Chapter 5: Duty

Calista's POV

I sat on the floor of my chambers with my back against the cold wall. My hands would not stop shaking. One hundred days. The words kept repeating in my head like a curse I could not break free from. The Rite of the Red Moon. I had heard the name before in passing but no one ever explained what it actually meant. It was just something ancient and sacred that happened once every century. But why would the Council use it to keep me here?

The door opened and Tina came in carrying a tray of food I knew I would not touch. She set it down on the table and looked at me with worried eyes.

"Your Highness, you need to eat something."

I shook my head. "I am not hungry."

She knelt beside me and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Please. You have to keep your strength up."

"For what?" The question came out harsher than I meant it to. "So I can spend the next three months pretending everything is fine?"

Tina looked away and I saw her hands twist together nervously. She knew something. I could see it in the way she avoided my eyes.

"Tina, what is the Rite of the Red Moon? What does it actually mean?"

She bit her lip. "I do not know much about it, Your Highness. Only that it is very old and very important to the Council. They say it has something to do with bloodlines and power but no one really talks about the details."

Bloodlines and power. The words made my skin crawl. Why would that have anything to do with me? I was just a barren wolf who could not even produce an heir. What use could I possibly be to them?

Tina stayed with me until the sun went down. She tried to make conversation but I could barely focus on her words. My mind kept circling back to the same question. What did the Council want from me?

That night I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. Sleep came slowly and when it finally did, the dreams started. I was standing in the middle of a burning village. Flames rose up around me and the heat scorched my skin. People were screaming but I could not see them. Smoke filled my lungs and I tried to run but my feet would not move. Then I heard it. A woman's voice calling my name.

"Calista."

I spun around but there was no one there. Just fire and darkness and the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

"Calista, listen to me."

The voice was desperate and pleading. Like she was trying to warn me about something. I opened my mouth to answer but the flames grew higher and swallowed everything.

I woke up gasping for air. My nightgown was soaked with sweat and my hands clutched at my chest. The room was dark and silent. Just a dream. But it felt so real. The smell of smoke still lingered in my nose and I could almost hear the echo of that woman's voice.

I got out of bed and poured myself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. My hands shook as I drank and I had to set the glass down before I dropped it. These dreams were getting worse. Ever since I lost the baby, they had been coming more frequently. Burning villages. Screaming voices. That woman was calling my name as she knew me.

Morning came too soon. I barely had time to dress before there was a knock at my door. Tina opened it and stepped aside. Queen Helena walked in with her spine straight and her expression cold. She looked at me like I was something dirty she had to scrape off her shoe.

"Calista." She did not bother with pleasantries. "I trust you have calmed down from yesterday's theatrics."

My jaw tightened but I kept my voice steady. "It was not theatrics, Your Majesty. It was a legitimate request."

"A request that is being considered." She said the word like it tasted bad. "In the meantime, you will continue your duties as Crown Princess. The people of Vargath expect to see their future queen at public events and you will not embarrass this family by hiding away like a coward."

Future queen. The title felt like a noose around my neck. "With all due respect, I do not see how I can be the future queen when I cannot even produce an heir."

Helena's eyes flashed. "That is not for you to decide. The Council has made their ruling and you will obey. You should be grateful they are even giving you the courtesy of consideration."

Grateful. The word made bile rise in my throat. I had spent three years being told to be grateful. Grateful for the marriage. Grateful for the privilege of serving Vargath. Grateful that the Council saved me from that plague when I was a child. But no one ever asked me if I wanted any of it.

"I understand, Your Majesty."

Helena studied me for a long moment like she was trying to decide whether I was lying. Then she turned toward the door. She paused with her hand on the handle and looked back at me. Her voice dropped and there was something almost menacing in her tone.

"You should be grateful the Council still has use for you, Calista. Not everyone is so fortunate."

The door closed behind her and I stood there frozen. Use for me. The words echoed in my head and sent a chill down my spine. What did that mean? What possible use could they have for a broken wolf who could not even shift properly?

I spent the rest of the day going through the motions. I attended a luncheon with some of the noble ladies and smiled until my face hurt. They talked about meaningless gossip and I nodded in all the right places but I did not hear a single word they said. My mind was somewhere else. Trapped in burning villages and whispered warnings and the cold look in Helena's eyes.

That evening I returned to my chambers and dismissed Tina early. I needed to be alone. I sat by the window and watched the sun set over the kingdom. Vargath stretched out before me with its stone buildings and high walls. It was supposed to be my home but it felt more like a prison.

I thought about Aldrid and how he had looked at me yesterday. Like I was nothing. Like I was a problem he needed to solve. I thought about the Council and their cryptic words about the Rite of the Red Moon. I thought about Queen Helena and her warning that I should be grateful they still had use for me.

What did they want from me?

The question burned in my chest and I could not shake it. I was not special. I was not powerful. I was just a girl who had been plucked from obscurity and married off to secure an alliance. So why were they so determined to keep me here? Why could they not just let me go?

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the window and closed my eyes. Somewhere deep inside me, a voice whispered that I already knew the answer. That the truth had been there all along but I had been too afraid to see it. The Council had not saved me from that plague out of kindness. They had saved me because I was useful to them. And whatever they needed me for, it was not over yet.

The room felt colder suddenly and I wrapped my arms around myself. I thought about those dreams. The burning village. The woman's voice. What if they were not just dreams? What if they were memories?

I opened my eyes and stared out at the darkening sky. My reflection looked back at me from the glass and for a moment I did not recognize myself. Who was I really? What had they taken from me?

I whispered the question into the empty room and my voice barely made a sound. "What do they want from me?”