Chapter Seven

Chapter 7: The Monster’s Truth

The words echoed through the throne hall.

“My daughter.”

The silence that followed was more terrifying than the monster’s roar.

Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward me.

My knees weakened.

“No…”

The whisper escaped before I realized I had spoken.

“No, you’re lying.”

The beast’s crimson eyes never left mine.

There was no rage in them now.

Only an unbearable sadness.

“I have waited twenty-one years to see you again.”

My heart pounded painfully against my ribs.

“I don’t even know who you are.”

“You knew me once.”

“I’ve never seen you before!”

“You have…”

Its deep voice softened.

“…you were simply too young to remember.”

My mind spun.

This couldn’t be happening.

My parents had died.

That was what Mother Elara had told me ever since I was old enough to understand the word orphan.

She would never lie to me.

Would she?

The thought cut deeper than I expected.

⸻

Kael stepped forward, placing himself between us.

“You will not speak another word to her.”

The creature lowered its massive head.

“I am not your enemy, Alpha.”

Kael’s grip tightened around his sword.

“You slaughtered my warriors.”

“I defended myself.”

“You destroyed my palace.”

“I broke a prison.”

“You terrified my people.”

“I came for my child.”

The last sentence hung heavily in the air.

The beast looked neither proud nor threatening.

Only exhausted.

Like someone carrying centuries of grief.

The Moon Hunter leader scoffed.

“Don’t listen to him.”

He stepped beside the creature, silver spear gleaming in the crimson moonlight.

“He’s manipulating you.”

The beast slowly turned its enormous head.

“And yet…”

Its voice rumbled through the hall.

“…I remember killing your ancestors.”

The hunter’s smile disappeared.

“So you remember.”

“I remember everything.”

Without warning, the beast’s tail swept across the marble floor.

The Moon Hunter leader barely leaped aside before the stone beneath him exploded into fragments.

Several hunters raised their spears.

The beast ignored them.

Its attention returned to me.

“You inherited her eyes.”

My throat tightened.

“My… mother’s?”

A slow nod.

“She loved the moonflowers.”

Images flashed across my mind.

A woman humming softly.

Warm hands brushing my hair.

A field filled with glowing white flowers beneath moonlight.

The scent of jasmine.

Then…

Pain.

Screams.

Blood.

I gasped, clutching my head.

“They’re coming back…” I whispered.

“What is?”

“My memories…”

Fragments poured into my mind faster than I could understand them.

A beautiful woman laughing.

A giant black wolf lying beside a lake.

A little girl running barefoot through silver grass.

Someone lifting me into strong arms.

Then fire.

Everything burned.

Someone shouted—

“Take the child!”

“Run!”

“Don’t let them find her!”

The memories shattered.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air.

Kael was beside me instantly.

“Lyra.”

His hand cupped my face.

“Look at me.”

His voice grounded me.

I forced myself to focus on his blue eyes.

The panic slowly eased.

“You remembered something,” he said quietly.

I nodded.

“I think…”

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

“…I think they weren’t dreams.”

Kael’s expression darkened.

He already knew.

Not everything.

But enough.

“You’ve remembered the Night of Ash.”

The name sent a chill through every elder present.

Commander Darius looked horrified.

“Your Majesty…”

“We swore never to speak of that night.”

Kael rose slowly.

“We also swore to protect the truth.”

He looked at the High Elder.

“It appears the truth has found us first.”

⸻

The little girl—Selene—walked toward me.

No one stopped her.

She knelt before me and gently wiped away a tear with fingers no warmer than moonlight.

“You always cried when you remembered.”

I searched her face.

“You really know me.”

“I helped raise you.”

“But…”

I looked at her small body.

“You’re younger than me.”

A sad smile crossed her lips.

“My body is.”

“What does that mean?”

“I sacrificed my years.”

Confusion clouded my thoughts.

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.”

Her silver eyes drifted toward the monster.

“He doesn’t have much time.”

The beast’s breathing had grown heavier.

Dark cracks spread beneath its scales.

It looked as though something inside him was tearing him apart.

The Moon Hunter leader noticed it too.

His lips curled into a cruel smile.

“The prison is still killing you.”

The beast ignored him.

Instead, it looked at me with desperate urgency.

“You must listen.”

I nodded.

“Please.”

“They lied to you about your birth.”

“I know.”

“No.”

Its crimson eyes filled with sorrow.

“They lied to everyone.”

The throne hall became so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat.

“You were never born beneath this moon.”

A cold wind swept through the shattered palace.

“What… does that mean?”

“It means…”

The beast closed its eyes.

“…you were born beyond the Veil.”

Every elder inhaled sharply.

The High Elder staggered backward until he struck a pillar.

“No…”

He whispered in disbelief.

“The Veil was sealed a thousand years ago.”

“It was.”

The beast looked at me.

“Until your mother crossed it.”

⸻

Suddenly, the mark on my shoulder burned hotter than ever before.

I cried out.

Silver light poured from the crescent mark, spreading across the cracked marble floor in intricate patterns.

The glowing lines raced through the throne hall, forming an enormous circle beneath everyone’s feet.

Ancient symbols emerged one by one.

The High Elder fell to both knees.

His face had gone completely pale.

“The Celestial Seal…”

Commander Darius stared at the glowing floor.

“What is it?”

The old wolf’s voice shook.

“It isn’t a seal.”

“What do you mean?”

He looked directly at Kael.

“It…”

His words caught in his throat.

“…it’s a doorway.”

As if answering him, the symbols erupted in brilliant silver light.

A deafening hum filled the palace.

The air itself split open.

A vertical tear appeared in the center of the throne hall.

Beyond it…

There was no palace.

No kingdom.

No earth.

Only an endless sky filled with silver stars.

From the other side of the opening, dozens of glowing eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

Watching.

Waiting.

Then a single elegant hand reached through the tear.

A woman’s voice echoed across both worlds.

“I have finally found my daughter.”

The hand reached toward me.

And Kael’s wolf exploded from within him with a roar powerful enough to shake the heavens.