Bloodline Secrets
1025 Words
The temple doors groaned as they slowly opened.
Ancient stone scraped against ancient stone.
The sound echoed across the mountains.
I barely noticed.
Because I couldn't stop staring at Kael.
Descendant of the First King detected.
The words replayed in my mind.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The immortal king.
The enemy.
The monster from the prophecy.
Kael was related to him.
Somehow.
Some way.
My pulse hammered in my ears.
Finally, I found my voice.
"Tell me that's a mistake."
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Which was answer enough.
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
"It isn't."
The admission came quietly.
Painfully.
The mountain seemed to become even colder.
I stared.
For the first time since meeting him, I wasn't sure what to think.
Had he known all along?
Of course he had.
Why wouldn't he?
Everyone seemed to know everything except me.
The frustration returned.
Sharp and familiar.
"You never told me."
Kael looked away briefly.
"No."
"Why?"
His jaw tightened.
The hesitation worried me.
Because Kael rarely hesitated.
When he finally spoke, his voice was calm.
"Because I didn't want you to judge me for someone else's sins."
The answer caught me off guard.
Not because it was unexpected.
But because it sounded honest.
Painfully honest.
I wanted to be angry.
Part of me was angry.
Yet another secret.
Another truth hidden from me.
But another part remembered everything Kael had done.
He had protected me.
Saved me.
Traveled with me.
Risked himself for me.
Nothing about him resembled the monster everyone feared.
And that confused me.
A lot.
The temple voice echoed once more.
Threat assessment in progress.
The glowing symbols along the doors intensified.
My wolf growled.
It doesn't trust him.
Apparently not.
The massive gates continued opening.
Slowly revealing darkness beyond.
Not ordinary darkness.
Ancient darkness.
The kind that held secrets.
Memories.
Power.
A thousand years of history.
Waiting.
Watching.
Remembering.
Kael stepped forward.
The temple immediately reacted.
Silver light surged across the entrance.
A barrier formed.
Blocking his path.
The Lycan King stopped.
His expression remained neutral.
Though I could see disappointment in his eyes.
The voice returned.
Access denied.
The words echoed through the mountain.
First King's bloodline prohibited from entering sacred chambers.
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
The voice ignored me.
Restriction remains active.
Kael sighed.
A tired sound.
"As expected."
I turned toward him.
"You knew this would happen?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
The realization stunned me.
"You've been here before."
Not a question.
A statement.
Kael looked at the temple.
At the gates.
At the glowing symbols.
His expression became distant.
Lost in memory.
"Once."
The single word carried years of history.
Years I knew nothing about.
Before I could ask more, the temple suddenly changed.
The silver symbols began pulsing rapidly.
The ground trembled.
Then a beam of light shot from the doors.
Straight toward me.
I gasped.
The light wrapped around my body.
Warm.
Gentle.
Familiar.
My wolf immediately relaxed.
Home.
The word echoed inside my mind.
Then the world disappeared.
---
I stood beneath a silver moon.
A different moon.
A different sky.
A different time.
The temple surrounded me.
But it wasn't abandoned anymore.
It was alive.
Hundreds of people walked through its halls.
Silver-eyed warriors.
Moonborn nobles.
Children laughing.
Families talking.
Life.
Everywhere.
The sight stole my breath.
This was the past.
A memory.
One preserved by the temple itself.
I slowly turned.
And froze.
A woman stood nearby.
Dark hair.
Silver eyes.
Moonlit crown.
My mother.
Lyra.
She smiled.
The same smile from the visions.
The same warmth.
The same kindness.
Tears immediately filled my eyes.
"Mom."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Lyra stepped forward.
Though somehow I already knew she wasn't really here.
Just a memory.
An echo.
Yet my heart didn't care.
She reached out.
Her fingers passed through my cheek like moonlight.
"I wish I could truly see you."
My breath caught.
The memory could speak.
The realization stunned me.
Lyra smiled sadly.
"If you're seeing this, then you've reached the temple."
I nodded instinctively.
Even though she couldn't actually see me.
Her silver eyes softened.
"You've grown beautiful, Aria."
A lump formed in my throat.
For years, I had imagined this moment.
Meeting my mother.
Hearing her voice.
Now that it was happening...
I didn't know what to say.
The memory continued.
"There are things you must learn."
Her expression became serious.
"The truth about our family."
The truth.
Always the truth.
My life seemed built from hidden truths.
Lyra turned.
Gesturing toward the city around us.
"The Moonborn were never destroyed because of power."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Her gaze lifted toward the silver moon.
"The First King wasn't hunting our strength."
The words made my stomach tighten.
Because Selena had said something similar.
The villain wasn't always the villain.
The story wasn't complete.
Lyra looked back at me.
Sadness filled her eyes.
"He was hunting love."
I froze.
What?
The answer made no sense.
Love?
Before I could ask, the memory began flickering.
Breaking apart.
Fading.
"No."
Panic surged.
"I still have questions."
Lyra smiled.
A gentle smile.
A mother's smile.
"I know."
The image grew weaker.
The city around us started disappearing.
The vision was ending.
Fast.
Then Lyra said one final sentence.
A sentence that shattered everything I thought I knew.
"The First King was once Moonborn."
The world vanished.
---
I gasped.
The temple reappeared around me.
The vision gone.
The memory ended.
I stumbled backward.
Kael caught me instantly.
Concern flashed across his face.
"Aria."
I barely heard him.
My mind was still processing the revelation.
The First King.
The immortal king.
The enemy.
He had been Moonborn.
Once.
The realization changed everything.
Before I could explain what I had seen—
A deafening explosion shook the mountain.
The temple trembled violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Kael's head snapped toward the entrance.
Danger.
Immediate danger.
Then a familiar voice echoed from outside.
A voice filled with amusement.
And hatred.
"Found you."
My blood turned cold.
Because I recognized that voice.
General Valen.
And judging by the explosion...
His army had just breached the mountain.
- Writer
