Chapter 33: Beneath Blackthorn

The journal remained closed.

No one moved.

The words that had appeared on its final page seemed to burn themselves into Lyra’s mind.

Too late.

She is already coming.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

“Who wrote that?” she whispered.

Master Thorne stared at the journal.

“I don’t know.”

Lucien stepped closer.

“That isn’t ordinary ink.”

“No,” Thorne replied quietly.

“It’s Blood Magic.”

Karl immediately moved beside Lyra.

“Then destroy it.”

Master Thorne shook his head.

“We can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because the journal isn’t enchanted to reveal secrets.”

He looked at Lyra.

“It’s enchanted to protect them.”

Suddenly, the journal began trembling.

The silver crest of Lunaris on its cover cracked.

A thin line of crimson light escaped between the pages.

Lyra instinctively reached toward it.

“Don’t touch it!” Lucien shouted.

Too late.

The moment her fingers touched the cover, the world around her disappeared.

She stood inside a dark corridor.

There were no windows.

No doors.

Only endless black stone walls.

A voice whispered behind her.

“Lyra…”

She turned.

Nothing.

“Who’s there?”

“You came looking for the truth.”

Lyra’s heart raced.

“Show yourself.”

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was her father.

King Alaric.

Lyra’s breath caught.

“Father?”

He smiled sadly.

“My little moon.”

She ran toward him.

But before she could touch him, he disappeared.

“No!”

His voice echoed through the corridor.

“The man you fear isn’t the man you should fear.”

“What does that mean?”

“Adrian didn’t betray us.”

Lyra froze.

“What?”

“He tried to save you.”

The corridor began collapsing around her.

“Then who betrayed us?”

Her father’s voice grew faint.

“Look beneath the throne…”

The vision shattered.

Lyra opened her eyes.

She was back inside the shrine.

Karl was holding her shoulders.

“Lyra!”

She blinked rapidly.

“What happened?”

“You collapsed.”

Arnold knelt beside her.

“You were unconscious for almost a minute.”

Lyra looked toward Master Thorne.

“I saw my father.”

Everyone became silent.

“What did he say?” Lucien asked.

Lyra swallowed.

“He said…”

“Adrian didn’t betray us.”

Master Thorne’s eyes widened.

“Impossible.”

“He said Adrian tried to save me.”

Lucien looked toward the journal.

“Then everything we believed about the fall of Lunaris may be wrong.”

Queen Seraphina stepped forward.

“If Adrian wasn’t responsible…”

“Then who was?”

Lyra remembered her father’s final words.

“Look beneath the throne.”

She turned toward Master Thorne.

“Where is the throne of Lunaris?”

The old keeper hesitated.

“It was destroyed when the palace fell.”

“No.”

Lyra shook her head.

“My father said to look beneath it.”

Master Thorne’s expression changed.

“The throne wasn’t destroyed.”

Everyone stared at him.

“It was hidden.”

He opened the journal again.

This time, the pages remained still.

Master Thorne turned to an old map.

“The original palace of Lunaris was built over an underground sanctuary.”

“A place known only to the royal family.”

“What was inside?” Arnold asked.

“The Heart Chamber.”

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

“The Heart of the Moon?”

Master Thorne nodded.

“Yes.”

“The fourth sacred relic.”

Lyra’s heart began racing.

“The Shadow King has it.”

“That’s what we believed.”

“But if the Heart Chamber is beneath the old throne…”

Lyra finished the sentence.

“Then he may not have it.”

Master Thorne looked at her gravely.

“Or…”

“Someone wants us to believe he does.”

A loud horn suddenly sounded outside.

BOOOOM!

Everyone rushed toward the entrance.

The Eastern Dominion soldiers were already forming defensive lines.

Astrid pointed toward the mountain ridge.

“Army approaching!”

Karl drew his sword.

“How many?”

“Thousands.”

Rowan climbed onto his horse.

“Shadow soldiers?”

Astrid shook her head.

“No banners.”

Lucien’s expression hardened.

“Again?”

The army emerged from the mist.

But these soldiers wore silver armor.

Their shields carried the emblem of Lunaris.

Lyra stared in confusion.

“Lunaris soldiers?”

Master Thorne’s face went pale.

“That’s impossible.”

The soldiers stopped at the edge of the valley.

Then their commander rode forward.

He removed his helmet.

A familiar face stared back at Lyra.

She gasped.

“You…”

It was Ethan.

The traitor who had escaped days earlier.

Karl’s grip tightened around his sword.

“You have some nerve coming back.”

Ethan raised both hands.

“I’m not here to fight.”

“Then why are you wearing Lunaris armor?” Arnold demanded.

Ethan looked directly at Lyra.

“Because I finally learned the truth.”

Lyra stepped forward.

“What truth?”

Ethan’s expression was filled with fear.

“The Shadow King isn’t attacking Frostfall because he wants your kingdom.”

“He wants something beneath the ruins of Lunaris.”

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

“What?”

Ethan swallowed.

“The Heart of the Moon.”

“But that’s already in his possession,” Karl said.

Ethan shook his head.

“No.”

“The relic he possesses…”

“…is a fake.”

Silence.

Lyra’s heart pounded.

“Then where is the real one?”

Ethan looked toward the distant southern mountains.

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“Still beneath the throne.”

Suddenly…

A massive explosion erupted somewhere far beyond the mountains.

The sky turned crimson.

Ethan looked terrified.

“He found the entrance.”

Lyra’s face hardened.

“Then we’re going home.”

Karl looked at her.

“To Lunaris?”

She nodded.

“To my father’s throne.”

“And this time…”

“I’m going to uncover the truth myself.”

Far away beneath the ruins of Lunaris…

A hidden stone door slowly opened.

Black smoke poured from the darkness.

A hand reached through.

And an ancient voice whispered:

“The heir is coming.”

“Wake the guardians.”