The Voice In The Dark
930 Words
I found you.
The whisper echoed inside my head.
Soft.
Cold.
Terrifying.
I stumbled backward.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The voice didn't belong to my wolf.
It didn't belong to anyone standing in the forest.
Yet it felt real.
Too real.
"Aria?"
Kael's voice sounded distant.
As though I were underwater.
The whisper came again.
At last.
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
I gasped.
Images flooded my mind.
A black throne.
A battlefield covered in silver blood.
A crown shattered in two.
Golden eyes glowing in darkness.
And a man.
A man chained beneath a mountain.
His face remained hidden.
But his smile...
His smile made my blood run cold.
Then the vision vanished.
I dropped to one knee.
The forest snapped back into focus.
"Aria!"
Kael was beside me instantly.
Strong hands caught my shoulders.
His expression was tense.
Concerned.
"What happened?"
I struggled to breathe.
"There was..."
I swallowed.
"A voice."
The old man and Shadow Fang exchanged grim looks.
Neither seemed surprised.
Which immediately annoyed me.
"You knew this could happen."
The old man sighed.
"Eventually."
"Eventually?"
I almost laughed.
"That's your explanation?"
Kael helped me stand.
"What did the voice say?"
I hesitated.
Then repeated the words.
The moment I finished, every expression changed.
Shadow Fang cursed.
The old man closed his eyes.
Kael became very still.
That reaction told me everything.
The voice mattered.
A lot.
"Who was it?"
No answer.
My patience was rapidly disappearing.
"Who was it?"
The old man finally spoke.
"The Sleeping King."
A chill ran through me.
The same title mentioned in the prophecy.
"The sleeping king shall return."
The words echoed through my mind.
I looked between them.
"He's real?"
Kael nodded.
"Very real."
That wasn't comforting.
"Then why is he sleeping?"
Shadow Fang laughed bitterly.
"Because it took an entire world to stop him."
I froze.
The entire world?
The rogue leader wasn't joking.
His expression had become deadly serious.
The old man stepped forward.
"Thousands of years ago, the First King sought immortality."
I remembered that part.
The Moonborn m******e.
The war.
The bloodshed.
"But something went wrong."
The old man's voice darkened.
"Very wrong."
My stomach tightened.
"How wrong?"
Kael answered.
"He succeeded."
The forest fell silent.
I stared.
"No."
"Yes."
Kael's expression was grim.
"The First King became immortal."
A cold wave swept through me.
Immortal.
Not long-lived.
Not powerful.
Immortal.
The implications were horrifying.
"Then how was he stopped?"
The old man's eyes met mine.
"Your ancestors."
The answer stunned me.
"The Moonborn?"
He nodded.
"The last Moonborn Queen sacrificed everything to seal him away."
My fingers tightened around the pendant.
The image from my vision flashed through my mind.
The silver-eyed woman.
The warriors kneeling.
The moonlit battlefield.
"She died."
The old man's voice softened.
"But the seal held."
For a thousand years.
A thousand years of peace.
A thousand years of waiting.
Until now.
The realization settled heavily in my chest.
"He's waking up because of me."
Nobody denied it.
That hurt more than I expected.
"What did I do?"
The old man shook his head.
"Nothing."
Kael stepped closer.
"This isn't your fault."
His voice carried absolute certainty.
"The prophecy was set in motion long before you were born."
That didn't make me feel much better.
A thousand-year-old immortal king had somehow found me.
I wasn't sure there was a comforting way to view that.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the pendant.
I gasped.
Silver light flickered across its surface.
Everyone noticed.
The old man's eyes widened.
"No."
The pendant grew brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.
Then a beam of silver light erupted from it.
The light formed an image above the forest.
A woman.
Beautiful.
Powerful.
Silver eyes glowing beneath a moonlit crown.
My breath caught.
I recognized her immediately.
The woman from my visions.
The woman from the battlefield.
The Moonborn Queen.
The image stared directly at me.
Then she spoke.
Not aloud.
Inside my mind.
Inside my soul.
My daughter.
Tears instantly filled my eyes.
The words felt familiar.
Comforting.
Safe.
A feeling I hadn't experienced in years.
The Queen smiled sadly.
The time has come.
My chest tightened.
"What time?"
Her gaze shifted briefly toward Kael.
Something unreadable passed through her expression.
Recognition.
Approval.
Then she looked back at me.
You must travel to the Silver Temple.
The name meant nothing to me.
Yet Kael's eyes widened.
The old man looked shocked.
Even Shadow Fang seemed stunned.
The Queen continued.
There, the truth awaits you.
The image flickered.
Beginning to fade.
Panic surged through me.
"Wait!"
I reached toward her.
"I have questions."
The Queen smiled gently.
I know.
The sadness in her eyes broke my heart.
Then she whispered five words that changed everything.
Trust the Lycan King.
The image vanished.
The forest returned.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Awkward.
And very noticeable.
Because everyone was suddenly staring at Kael.
Including me.
The Lycan King looked almost uncomfortable.
Almost.
Which was probably the closest he ever got.
Before anyone could speak, a scout burst from the trees.
One of Kael's warriors.
He dropped to one knee immediately.
"Your Majesty!"
Kael turned.
"What is it?"
The warrior looked shaken.
Terrified, even.
"The Northern Fortress has fallen."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Every trace of calm disappeared.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
The scout swallowed hard.
"The enemy has begun moving."
My blood turned cold.
Enemy.
Not rogue.
Not pack.
Enemy.
The warrior's voice trembled.
"They're marching toward Lycan territory."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"How many?"
The scout looked pale.
His answer sent a chill through the entire forest.
"Over fifty thousand."
- Writer
