THE VOICE IN THE DARK

CHAPTER 4

THE VOICE IN THE DARK

The abandoned Moon Temple had been sealed for twenty-two years.

And someone had just ordered its guards to kill anyone who tried to enter.

Lyra Veyne didn't know that yet.

All she knew was that the strange voice inside her head had given her a destination, and she intended to find out why.

She stood before the narrow mirror in her bedroom, studying the silver symbol on her wrist. It had faded considerably since the previous night, but every few minutes, a faint light moved beneath her skin.

It was becoming impossible to pretend nothing was happening.

Behind her, Mira tightened the straps of a small leather bag.

"Are you absolutely certain this is a good idea?"

"No."

Mira frowned.

"That's not reassuring."

Lyra turned away from the mirror. "But staying here and waiting for Selene to decide what happens to me is worse."

Mira considered that for a moment before handing her the bag.

Inside were two small bottles of healing medicine, a knife, a packet of dried herbs and a piece of bread.

"That's everything I could get without attracting attention."

Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"You brought a knife?"

"Would you prefer I bring flowers?"

Despite her anxiety, Lyra smiled.

They had decided to leave after sunset, when most of the pack members would be occupied with the evening patrols.

The old Moon Temple was several miles beyond the northern forest. It had been abandoned long before Lyra was born, and the younger members of Silvermoon rarely spoke about it.

Those who did usually mentioned strange sounds, unexplained disappearances and a warning that no one should cross its entrance.

But Lyra was beginning to understand that the places people feared most often contained the answers they wanted to hide.

***

At Nightfall Castle, Alpha Kael Draven stood before the enormous windows of his private chamber.

He had not slept properly since the Moon-Binding Ceremony.

Every time he closed his eyes, he felt the same unbearable sensation.

A woman crying.

A heart breaking.

And beneath it all, a growl that seemed to come from somewhere inside his own chest.

He clenched his jaw.

"You're doing it again."

Darian's voice came from behind him.

Kael turned.

"Doing what?"

"Standing in front of the window as though the answer to your problems is written in the sky."

Kael gave him a warning look.

Darian ignored it.

"The council is waiting."

"Then let them wait."

"Selene is already there."

That caught Kael's attention.

"What does my mother want?"

"She has requested an emergency meeting concerning the Silvermoon girl."

Kael's expression hardened.

"Lyra?"

Darian nodded.

"Apparently, something happened at the healing house this morning."

Kael said nothing.

Darian continued.

"Several bottles reportedly moved without anyone touching them. Selene was present."

A strange sensation moved through Kael's chest.

His wolf stirred.

*Her.*

Kael's fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.

"What did my mother say?"

"She believes the girl is dangerous."

Kael looked toward the window again.

"Then why hasn't she explained what happened?"

Darian hesitated.

"Perhaps because she knows more than she wants us to discover."

For several seconds, Kael remained silent.

Then he turned.

"Find out everything you can about Lyra Veyne. Her family, her parents, where she was born and who raised her."

Darian nodded.

"And if Selene asks?"

Kael's eyes turned cold.

"She doesn't need to know."

***

The northern forest was darker than Lyra remembered.

The trees stood close together, their branches intertwining above the narrow path. Moonlight struggled to reach the ground, leaving patches of darkness between the roots.

Mira walked behind her, holding a small lantern.

"How much farther?"

Lyra looked at the silver symbol on her wrist.

"I think we're close."

"You think?"

"The voice told me the temple was beyond the old river."

Mira sighed.

"I cannot believe I'm following instructions from a voice that only you can hear."

"Neither can I."

They continued until the trees began to thin.

Then Lyra stopped.

Ahead of them stood a massive stone structure, partially covered by vines and moss.

The old Moon Temple.

Its entrance was framed by two enormous pillars carved into the shapes of wolves. Their stone faces were weathered, but their eyes remained strangely intact.

Lyra felt her breath catch.

The moment she stepped closer, the symbol on her wrist began to glow.

Mira noticed.

"Lyra..."

"I see it."

The air around the temple seemed heavier.

Lyra placed her hand against the entrance.

A sudden wave of warmth spread through her fingers.

Then the stone doors shifted.

A low rumble rolled through the forest.

Mira grabbed her arm.

"Did you just open that?"

Lyra stared at the narrow gap between the doors.

"I didn't do anything."

But the voice inside her mind had returned.

*Welcome home, daughter of the moon.*

Lyra swallowed.

"Who are you?"

*The one who remembers what they made you forget.*

Before Lyra could ask another question, the doors opened wider.

A cold wind rushed out.

And somewhere inside the temple, something moved.

***

The interior was covered in dust.

Broken pillars lay across the floor, and faded paintings decorated the walls. Some depicted wolves running beneath a full moon. Others showed a woman wearing a silver crown, surrounded by kneeling figures.

Lyra approached one of the paintings.

