Chapter 10: Echoes Of The Past
1200 Words
The palace remained awake long after midnight.
No one celebrated the fact that battle had been avoided.
Everyone understood the truth.
War had merely been delayed.
The Crimson Claw army had established camp less than five miles from Silvercrest's eastern border.
Thousands of enemy warriors now waited beyond the kingdom's walls.
Watching.
Preparing.
Waiting for the right moment to strike.
Inside the palace, tension hung in the air like a storm cloud.
And at the center of it all sat Alpha Lucas.
The council chamber was unusually quiet.
Maps covered the table before him.
Reports from scouts lay scattered nearby.
Yet his attention remained fixed on one thought.
Aria.
Specifically, her reaction when she saw Damon.
Something had happened.
Lucas had noticed it immediately.
The fear in her eyes hadn't been ordinary fear.
It had been recognition.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
Ethan stepped inside.
The Beta looked tired.
Not surprising.
Neither of them had slept.
"You should rest," Ethan said.
Lucas didn't look up.
"So should you."
"Yet here we are."
A faint smile touched Lucas's lips.
Only Ethan could get away with such responses.
The Beta dropped into a chair.
"You're thinking about the girl."
Lucas finally raised an eyebrow.
"Am I that obvious?"
"To everyone else? No."
Ethan leaned back.
"To me? Absolutely."
The room fell silent.
Then Lucas sighed.
"She recognized him."
Ethan nodded.
"I noticed."
"And Damon recognized her."
The Beta's expression darkened.
"That worries me more."
Lucas agreed.
Something connected Aria and Damon.
Something neither of them understood yet.
And until they discovered the truth, Silvercrest remained vulnerable.
---
Meanwhile...
Aria sat alone in her room.
A candle flickered beside her bed.
Its warm glow illuminated the journal Clara had given her earlier.
"You should write down anything you remember," the healer had suggested.
"Even small details."
At first, the idea seemed pointless.
Now it felt necessary.
Aria dipped a pen into ink.
Slowly, she began writing.
Things I Know:
My name is Aria.
I was found in the Moon Grove.
I keep seeing a silver-haired woman.
She called herself my mother.
Alpha Damon knows me.
Or knew me.
Aria paused.
The final sentence looked strange on the page.
She stared at it for several seconds.
Then added another line.
I think I was running from him.
The moment she finished writing, another memory surfaced.
A fragment.
Tiny.
Incomplete.
Yet real.
A little girl running through a forest.
Her own laughter.
The warmth of someone's hand holding hers.
Silver flowers growing beneath moonlight.
The memory vanished almost immediately.
But this time Aria smiled.
It wasn't much.
Yet it was something.
A piece of herself.
A piece she had lost.
Suddenly, a cold breeze swept through the room.
The candle flickered violently.
Aria frowned.
The windows were closed.
So where had the wind come from?
Then she noticed something strange.
A faint silver glow.
It appeared beneath her bed.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Slowly, she knelt.
Carefully, she reached underneath.
Her fingers brushed against metal.
Aria pulled the object free.
A necklace.
Silver.
Ancient.
Beautiful.
At its center hung a crescent moon surrounded by intricate carvings.
The moment her skin touched it—
Light exploded throughout the room.
---
Deep beneath the palace...
The ancient crystal erupted with silver energy.
Symbols ignited across the chamber walls.
The ground shook violently.
Guards stumbled.
Books fell from shelves.
Alarm bells echoed throughout the palace.
Lucas immediately stood.
"What was that?"
Before anyone could answer, Elder Magnus burst into the room.
The old man looked terrified.
"Alpha!"
Lucas's stomach sank.
Magnus never panicked.
Never.
"The crystal."
The elder struggled to catch his breath.
"It's reacting again."
Lucas was already moving.
Ethan followed.
Together they raced through the palace corridors.
More tremors shook the ground.
Servants screamed.
Warriors rushed toward defensive positions.
Everyone feared an attack.
But Lucas knew better.
This wasn't coming from outside the kingdom.
This was coming from below.
---
Back in her room...
Aria stared at the necklace in shock.
Silver light surrounded her.
Not hurting her.
Protecting her.
The crescent moon pendant glowed brightly.
Ancient symbols appeared in the air around her.
The same symbols she had seen in the Hidden Archives.
The same symbols carved into the palace walls.
"What is this?"
The necklace pulsed.
Then a voice echoed inside her mind.
Not loud.
Not frightening.
Gentle.
Familiar.
Welcome home.
Aria gasped.
The room disappeared.
Once again she found herself standing within the silver forest.
This time the woman was already waiting.
The silver-haired queen.
Her mother.
Tears immediately filled Aria's eyes.
"Please."
Her voice broke.
"Tell me what's happening."
The woman smiled sadly.
"I wish I could."
"Then tell me who I am."
For a moment, pain crossed the queen's face.
As though even answering that question came with a cost.
"You are my daughter."
Aria swallowed.
"I know."
"No."
The queen stepped forward.
Silver light danced around her.
"You are the last daughter of the House of Luna."
The words struck like lightning.
"The last Moon Heir."
Aria froze.
The world seemed to stop.
Every prophecy.
Every warning.
Every mystery.
All connected to those words.
Moon Heir.
Before she could ask another question, the forest suddenly trembled.
The queen's expression changed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
"No."
Darkness spread between the trees.
The shadows twisted unnaturally.
Something moved within them.
Something enormous.
Something ancient.
The queen grabbed Aria's shoulders.
"Listen to me."
Her voice became urgent.
"The Shadow King is awakening."
The name sent chills down Aria's spine.
"You must find the Heart of Luna."
"What is that?"
"The only thing capable of restoring the seal."
The forest shook violently.
A deafening roar echoed through the darkness.
Aria's blood ran cold.
The sound wasn't human.
Nor was it wolf.
It was something far older.
Far worse.
The queen looked toward the shadows.
Then back at Aria.
"You must trust the Silver Wolf."
Aria frowned.
"The Silver Wolf?"
The queen smiled faintly.
"You'll know him when the time comes."
The darkness surged forward.
The vision shattered.
And Aria woke with a gasp.
Back in her room.
Still clutching the glowing necklace.
A moment later, the door burst open.
Lucas entered first.
Ethan close behind.
Both stopped instantly.
The silver light filled the room.
The necklace glowed in Aria's hand.
Ancient symbols floated through the air.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Ethan broke the silence.
"Well."
He stared at the glowing pendant.
"That can't be good."
Lucas ignored him.
His eyes remained fixed on the necklace.
Because he recognized it.
Every ruler of Silvercrest knew the legends.
Every child learned the stories.
And according to history...
The artifact in Aria's hand had been lost for over a thousand years.
The Crescent of Luna.
The royal heirloom of the Moon Heirs.
Proof of their bloodline.
Proof of their claim.
Proof that Aria was exactly who the prophecy claimed she was.
The last Moon Heir.
And outside the kingdom, beneath the light of the moon, Alpha Damon suddenly opened his eyes.
Far away in his war camp.
A cruel smile spread across his face.
He had felt it.
The heirloom had awakened.
Which meant there was no longer any doubt.
He had found her.
- Writer
