CHAPTER 6

Chapter 6: The Price of Her Awakening

The arrow was aimed at Elena's heart.

She saw the archer raise his weapon, but she was too stunned to move. Silver light still flickered across her fingers, and the cracked altar behind her pulsed like something alive.

"Down!" someone shouted.

The arrow flew.

Before it could reach her, a burst of silver energy struck it from the air. The shaft disintegrated into ash, scattering across Elena's dress.

The archer stumbled backward.

"Witch!" he screamed.

The word ignited the terrified crowd.

"Kill her before she destroys us!"

"She's a danger to the pack!"

Elena looked around at the faces she had known all her life. The same people who had mocked her weakness now trembled before her strength. None of them looked relieved that she was alive.

They looked afraid she might survive.

"Lower your weapons!" Driven commanded.

His Alpha voice thundered across the clearing. The guards hesitated, but the elder who had ordered Elena's death stepped forward.

"You no longer have authority over this matter," the elder declared. "You rejected her before the entire pack. Whatever she has become, she is no longer your responsibility."

Driven's jaw tightened. "I am still your Alpha."

"And she may be something greater."

The elder's gaze settled on Elena with cold calculation.

"That is precisely why she must be contained."

Elena's stomach twisted. "Contained? I haven't attacked anyone!"

"You destroyed the sacred altar."

"I didn't even touch it!"

"Enough!" the elder snapped. "Take her alive if possible. If her power resists, kill her."

Three warriors advanced.

Elena raised her hands instinctively. Silver flames coiled around her wrists, but fear clouded her thoughts. She didn't know how she had summoned the power, much less how to stop it.

"Stay away!" she warned.

One warrior lunged.

The ground buckled beneath his feet, throwing him onto his back. Another reached for Elena, only to be flung into a stone pillar. The third dropped his sword and fled.

Elena stared at her hands in horror.

"I didn't mean to do that."

Nobody believed her.

A sharp pain pierced her skull. Images flashed through her mind: a burning palace, wolves kneeling beneath a silver crown, and a woman with Elena's eyes clutching a newborn child.

Then came the screams.

So many screams.

Elena staggered, gripping her head.

"Stop!" she cried. "Please, make it stop!"

The visions vanished, leaving her breathless.

Driven moved toward her.

"Elena-"

"Don't come near me."

He stopped as if she had struck him.

For once, he didn't command her to obey. He simply stood there, watching the girl he had rejected struggle beneath a power neither of them understood.

His expression softened, but Elena refused to mistake that flicker of concern for remorse.

"You should leave," he said quietly. "The council won't stop until they have you."

A bitter smile touched her lips. "Now you want to help me?"

"I am trying to prevent a massacre."

"No. You're trying to prevent a problem you can no longer control."

His face tightened.

She had spoken the truth, and they both knew it.

Before Driven could answer, the High Priestess approached. She looked older than she had minutes earlier, her hands trembling as she studied the silver crown glowing on Elena's wrist.

"The power has awakened, but it is unstable," she said. "If she remains here, fear will turn this pack against her."

"Then tell them what she is," Driven demanded.

The priestess looked toward the elders.

"They already know enough to be dangerous."

The oldest elder drew a dagger from beneath his robe. Its black blade shimmered with strange symbols.

Elena felt the silver light around her wrists recoil.

The priestess gasped. "Moonbane."

"What is that?" Elena asked.

"A weapon forged to destroy your bloodline."

The elder smiled without warmth. "Your ancestors were not invincible, child. Neither are you."

He advanced.

Driven stepped between them. "Put it away."

"You would protect the girl who has just proven herself a threat to every pack in the kingdom?"

Driven glanced over his shoulder at Elena. She stood rigid, her face pale but her chin raised.

He had called her worthless before hundreds of witnesses. He had severed their bond without mercy.

He had no right to expect her trust now.

Still, he drew his sword.

"I said put it away."

The elder's eyes narrowed. "You have already lost your mate. Do not lose your pack trying to reclaim what you threw away."

Driven's expression turned murderous.

But before either man could move, the Moonbane dagger began to glow.

Elena screamed as a burning sensation tore through her wrist. Her knees gave way, and the silver crown flickered violently.

The elder laughed. "There it is. The weakness."

Driven rushed toward her, but Elena raised a shaking hand.

"Don't!"

He froze.

She couldn't bear another touch from him-not after the rejection, not after hearing him declare that he felt nothing for her.

If she was going to die, she would face it without begging him to save her.

Elena pressed her palm against the stone altar.

The silver light vanished.

For one terrifying heartbeat, everything went dark.

Then a voice rose from beneath the earth.

THE BLOODLINE CANNOT BE SILENCED.

A shockwave blasted through the clearing. The Moonbane dagger shattered in the elder's hand, leaving him screaming as black smoke curled from his fingers.

The altar split completely.

Deep beneath its broken surface, a hidden chamber opened. Ancient symbols illuminated the staircase descending into darkness.

The High Priestess fell to her knees.

"The sanctuary," she whispered. "It has opened for her."

Elena stared at the steps. Something inside her recognized the place, though she had never seen it before.

A soft voice drifted upward from the darkness.

Come home, little moon.

Her heart clenched.

"Who said that?" she whispered.

No one answered.

A sudden crash came from the western entrance. Warriors rushed into the clearing, their weapons drawn.

"Alpha!" one shouted. "Riders have crossed the northern border!"

Driven turned sharply. "Whose colors?"

The warrior looked terrified.

"None, Alpha. They carry no banners. They killed the sentries without leaving a single survivor."

"How many?"

"We don't know. But their leader sent a message."

The warrior swallowed before continuing.

"He says the Moon Sovereign must be delivered to him before the next moonrise."

The clearing fell silent.

Elena felt the strange power inside her stir again, no longer frightened but furious.

Driven lowered his sword. "Who is their leader?"

The warrior's eyes shifted toward Elena.

"He called himself the King of Ashes."

The High Priestess made a strangled sound.

"No," she whispered. "That name cannot be spoken."

Elena stepped toward her. "Who is he?"

The priestess caught Elena's wrist, her fingers cold against the glowing mark.

"Listen carefully. If that man has found you, then the massacre of your family was never the end of the war."

A horn sounded beyond the walls.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time, so deep that the ground trembled beneath their feet.

The warrior who had delivered the message sank to his knees.

"Alpha," he whispered, "they're already inside the territory."

From the darkness beyond the ceremony ground came the sound of approaching footsteps.

And a voice Elena recognized from her visions spoke her name.

"Elena Moonveil. At last, I've found you."