Chapter 7: The Pendant

My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

I stumbled backward until my legs hit the edge of the narrow bed. My eyes never left the corridor where Selena had disappeared.

The crescent moon pendant.

It couldn't be.

My father had worn that pendant every single day. As a little girl, I used to trace the engraved crescent with my tiny fingers while he carried me on his shoulders through the forest.

"One day, this will tell you who your father really was," he had told me with a smile.

Back then, I thought he meant people would remember him as a hero.

Instead, they remembered him as a traitor.

The day he died, the pendant vanished.

The guards had returned his torn clothes to me.

His boots.

His wedding ring.

Even the old leather bracelet my mother had given him.

But never the pendant.

I had searched everywhere for it.

Now...

It was around Selena's neck.

Why?

A loud clang jolted me from my thoughts as the prison door slammed shut somewhere above.

The morning silence returned.

I pressed my forehead against the cold bars.

"Think, Lyra."

My father would never have willingly given that pendant to Selena.

Which meant...

She had taken it.

Or someone had given it to her.

Either answer terrified me.

---

Upstairs, voices echoed faintly through the stone ceiling.

The pack prison was directly beneath the council chambers.

Usually, the thick walls muffled every sound.

Today, however, the shouting was impossible to ignore.

"...there isn't enough proof!"

That voice belonged to Elder Marcus.

Another voice answered sharply.

"The evidence is overwhelming."

Ronan.

I recognized his calm but firm tone.

"We found the evidence," he continued, "but we still don't know who placed it there."

A third voice cut in.

"You're questioning the investigation?"

"I am questioning the timing."

Silence.

Then someone slammed a fist onto a table.

"The Alpha has already made his decision!"

My chest tightened.

Kael.

Had he?

I closed my eyes.

No.

Kael hadn't declared me guilty.

Not yet.

But he also hadn't fought for me.

Sometimes silence hurt just as much as betrayal.

---

Hours crawled by.

No one came.

The bread Martha had brought sat untouched beside me.

My stomach growled, but I couldn't force myself to eat.

Instead, I replayed every conversation I'd had with Selena over the years.

Every insult.

Every fake apology.

Every smile that never reached her eyes.

Something had always felt wrong about her.

I had ignored it because Kael loved her.

Then later...

Because I wanted to believe people could change.

A soft scratching sound interrupted my thoughts.

Scratch.

Scratch.

I looked toward the tiny window near the ceiling.

Another scratch.

Standing on the narrow stone ledge outside was a small gray bird.

Its bright amber eyes watched me curiously.

I frowned.

"You found me?"

The bird tilted its head.

Despite everything, I smiled.

"You remind me of someone."

Carefully, I tore off a small piece of bread and held it toward the window.

The bird fluttered inside without fear.

It landed on my shoulder as though we'd known each other for years.

I laughed softly.

"You trust people too easily."

The bird chirped.

Then something tied around its tiny leg caught my attention.

A strip of black cloth.

My smile vanished.

Hands trembling, I untied it.

Hidden inside the cloth was another folded note.

My pulse quickened.

The same neat handwriting covered the page.

The pendant belonged to your father.

Selena didn't steal it.

She was given it.

The man you're looking for carries a scar across his left hand.

Do not let them move you tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

Selena had warned me about tomorrow.

Now this stranger was warning me too.

I folded the note and tucked it inside my sleeve just as footsteps approached.

The bird flew back through the window seconds before two guards stopped outside my cell.

"The Alpha wants to see you."

I slowly stood.

"Here?"

"No."

The older guard unlocked the door.

"Council chamber."

My wrists were chained again.

As they led me through the prison corridors, every step felt heavier than the last.

Pack members lined the hallway above.

Some stared with pity.

Others with disgust.

Children hid behind their parents.

A little girl looked at me and whispered, "Mama, is she really evil?"

Her mother pulled her away without answering.

I lowered my head.

Maybe this was how my father had felt.

Alone.

Judged.

Already condemned.

---

The council chamber fell silent as I entered.

Kael stood beside the Alpha's chair.

His eyes met mine for only a second before shifting away.

The sight hurt more than I expected.

Elder Marcus cleared his throat.

"Lyra Blackwood."

I remained standing.

"We have gathered to determine your temporary sentence while the investigation continues."

Temporary.

The word should have comforted me.

Instead, it filled me with dread.

Selena sat near the front of the room wrapped in a pale shawl.

When our eyes met, she smiled so faintly that no one else noticed.

Then she deliberately touched the crescent moon pendant resting against her throat.

A message.

She knew I had recognized it.

Elder Marcus continued.

"Tomorrow morning, you will be transferred to the Iron Hollow Prison until further notice."

My blood ran cold.

Tomorrow.

Exactly as Selena had said.

Exactly as the note had warned.

I looked around the room.

No one questioned the decision.

Except...

Ronan.

He stepped forward.

"I object."

The room erupted in whispers.

Councilman Briggs frowned.

"On what grounds?"

"The investigation has barely begun."

"We're protecting the public."

"We're moving a suspect."

Ronan's expression hardened.

"Or making her disappear?"

The room fell deathly quiet.

Even Kael looked surprised.

"What are you implying?" Elder Briggs demanded.

"I'm saying the transfer is unnecessary."

His gaze swept across the council.

"And suspicious."

I looked at Ronan in disbelief.

He wasn't defending me.

He was defending the truth.

For the first time since my arrest...

Someone had spoken without fear.

Selena's fingers tightened around her pendant.

For the first time...

She didn't look confident.

She looked worried.