Chapter 10

Elvanya's Pov

I stood in the High Hall. The King was staring at my back, the heat from the mark was growing, and I could not move or breathe.

Slowly, the noise from the feast returned. The beasts started talking and laughing, but they didn’t notice the silence between me and Kael. They didn’t see the danger.

Kael’s gaze didn’t leave me. His face was blank, and his stare was terrible. It felt like he was looking right through my dress and into my skin. He was focused on the crescent moon on my back.

He moved his hand, picked up his cup, and looked at it. Then he looked away from me.

I moved fast. I ran out of the hall without stopping, i went straight to the kitchen.

Senna and Mira were cleaning the big pots.

“He is testing you,” Senna said without looking at me. “He is playing with you. You have to stop making him look at you. Don’t forget Cordelia has warned about it already, we all care about you, that is the reason we are telling all of this. What did you do to make him pause like that?”

I said nothing. I couldn’t tell them the truth about the mark. I couldn’t say he knew, i couldn’t say I was the ruin of the Lycans.

I started scrubbing the pots hard, trying to keep my hands from shaking. I needed to forget the silver eyes and the heat on my back.

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened. A guard walked in. He was a Lycan, big and wearing heavy armor. He looked around the room.

Everyone stopped moving. The kitchen went silent, fear filled the air.

“Which one is Elvanya?” the guard asked in a deep, loud voice that echoed off the stone walls.

All eyes turned to me. My heart stopped. I put the wet rag down slowly, i knew this was it.

I stepped forward. “I am Elvanya.”

The guard came right up to me. He didn’t look kind. He looked like a stone.

“The King summons you to his private chambers.”

I did not move or speak. I waited for him to say what I did wrong, he didn’t.

“Now.” His voice was sharp and impatient.

I looked at Senna. Her eyes were wide with pity. She already seemed to mourn me. I looked at Mira, pale and looking away quickly. She did not want to watch me go to death, she wanted to be invisible herself.

I walked to the door. The guard turned and left the kitchen.

“Wait, Elvanya.” Senna whispered.

I turned back. She took a step closer.

“Do not fight him, don’t talk back, don’t look at him. If he wants to kill you, let it be quick, don’t give him the pleasure of resistance. Just endure it and don’t forget the rules.”

“I understand, Senna. I will be silent.”

Mira said nothing. She stared at the floor.

I followed the guard out of the kitchen.

We walked through many corridors I had never seen. They were quieter and darker, the stone was older here. This was the private part of the palace. Where the Alpha lived, the most dangerous place.

The guard said nothing. I said nothing, we just walked. My heart pounded in my ears, it felt like I was walking to my grave. I thought about my family. I tried not to think about the silver eyes. I wondered if he would use a sword or claws.

The walk was long and endless. We went up stairs and down halls. The walls were carved with images of wolves and moons. The Lycans’ history, the Lycans who feared the Moon Mark. I felt the mark burn under my dress.

We stopped in front of two huge black doors, the biggest doors I had ever seen. Heavier than the High Hall doors.

The doors were carved with giant wolves facing each other, teeth bared like they were fighting or howling at the moon.

This was the King’s private chamber, the end of the line.

The guard stopped and pointed at the door.

“Go in. I have to wait here. Make sure you don’t take long, the King doesn’t like to wait for humans.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I knew this visit would be quick.

I took a deep breath and knocked softly on the black wood. The sound was small; the room was so big.

I waited.

A deep, low voice called from inside. It was the King’s voice tired and cold.

“Enter.”

I pushed the heavy doors open slowly. The room was huge, bigger than the High Hall. The ceiling was high. The walls were black stone and velvet. It was warm and smelled like the King, cold, metal, and wolf.

I stopped just inside the door. I kept my head down and eyes on the floor. I did not look up. I stood perfectly still, trying to look like a statue.

I saw him. He stood by a massive window looking out over the kingdom. He was a dark shape against the faint light. He wore a dark shirt, his back was to me.

He did not turn or move. He was completely still.

The silence was terrible and stretched on. I waited for a command, an accusation, a death sentence. I waited for him to say the word “mark.”

I waited what felt like an hour. My legs began to shake, i wanted to move but couldn’t. I couldn’t break the silence.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was low and too quiet for such a powerful beast.

“You know why you are here, Elvanya.”

“No, Your Highness,” I lied. I had to, i had to deny everything until the end. I had to make him prove it.

“Don’t lie to me. You know the exact reason I summoned you here. Do you take me for a fool?” His voice was sharp and cut the air.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I can’t possibly see you as a fool, Your Highness. I’m all honesty, I don’t know why I’m here, I’m here to serve. I will clean whatever you need.”

He laughed a cold, dry sound. He didn't sound happy.

“You are a fool, you're clumsy. You dropped a tray of twenty expensive glasses. How can you be that clumsy? I knew from the very first day that you would definitely cause a mess here. Cordelia was so foolish. You are a terrible slave and awful cleaner. That is not why you are here, i do not waste time on servants who clean.”

He turned slowly and looked at me. His silver eyes in the dark looked right at me. He took a step toward me.

“I saved your life when I decided to stop that tray. You’re a human slave and you mean absolutely nothing to me. I do not save humans. Why did I save you? Give me a reason.”

I stood still, silent. I didn’t know the right answer, there was no right answer.

“Tell me why I saved you.” His voice grew louder.

“I don’t know why, Your Majesty. I possibly don’t have an answer to that question, Your Highness, i can’t say.” I said using the most respectful name I could.

“It’s not your face, voice, or clumsy hands,” he said slowly. Each word was a threat. “It’s the smell, the power, the lie you hide.”

He stepped closer.

“I touched your skin in the hall when I gave you back the tray. You felt the shock. I felt it too, it was not static. It was magic. I know magic, Elvanya. I smelled and tasted it in the air. It is strong.”

I didn’t deny it. I was too scared to lie again. I swallowed hard and kept my head down.

“I smelled you the first day. You smell like the moon, like power. I know your secret. I know what you hide under your old dress. I felt the heat when you bent down.”

He paused and waited. I couldn’t answer, i stood shaking. I couldn’t hide the mark now. He was too close.

Then he said the words I feared most. The words that meant death.

“Show me your back.”

It was a flat command, a final order. I had to obey. I had to die.

I didn’t move yet. My whole body screamed, i just stood there knowing the end had come. I was found out. I could not escape.

I wanted to run, but the room was too big. I couldn’t run from him, he moved faster than light. I had seen it. I had to be strong. Brave. Silent. Endure it.

I closed my eyes for a second. I prepared myself. I accepted the end of my life. The prophecy was over. I was a failure.

I opened my eyes and looked at his feet. I could not look at his eyes. I just waited.

But he was waiting for me to move. I had to.

I had to show him.

I had to give up my secret.