Episode 12: The Choice
627 Words
The entire forest waited.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
All eyes were on Zara.
The Shadow King stood above them, his hand extended.
Waiting.
Demanding.
"Come home, Zara."
His voice carried through the darkness.
For a moment...
She saw him.
Not as the monster everyone feared.
Not as the ruler of shadows.
But as the father from her memories.
The man who carried her when she was a child.
The man who told her stories beneath the moon.
The man who promised nothing would ever hurt her.
Then the memory changed.
Fire.
Blood.
Her mother's screams.
Her small hands covered in ashes.
Zara's expression hardened.
"You left me."
The Shadow King's face fell.
"I was protecting you."
"Protecting me?"
Her voice shook with anger.
"You disappeared."
The silver light around her grew stronger.
"You let me grow up thinking I had nobody."
The Shadow King lowered his hand.
"You survived."
Zara stared at him.
"That is not an answer."
The darkness around him moved.
Like it was alive.
"The world would have killed you if they knew who you were."
"Who I was?"
She stepped forward.
"Or what I was?"
Silence.
That silence was enough.
Caden looked at Zara.
He understood.
She was not just angry.
She was hurt.
All her life she had searched for answers.
And now every answer created more questions.
The Shadow King looked toward Caden.
"She carries the power of two bloodlines."
Caden's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
The Shadow King smiled slightly.
"Your Luna was never ordinary."
Zara froze.
"Luna?"
The Shadow King looked at her.
"Your mother was the last Silver Moon Queen."
The words echoed.
Queen.
The same title everyone kept calling her.
The sword.
The power.
The bond.
Everything connected.
Zara shook her head.
"No."
Valeria stepped forward.
"Zara..."
The young woman turned.
"You knew?"
The older woman looked away.
"You were too young."
"You all knew."
Her voice broke.
"You all knew who I was and nobody told me."
Nobody answered.
Because she was right.
Caden felt guilt crushing his chest.
He had spent years believing he was protecting the world.
But he had only pushed her further into the darkness.
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A horn.
A war horn.
Everyone turned.
A Blood Wolf warrior rushed into the clearing.
"King."
The Shadow King looked at him.
"What is it?"
The warrior fell to one knee.
"The enemy has arrived."
The Shadow King's expression changed.
"Enemy?"
The warrior nodded.
"The Hunters."
Everyone went still.
Caden looked confused.
"Humans?"
Valeria's face became pale.
"No."
She whispered.
"Not humans."
The warrior continued.
"The ancient hunters have awakened."
The Shadow King's eyes darkened.
For the first time...
He looked concerned.
"They found the realm."
Zara looked between them.
"What are the hunters?"
Nobody spoke.
Until Caden answered.
His voice was serious.
"The only creatures in history who were able to kill immortals."
Zara's heart dropped.
The Shadow King looked at her.
And for the first time...
He wasn't asking her to come home.
He was warning her.
"They are coming for you."
The wind suddenly changed.
A strange mark appeared on Zara's wrist.
A black symbol.
Everyone stared.
Caden grabbed her hand.
"What is that?"
The Shadow King went silent.
Then he whispered.
"No..."
His voice carried fear.
"The mark of the First Hunter."
Zara looked at her wrist.
"What does it mean?"
The Shadow King stared at her.
And the answer terrified everyone.
"It means they have already chosen their target."
A cold feeling spread through Zara.
"Who?"
The Shadow King looked at her.
"You."
The sky cracked.
Thunder shook the earth.
And from the mountains came a voice.
A voice that was neither wolf nor human.
"Found you."
The battle had not ended.
It had only begun.
- Writer
