The Girl with silver Eyes

Chapter Six

The Girl With Silver Eyes

Nobody in the room moved.

The storm outside rumbled violently, shaking the windows as silence swallowed the bedroom whole.

Kael stared at Ariana.

Silver eyes.

Ancient fear crawled through the servants instantly. One woman near the door quietly whispered a prayer beneath her breath.

Martha looked like she had seen death itself.

Ariana’s body trembled against the sheets while tears slid silently down her face.

“They killed my mother,” she repeated weakly.

Kael stepped closer to the bed slowly.

“Ariana.”

Her gaze shifted toward him, but something about her expression felt distant.

Like she wasn’t fully present inside the room anymore.

“Who killed her?” Kael asked carefully.

Ariana’s breathing became uneven.

“Fire…”

Another tear slipped down her cheek.

“There was so much fire.”

Kael noticed her hands shaking violently now.

He turned sharply toward the servants.

“Out.”

Nobody hesitated.

Within seconds, only Kael and Martha remained.

Martha looked deeply unsettled. “Alpha…”

“You saw her eyes.”

The older woman nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

Kael lowered his voice. “Say nothing about this.”

“But the guards already know.”

“Then remind them what happens when they speak carelessly.”

Martha swallowed hard.

“Yes, Alpha.”

After she left, Kael looked back toward Ariana.

The silver in her eyes slowly faded until they returned to normal again.

Ariana blinked weakly.

Confusion spread across her face immediately.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Kael studied her carefully. “Do you remember anything?”

“My head hurts.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

Ariana slowly pushed herself upright despite the pain in her body.

“You were in my room.”

“You collapsed.”

She frowned slightly. “I remember feeling hot.”

Kael said nothing.

Ariana looked around the room.

“Where’s Martha?”

“I sent everyone away.”

The silence that followed felt strange.

Ariana noticed the tension in Kael’s expression.

“What happened?”

Kael crossed his arms slowly.

“Your eyes changed.”

She froze.

“What?”

“They turned silver.”

Fear spread across her face instantly.

“No.”

“You don’t remember?”

Ariana shook her head quickly. “That’s impossible.”

Kael almost laughed at the word.

Impossible.

That word had become meaningless the moment she entered his estate.

“You said someone killed your mother.”

Ariana stared at him blankly.

“My mother died when I was little.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

She pressed trembling fingers against her temple.

“I don’t know why I said that.”

Kael moved closer.

“Try remembering.”

“I can’t!”

The sharpness in her voice echoed through the room.

Ariana immediately looked away afterward, breathing unevenly.

“I’m trying,” she whispered.

Kael watched her quietly.

Fear, confusion and pain all together.

None of it looked fake.

And that unsettled him more than lies would have.

---

The next morning, rumors spread through the estate like wildfire.

Servants whispered behind doors.

Guards exchanged nervous glances.

Some avoided looking directly at Ariana altogether.

Others stared too long.

By breakfast, the atmosphere had become unbearable.

Ariana sat stiffly at the long dining table while servants silently placed food nearby.

Nobody spoke.

Not even Kael.

Finally Ariana put down her fork.

“Can someone explain why everyone suddenly looks terrified of me?”

Kael calmly drank from his coffee before answering.

“Because they’re superstitious.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s enough of one.”

Ariana clenched her jaw.

“No, it isn’t.”

Kael finally looked at her.

“Silver eyes are connected to old legends.”

“Legends don’t scare people that much.”

“These do.”

Frustration burned inside her chest.

Ever since arriving here, everyone spoke in half-truths and unfinished sentences.

She was tired of it.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Kael remained silent briefly.

Then…

“Moonborn wolves were feared long before the kingdom wars.”

“Why?”

“Because they were powerful.”

“How powerful?”

Kael leaned back slightly.

“Powerful enough that kings united to destroy them.”

Ariana’s stomach tightened.

“You think I’m one of them.”

“I think you’re connected somehow.”

“That’s insane.”

“Probably.”

His calmness made her want to scream.

“How are you acting like this is normal?”

Kael’s gaze hardened slightly.

“Normal disappeared from my life years ago.”

That answer shut her up for a moment.

A servant entered suddenly, looking nervous.

“Alpha… the council sent a messenger.”

Kael immediately stood.

“What do they want?”

“They requested the Luna’s presence.”

Ariana blinked. “Mine?”

The servant nodded carefully.

Kael’s expression darkened instantly.

“No.”

The servant looked uneasy. “They insisted.”

“I don’t care.”

“They claimed refusal would violate council law.”

Tension filled the room immediately.

Ariana looked between them. “What does that mean?”

Kael grabbed his coat calmly.

“It means the council is becoming desperate.”

---

The council chambers sat deep within the central territory, carved into black stone beneath the mountain cliffs.

Ariana had never seen anything so intimidating before.

Massive silver wolf statues lined the entrance while armed guards watched silently from every corner.

Kael walked beside her the entire time.

Close enough to protect her.

Or control her.

She still wasn’t sure which.

“You hate this place,” Ariana noticed quietly.

Kael didn’t deny it.

“The council speaks about peace while secretly feeding wars.”

“That sounds personal.”

“It is.”

The large chamber doors opened slowly as they approached.

Inside waited the same council members from before.

Including the woman who asked about Ariana’s silver eyes.

The moment Ariana entered, every eye in the room landed on her.

The attention made her skin crawl.

The female council member stood first.

“Thank you for coming.”

“We didn’t have much choice,” Kael replied coldly.

The older man beside her ignored the comment.

“Ariana Vale,” he began carefully, “we need answers.”

Ariana frowned slightly. “So do I.”

The woman stepped closer.

“Tell us everything you remember from last night.”

Ariana hesitated.

“The visions?”

“Yes.”

She looked toward Kael briefly before answering.

“There was fire. A castle maybe. Someone screaming.”

The council members exchanged tense looks immediately.

Then Ariana quietly added…

“And someone called me princess.”

Silence crashed through the chamber.

Kael’s head turned sharply toward her.

“What?”

Ariana looked confused herself.

“I forgot until now.”

The older councilman looked pale suddenly.

“No.”

The woman beside him whispered softly…

“It’s her.”

Kael stepped forward instantly. “Explain.”

But the councilman’s expression hardened again.

“This meeting is over.”

Kael laughed once.

“You drag us across territories demanding answers, then suddenly decide silence is convenient?”

“You don’t understand what’s happening.”

“Then help me.”

The councilman looked directly at Ariana now.

Fear flickered openly across his face.

“Child… what was your mother’s name?”

Ariana opened her mouth.

Then froze.

Because for the first time in years…

a memory returned clearly.

A woman smiling softly while brushing Ariana’s hair beside a window full of moonlight.

“You are Ariana Lunareth,” the woman whispered lovingly. “Daughter of the Moon Crown.”

Ariana’s breath caught violently.

The memory vanished but the name remained.

Lunareth.

Her hands started shaking.

Kael immediately noticed.

“What is it?”

Ariana looked up slowly.

Then whispered the words that changed everything.

“My last name isn’t Vale