Chapter 27: A Kingdom Divided

The war Kade spoke of wasn’t a metaphor.

By morning, the tension in the palace was thick enough to choke on. The council had been summoned. Warriors patrolled the perimeter in doubled shifts. And Raven, now seated at the head of the long war table beside Kade, could feel the weight of every stare, every silent question.

“What happened last night, Alpha?” Beta Roland asked tightly, his silver-streaked brows furrowed.

Kade didn’t speak right away. He leaned forward, placing both hands on the table as if grounding himself.

“There’s a threat,” he said at last. “A man—no, a creature—breached the East Wing. He confronted Raven.”

Gasps rippled across the room.

“The East Wing?” one warrior choked. “But no one’s entered that part of the palace in decades!”

“It opened for her,” Kade said, glancing at Raven. “It recognized her bloodline.”

All eyes turned to her.

Raven stood slowly. Her heart pounded, but she refused to show fear.

“I saw visions,” she began. “Of my mother. Of the past. And of a man who tried to kill me when I was a child. He was... not mortal. I don’t know what he is, but I do know he’s coming back. And he’s not coming alone.”

Whispers erupted across the table.

“You expect us to believe this?” someone muttered. “She’s only just arrived—how do we know she isn’t the danger?”

“She is the Alpha King’s fated mate,” another councilman snapped. “And she carries the blood of the Moon Line. You’d do well to hold your tongue.”

Kade raised a hand for silence.

“Enough,” he growled. “We’re not here to debate her loyalty. Raven is part of this pack. She is mine. If there’s a threat tied to her lineage, then it’s a threat to all of us.”

A beat of silence.

Then Beta Roland leaned forward, tapping his fingers on the wood.

“Then we need to act,” he said. “We need to uncover everything about her bloodline. The Moon Line, the prophecy… and whatever the hell opened that cursed wing.”

Raven’s hands clenched at her sides.

“I’m not afraid,” she said softly. “But I need to know the truth. All of it.”

“Then we’ll go to the Archives,” Roland said. “The hidden library beneath the mountain. It holds the old records. But be warned—it hasn’t been accessed in years. And it’s not unguarded.”

“Who guards it?” Raven asked.

“The Ancients,” Kade said darkly. “And they don’t take kindly to visitors.”

The journey to the Archives began at dawn.

Raven rode beside Kade on horseback, their guards flanking them, swords gleaming in the early light. The forest whispered around them, thick with fog and the scent of moss. Trees leaned over the narrow path like silent witnesses.

Raven’s mind was a storm.

Not just from the vision or the man who’d tried to kill her—but from how quickly her life had shifted. One moment she was escaping abuse, a rogue with a shattered past. Now she was riding toward ancient magic and awakening power that could destroy—or save—an entire kingdom.

As they reached the mountain’s base, the path narrowed into stone steps. The horses couldn’t continue. Raven dismounted, and Kade helped her down.

“You don’t have to go in,” he said quietly. “I can send Roland.”

“No,” she said. “I need to see it myself. I need to know where I come from.”

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

Together, they descended into darkness.

The entrance to the Archives was a gaping cavern, sealed with stone runes and silver chains. Roland chanted something in Old Tongue, and the runes pulsed. One by one, the chains unraveled, slithering to the ground like dead serpents.

The door groaned open.

Inside, the air was cold and ancient. Dust danced in golden beams from a high crystal skylight. Scrolls and books lined endless shelves, some bound in dragonhide, others wrapped in gold thread. Magic shimmered faintly in the air.

But it was the statues that stopped Raven cold.

Dozens of them, lining the center aisle—wolves mid-howl, men mid-strike. But their eyes weren’t stone. They glowed faintly. Watching.

“Don’t speak unless necessary,” Roland whispered. “And do not lie. The Ancients can smell deceit.”

Raven nodded.

They passed the first row of statues. Nothing moved.

They passed the second. A whisper curled around her ear like wind—Daughter of fire…

She turned sharply, but no one was there.

“Keep moving,” Kade said, hand resting on his sword.

Finally, they reached the center of the library, where a massive circular table stood. At its center was a pool of silver liquid, swirling gently.

Roland stepped forward and cut his palm, letting a single drop of blood fall into the pool.

The silver flashed—and images exploded upward. A woman cloaked in stars. A wolf the size of a carriage. A baby, wrapped in red silk, marked with a crescent moon on her back.

Raven gasped.

“That’s her,” she whispered. “That’s my mother.”

“The records call her Selene,” Roland said. “She was the last daughter of the Moon Line. Hunted by the Shadow King. Betrayed by her own blood.”

Raven’s throat closed.

“What happened to her?”

Roland looked at her gently. “No one knows. She vanished after the fall of the Valley Kingdom. But she left behind a daughter. Hidden. Marked by moonfire.”

Raven blinked. “Moonfire?”

“Ancient power,” Roland said. “Dormant until triggered by blood, pain… or love.”

At that, Kade’s eyes met hers. A spark passed between them.

But before anyone could speak, the floor trembled.

The statues began to move.

Eyes glowing brighter, they turned as one. A voice boomed from the shadows.

“She is awake.”

Kade drew his sword. “Everyone, fall back!”

But the statues didn’t attack.

Instead, they knelt—every single one of them.

And the voice spoke again.

“The last daughter of Selene walks among us. The Crescent Bloodline is reborn.”

Raven stood frozen.

Not from fear.

From awe.

Because for the first time, the truth didn’t scare her.

It empowered her.

And the Ancients had confirmed it.

She was no longer just a girl on the run.

She was a queen in the making.