Chapter 45: The Ghost of the Past

Silas was a man who thrived on rot. He didn't believe in "miracles" or "internal power." He believed in bloodlines, secrets, and the leverage they provided.

While we were celebrating our victory over the inspection, Silas was in the deepest, most forbidden section of the Central Council’s archives—the "Purge Records" of 2001.

"I found it," Silas hissed, holding a file that was singed at the edges.

He blew the dust off the photo clipped to the front. It was a woman who looked exactly like Elena—the same soft jawline, the same defiant eyes. But her eyes were a glowing, electric blue.

"Seraphina Vance," Silas whispered. "The woman the Council claimed was a human rogue. But look at the spectral analysis... she wasn't human. She was the Source."

---

Back at the Forbidden Wing, I was tucking Lucian into bed when a strange, cold shiver ran down my spine. The black rune on my chest—the one I thought was dormant—throbbed with a dull, rhythmic ache.

“Mother...” a voice whispered in the wind outside the window.

"Mommy? Why is your hand shaking?" Lucian asked, his golden eyes wide with concern.

"It's nothing, baby. Just tired," I forced a smile, kissing his forehead.

I walked out of his room and bumped straight into Killian. He looked pale, holding a high-priority summons from the Council.

"What is it?" I asked, my heart sinking.

"Silas has called for an Emergency High Tribunal," Killian said, his voice a low growl of pure menace. "He’s challenging your status, Elena. He’s claiming your marriage is invalid because your bloodline is... 'corrupted'."

"Corrupted? I'm human, Killian! Everyone knows that."

Killian pulled me into his arms, but his eyes were fixed on the shadows in the corner where Nyx was sitting.

"He found a witness, Elena. An old wolf who survived the Purge. He’s claiming your mother wasn't a victim of a rogue attack. He’s claiming she was a Royal Runaway who carried the gene of the Destroyer."

My world tilted. My mother? A Royal?

"He’s going to use this to claim the children are a 'public safety hazard' and take them to a Council facility for 'observation'," Killian’s grip tightened on my waist. "He thinks he can use your past to tear our future apart."

"He wants to take them?" The fear I felt earlier vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp rage.

I looked at my hands—the hands that had signed a pact with a coven to save my husband. I looked at the shadow-ring on Nyx's finger.

"Let him try," I said, my voice sounding as cold as Nyx's. "If he wants to see 'corrupted blood', I'll show him exactly what a mother is capable of when her children are threatened."

Killian looked at me, and for the first time, I didn't see protection in his eyes. I saw partnership.

"Vance is preparing the legal defense," Killian said. "But we aren't going to play by their rules, Elena. If they want a trial, we’ll give them a massacre."

That night, as the Red Moon finally faded into the dawn, I stood before the mirror and touched the black rune on my chest. It didn't feel like a cage anymore.

It felt like a weapon.

The past wasn't coming back to haunt me. It was coming back to arm me.