Chapter 9

The blade sliced through the air.

Darius reacted first, slamming his shoulder into Lucienne and knocking him aside. The assassin’s sword missed Lucienne’s neck by inches before Darius drove his own blade through the attacker’s chest. More hooded warriors emerged from the trees, surrounding the brothers once again.

“Go!” Darius shouted. “I’ll hold them off!”

Lucienne hesitated for only a heartbeat before jumping onto the narrow ledge beneath the cliff. Rocks crumbled beneath his boots as he descended toward the hidden cave. Above him, the clash of steel echoed through the valley while Darius fought desperately to keep the enemies from following.

Inside the cave, Selena struggled against the silver chains around her wrists. The stranger watched her calmly, making no move to stop her. “You’re wasting your strength,” he said. “Those chains were forged to bind royal blood.” Selena glared at him. “Who are you?” The man smiled sadly. “Someone who has spent nineteen years trying to keep you alive.”

A deafening roar shook the cave.

The entrance exploded inward as Lucienne burst through the stone passage, his wolf barely restrained. His eyes found Selena instantly. Relief washed over his face before it was replaced by fury. Without a word, he charged the stranger.

Steel met steel.

The stranger drew a long silver blade and blocked the attack with surprising ease. “You’re stronger than your father,” he remarked, forcing Lucienne backward. “Good. She’ll need someone strong enough for what’s coming.”

“I said…” Lucienne growled, striking again. “…stay away from my mate.”

The stranger glanced at Selena one last time before reaching into his cloak and placing a small moonstone pendant on the ground between them. “Keep this safe,” he said quietly. “When the Blood Moon rises again, she’ll learn why they feared her birth.” Before Lucienne could stop him, the man disappeared into a wall of silver mist that swallowed the entire cave.

The chains around Selena’s wrists snapped open.

Lucienne crossed the distance between them in seconds and pulled her into his arms. Neither of them spoke. For the first time since she’d disappeared, the mate bond settled, and the crushing panic inside his chest faded. Selena closed her eyes against him, her body trembling. “I thought… I thought I’d never see you again.”

Above them, the fighting had ended.

Darius entered the cave, blood running from a cut above his brow. He smiled the moment he saw Selena standing safely beside Lucienne. “Looks like I was just in time.” His eyes drifted to the moonstone pendant on the floor. “What’s that?” Selena picked it up slowly. The stone glowed faintly the instant it touched her hand, but before anyone could examine it, the cave began to shake violently.

“We have to leave!” Darius shouted.

The three of them raced toward the entrance just as the ceiling collapsed behind them. They barely reached the forest before the entire cave caved in, burying every trace of the mysterious stranger beneath tons of stone. Lucienne stared at the rubble for a long moment. Whoever the man was… he was gone.

By the time they returned to SilverMist, the sun had fully risen.

The palace gates opened in stunned silence as Selena stepped inside beside Lucienne. Luna Alara saw her from across the courtyard and froze. Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t move. Seraphine stood only a few steps away, relief flashing across her face for the briefest moment before it vanished behind a practiced smile.

Selena was home.

But as she tightened her fingers around the moonstone pendant hidden inside her palm, she couldn’t shake the stranger’s final words.

When the Blood Moon rises again… everything you believe about your life will change.

The palace was unusually that morning.

For the first time in years, Luna Alara had ordered breakfast to be served in the family dining hall. The long oak table was set with warm bread, roasted meat, fresh fruit, and steaming tea, yet no one seemed interested in eating. The tension hanging over the room was heavier than the silence itself.

Selena hesitated at the doorway. She wasn’t used to being invited to meals with her family. Before she could turn away, Luna Alara looked up. “Sit with us.” Her voice was softer than usual. “Please.” Selena glanced at Seraphine, who forced a small smile that never reached her eyes, before quietly taking the empty seat across from her.

Lucienne and Darius entered moments later. Lucienne’s gaze immediately found Selena, searching her face as if making sure she was truly there. Only after she gave the slightest nod did he sit down. Darius noticed the silent exchange and lowered his eyes, hiding the disappointment that briefly crossed his face.

No one spoke until Luna Alara finally broke the silence.

“I owe you an apology, Selena.”

Every hand stopped moving.

Alara slowly folded her fingers together. “I failed you as your mother. For years, I let fear decide how I treated you. I believed I was protecting this family…” She paused, her eyes filling with tears. “Instead, I became the one who hurt you the most.”

Selena looked down at her untouched breakfast. Part of her wanted to believe those words. Another part remembered every cold glance, every cruel order, every night she had cried herself to sleep. “I don’t know if I can forgive you yet,” she admitted quietly. “But… I heard what you said.”

A flicker passed through Luna Alara’s eyes.

It looked like relief.

But beneath the table, hidden from everyone else, her fingers slowly tightened around the silver ring she wore. Not yet, she thought. I can’t let the prophecy awaken… no matter what it costs.

Across the table, Seraphine watched the exchange in silence. As she looked from her mother to Selena, something dark settled inside her heart. Yesterday, Selena had been the forgotten daughter. Now their mother was apologizing to her… Lucienne couldn’t stop looking at her… and even Darius seemed unable to hide his concern.

Seraphine quietly set down her fork, she wasn’t going to lose everything to Selena just like that. She looked at her with much hatred