The woman looked familiar.

Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and a silver crescent rested against her forehead.

There was something about her eyes.

They were the same unusual shade as Lyra's.

"Is that supposed to be someone important?" Mira asked.

Lyra couldn't look away.

"I think so."

She moved closer.

Beneath the painting, a line of ancient writing had been carved into the stone.

Lyra could not understand the symbols.

But the moment she touched them, the words became clear inside her mind.

*The first blood shall never be forgotten.*

Her hand trembled.

"First blood?" Mira repeated.

"I don't know."

The ancient voice whispered again.

*Look beneath the altar.*

Lyra turned toward the center of the chamber.

An enormous stone altar stood beneath a circular opening in the ceiling. Moonlight fell directly upon it.

She approached slowly.

At its base, she discovered a small symbol carved into the stone.

The same crescent-shaped mark that had appeared on her wrist.

She knelt and pressed her palm against it.

The floor trembled.

A hidden mechanism groaned beneath the altar.

Mira stumbled backward.

"Lyra, what are you doing?"

"I don't know!"

A section of the floor shifted aside, revealing a narrow staircase descending into darkness.

A cold draft rose from below.

Lyra stared into the opening.

The voice spoke once more.

*The Bloodstone Chamber awaits.*

Mira shook her head.

"No. Absolutely not."

Lyra glanced at her.

"We came all this way."

"And now we've found a mysterious staircase beneath an abandoned temple. That is usually where people disappear."

Lyra almost smiled.

But then she heard something.

Footsteps.

Not theirs.

Someone was approaching the temple.

Mira immediately extinguished the lantern.

Both girls froze.

A man's voice echoed from the entrance.

"Search every chamber."

Lyra recognized the voice.

It belonged to one of the Nightfall warriors.

Another man answered.

"What if the girl is already inside?"

"Then bring her to the former Luna. Alive."

Lyra's blood turned cold.

Mira covered her mouth.

The warriors entered the main chamber.

Their boots scraped against the stone floor.

One of them stopped near the altar.

"Someone has opened the passage."

Lyra looked toward the staircase.

There was nowhere else to go.

Mira leaned close and whispered, "We need to move."

Lyra nodded.

They descended the stairs as quietly as possible.

Behind them, a warrior shouted.

"They're here!"

A heavy crash followed.

The stone mechanism began moving.

Lyra reached for the wall, trying to find something that would close the passage.

Her fingers brushed against another carved symbol.

The moment she touched it, the staircase shook.

The entrance slammed shut above them.

Darkness swallowed everything.

***

At Nightfall Castle, Selene Draven stood alone in a private chamber.

A servant had just delivered a report.

"The girl has left Silvermoon, my lady."

Selene's fingers tightened around the silver goblet in her hand.

"Where?"

"The northern forest. Our men believe she has entered the abandoned temple."

For a moment, Selene said nothing.

Then she placed the goblet on the table.

"How many guards?"

"Six."

"That won't be enough."

The servant lowered his head.

Selene walked toward the window.

Twenty-two years.

She had spent twenty-two years believing the child would remain powerless.

The seal had been strong. The ritual had been completed. Every trace of the First Luna's bloodline had supposedly been erased.

Yet the moonstone had reacted.

The ancient mark had appeared.

And now the girl was searching for the very chamber that contained the truth.

Selene closed her eyes.

She remembered a woman standing beneath the same moon, holding a newborn child against her chest.

She remembered the blood.

The screams.

And the promise she had made.

"No," she whispered.

The servant looked up.

"My lady?"

Selene turned.

"Send word to the council. The girl must not leave that temple."

"And if the Alpha intervenes?"

Her expression became merciless.

"Then make sure he never discovers why."

***

Far beneath the abandoned temple, Lyra and Mira stood before a massive black stone door.

A single red crystal was embedded at its center.

Lyra approached it cautiously.

The silver symbol on her wrist began to burn.

Mira grabbed her hand.

"Don't touch it."

But Lyra was already hearing the voice.

*At last.*

The red crystal began to glow.

A low vibration travelled through the walls.

Then a whisper filled the chamber.

*The blood of the First Luna has returned.*

Lyra stepped back.

The stone door slowly opened.

Beyond it stood a chamber filled with ancient carvings, broken chains and a massive throne.

But it wasn't the throne that caught Lyra's attention.

It was the portrait hanging above it.

A woman with silver eyes and dark hair stood beneath a blood-red moon.

And beside her was a man wearing the crest of House Draven.

Lyra's breath caught.

The woman in the portrait looked exactly like her.

Mira stared at the painting.

"Lyra..."

Before she could finish, the ancient voice spoke.

*Now you will learn why the Alpha's family feared your birth.*

Then a second voice came from behind them.

A man's voice.

"Step away from that portrait."

Lyra spun around.

A figure stood in the darkness at the entrance.

And in his hand was a silver blade.