The Memory Of Blood

The sanctuary went completely silent.

Aurora stood in the center of the chamber, silver light burning beneath her skin.

The stranger stared at her.

For the first time, there was fear in his eyes.

“You remember,” he whispered.

Aurora’s fingers curled into fists.

“Yes.”

The word came out colder than she expected.

Images continued flooding her mind.

A battlefield covered in snow.

Hundreds of bodies.

A silver crown lying in the blood.

And two men kneeling before her.

Lucien.

Kael.

But they were different.

Younger.

And they were both covered in blood.

Aurora looked at Lucien.

“You were there.”

Lucien’s expression changed.

“Yes.”

“You knew me.”

His silence was enough.

Aurora’s chest tightened.

“You knew me before this life.”

“I did.”

Her eyes moved to Kael.

“And you?”

Kael lowered his head.

“I knew you too.”

Aurora stepped away from both of them.

“Then why didn’t either of you tell me?”

Neither answered.

“Why?”

Her voice echoed through the sanctuary.

Lucien finally spoke.

“Because we promised.”

“Promised what?”

“To let you live.”

Aurora stared at him.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“You were murdered because of what you were. After your death, we spent centuries searching for a way to bring you back.”

Aurora’s eyes widened.

“You waited for me?”

“For six hundred years,” Lucien said.

The words struck harder than any weapon.

She looked at the stranger.

“Then who killed me?”

The stranger slowly smiled.

“You’re asking the wrong question.”

Aurora’s eyes narrowed.

“Then give me the right one.”

“Ask yourself why the Moon Goddess chose you.”

The mark on Aurora’s palm suddenly burned.

A wave of power exploded through the sanctuary.

The warriors outside were thrown backward.

The ancient walls trembled.

Lucien immediately grabbed Aurora’s shoulders.

“Aurora, control it!”

“I don’t know how!”

“Then listen to me.”

His crimson eyes locked onto hers.

“Breathe.”

Aurora tried.

Once.

Twice.

The power slowly began to settle.

But something else had changed.

The silver light around her body remained.

Kael stared at her.

“She isn’t human anymore.”

Aurora looked down at herself.

“What am I?”

The stranger answered.

“The balance.”

A strange silence followed.

“The Moon Champion was never meant to belong to vampires or werewolves,” he continued. “She was created to keep both races from destroying one another.”

Aurora shook her head.

“Then why was I killed?”

The man’s expression darkened.

“Because someone wanted the war.”

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

“Who?”

The stranger looked toward the broken entrance.

“Your own people.”

Kael’s face hardened.

“My pack?”

“And your court,” the stranger replied.

Lucien’s expression became murderous.

Aurora suddenly understood.

The war had never been accidental.

Someone had spent centuries keeping vampires and werewolves divided.

And now that she had returned…

Their secret was in danger.

The stranger stepped backward.

“We will come for you again, Moon Champion.”

Aurora raised her hand.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Silver energy erupted from her palm.

But the stranger disappeared before it could reach him.

Only his voice remained.

“You should be more worried about the two men standing beside you.”

Aurora froze.

Lucien and Kael exchanged a look.

For the first time, Aurora noticed something neither of them had said.

Something they were both hiding.

She slowly turned toward them.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Neither king spoke.

Aurora’s eyes glowed brighter.

“Tell me.”

Lucien looked at Kael.

Kael looked back at him.

Then Lucien whispered the words that shattered everything.

“Six hundred years ago…”

He paused.

“You didn’t die alone.”

Aurora’s blood ran cold.

“What does that mean?”

Lucien’s voice dropped.

“Someone betrayed you.”

“And we know who.”

The sanctuary fell silent.

Aurora stared at them.

“Who?”

Kael looked directly into her eyes.

“One of us.”