Episode 19: The Secret Beneath the Moon
1150 Words
Aria Valen’s POV
For the first time in years...
I slept without fear.
No nightmares.
No memories of betrayal.
No voice inside my head asking if I was enough.
Just silence.
Peace.
I never realized how precious peace could be until I lost it.
Until I spent years fighting for a place where I belonged.
Until I finally understood that home was not a place.
It was a person.
And somehow...
I found mine in the most unexpected place.
Beside the cursed Lycan King.
The morning after the battle, the Black Moon Citadel felt different.
The warriors who once looked at me with curiosity now looked at me with respect.
But something still bothered me.
Respect was not the same as acceptance.
They respected the Blessed Luna.
But did they know Aria?
The woman beneath the title?
I stood on the balcony overlooking the kingdom.
The land stretched endlessly beneath the silver moonlight.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Lucian's voice came from behind me.
I smiled.
"You always appear silently."
"I am a Lycan."
"That is not an excuse."
For a moment, I saw the smallest smile on his face.
I loved those moments.
The moments where the king disappeared.
And Lucian remained.
Lucian Vareth’s POV
She smiled more now.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Before, her smiles were careful.
Like she was afraid happiness would be taken away.
Now...
They were real.
And I would protect that smile with everything I had.
But there was something troubling me.
The prophecy.
Cassian's words.
The hidden message.
There were still secrets.
And secrets always come with consequences.
"Aria."
She looked at me.
"There is something you need to know."
Her expression became serious.
"What is it?"
I hesitated.
Because I knew this truth could hurt her.
"The prophecy was incomplete."
Aria’s POV
Incomplete.
The word made my heart sink.
"How?"
Lucian looked away.
"The ancient texts were damaged centuries ago."
"So we don't know everything."
He shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
"But Cassian knew."
My expression changed.
"Why?"
"Because he helped create the curse."
Silence.
The person who destroyed Lucian's life...
Knew more about my destiny than we did.
That terrified me.
"What was he hiding?"
Lucian's jaw tightened.
"I don't know."
For someone like Lucian...
Admitting uncertainty was rare.
The Moon Temple
Later that day, we returned to the Blood Moon Temple.
The place where I first discovered my bloodline.
The place where everything changed.
This time, I entered willingly.
Not because destiny forced me.
Because I wanted answers.
The ancient tablet waited.
But something was different.
The symbols that once glowed silver now shone gold.
Lucian stepped closer.
"It is responding to you."
I placed my hand over the stone.
A vision began.
The Forgotten Memory
I saw a woman.
The first Blessed Luna.
Elara.
But this time...
She was not alone.
Beside her stood a Lycan King.
The first cursed king.
But something was different.
They were not fighting the darkness.
They were protecting it.
My breath caught.
"What?"
The vision continued.
I saw the first Luna holding a baby.
A baby with silver eyes.
A baby carrying the same mark as mine.
Then I heard a voice.
"The Blessed Luna was never created to destroy darkness."
"She was created to balance it."
The vision disappeared.
I stepped back.
Lucian caught me.
"What did you see?"
My voice trembled.
"The curse..."
I looked at him.
"It was never meant to exist alone."
Lucian’s POV
My heart stopped.
"What do you mean?"
Aria looked at the ancient tablet.
"The Blessed Luna and the cursed king..."
A pause.
"They were created together."
The words echoed.
Together.
Not enemies.
Not opposites.
Connected.
"But why?"
She looked at me.
"Because the world needs both."
I frowned.
"Light and darkness?"
She nodded.
"Not to destroy each other."
Her voice softened.
"To keep each other balanced."
For centuries, I believed my darkness was something I had to kill.
Something evil.
Something separate from me.
But what if I was wrong?
What if the curse was not only a punishment?
What if it was a power I never learned to understand?
Aria’s POV
The tablet revealed another message.
But this time...
It was about me.
Not the Blessed Luna.
Not the prophecy.
Me.
The daughter of hidden blood shall awaken.
My breath stopped.
"Daughter?"
Lucian looked at me.
"What?"
I stared at the words.
"My family."
All my life, I thought my family was ordinary.
Simple.
Unknown.
But maybe...
They were hiding something.
The Hidden Letter
When we returned to the citadel, Darius brought an old box.
"My king."
Lucian looked at him.
"Where did you find this?"
"In the archives."
He looked at me.
"It belonged to your mother."
My heart stopped.
"My mother?"
I slowly opened the box.
Inside was a letter.
Old.
Faded.
But my name was written on it.
To my daughter, Aria.
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
"If you are reading this, it means your power has awakened."
My breath caught.
"I am sorry I could not tell you the truth."
Tears filled my eyes.
"You were never ordinary."
The next words changed everything.
"Your father was not human."
Silence.
"He belonged to the ancient Lycan bloodline."
I stopped reading.
The room disappeared.
My father.
A Lycan?
Impossible.
Lucian’s POV
I watched her face change.
Shock.
Confusion.
Pain.
The woman who carried everyone's burdens was now facing a truth about herself.
I wanted to take the letter away.
To protect her.
But I knew better.
Aria did not need someone to hide the truth from her.
She needed someone to stand beside her while she faced it.
Aria’s POV
The letter continued.
"Your father was the last guardian of the first Luna's bloodline."
"When enemies discovered your existence, we had to hide you."
"We made you believe you were ordinary so you could survive."
A tear fell.
My entire life...
Was built on a secret.
Then I reached the final line.
The line that changed everything.
"Aria, if you have found the cursed king..."
I looked at Lucian.
"Remember this."
"You are not only his salvation."
"You are his equal."
The room became silent.
Equal.
Not a healer.
Not a sacrifice.
Not a tool.
Equal.
Lucian’s POV
That word stayed with me.
Equal.
Because that was exactly what I wanted.
Not a servant.
Not someone bound by prophecy.
A partner.
But before we could process the truth...
The castle alarms rang.
Darius rushed in.
"My king!"
Lucian turned.
"What happened?"
His expression became dark.
"The Shadow Realm has discovered the truth."
My hand tightened.
"What truth?"
Darius looked at me.
"Your bloodline."
A cold feeling entered my chest.
Because I finally understood.
The enemy was never only after my power.
They wanted my existence.
My blood.
My connection to the first Luna.
And somewhere in the darkness...
Cassian smiled.
Because the final piece of the prophecy had awakened.
- Writer
