the forest.
“The Moonborn is awake,” she said.
Elara stepped backward.
“Where is Kael?”
The woman's expression tightened.
“The king is dealing with the council.”
“What council?”
“The people who are terrified of you.”
Elara frowned.
“Why would they be terrified of me?”
The woman stared at the silver mark on her wrist.
“Because your blood is older than their kingdom.”
Elara looked down.
The crescent was still glowing faintly.
“What am I?”
The woman hesitated.
“Your name is Elara, isn't it?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Lyra.”
She lowered her head.
“And if you want to survive, you need to listen carefully to everything I tell you.”
Elara's stomach tightened.
“Survive what?”
Lyra looked toward the window.
Far beyond the castle walls, the mountains disappeared beneath a layer of black mist.
“The awakening.”
“What awakening?”
Before Lyra could answer, a deafening roar shook the castle.
The fire in the fireplace went out.
Every candle in the corridor died at once.
Elara's mark burned.
She cried out and grabbed her wrist.
Lyra's face turned pale.
“No.”
“What?”
“It found you.”
“What found me?”
A second roar echoed through the mountains.
This time, the castle walls trembled.
Then a voice whispered through the darkness.
Not from outside.
From inside Elara's mind.
Moonborn.
She froze.
Daughter of the forgotten blood.
Elara covered her ears.
“Make it stop!”
Lyra grabbed her shoulders.
“Don't listen!”
Come to me.
Elara screamed.
A burst of silver light erupted from her body.
The windows shattered.
Lyra was thrown across the room.
The doors flew open.
And Kael appeared.
His eyes were glowing silver, his expression murderous.
“Elara!”
He crossed the room in seconds.
She collapsed against him.
His arms immediately wrapped around her.
“What happened?”
“She heard it,” Lyra whispered.
Kael went still.
“What did she hear?”
“The voice.”
His jaw tightened.
“Elara, look at me.”
She lifted her eyes.
For a moment, the terrifying king disappeared.
There was only Kael.
The man who had carried fear in his eyes when he first saw her.
“Tell me what you heard.”
Elara swallowed.
“It called me Moonborn.”
Kael closed his eyes.
“And then?”
“It said…”
Her voice trembled.
“It said, ‘Daughter of the forgotten blood.’”
Kael's arms tightened around her.
He looked toward the broken windows.
“It's awake.”
Elara stared at him.
“What is?”
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked down at her glowing wrist.
“The thing that has been waiting for you.”
Her heart sank.
“You said you were searching for me.”
“I was.”
“Why?”
His eyes met hers.
“Because twenty years ago, your mother came to my kingdom.”
Elara's breath caught.
“She knew what you were?”
“She knew everything.”
“What did she tell you?”
Kael's expression became haunted.
“She told me that one day, you would return.”
“And?”
“She asked me to protect you.”
Elara stared at him.
“From what?”
Kael looked toward the mountains.
“From your own blood.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Elara noticed something.
A thin line of blood ran down Kael's hand.
She reached for it.
“You're hurt.”
He pulled his hand away.
“It's nothing.”
“You're lying.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“You've known me for less than a day, and you're already calling me a liar.”
“You're terrible at hiding things.”
For the first time, Kael almost laughed.
Almost.
Then his expression softened.
And Elara realized she was still holding his coat.
Neither of them moved.
Neither looked away.
Something unfamiliar passed between them.
Something dangerous.
Something neither of them was ready to name.
Then a horn sounded from the castle courtyard.
Kael's expression instantly changed.
A soldier shouted from outside.
“King Kael! The northern gate has fallen!”
Kael released Elara.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Elara—”
“If whatever is coming wants me, hiding me won't stop it.”
He stared at her.
She stood straighter.
“I want the truth.”
Kael studied her for a long moment.
Then he extended his hand.
“Then stay beside me.”
Elara looked at his hand.
After a moment, she placed hers in it.
The instant their fingers touched, her crescent mark flared brightly.
Far beyond the castle, something howled.
And this time—
the entire kingdom answered.
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