Chapter Twenty Two!!
Chapter Twenty Two!
The night was unnaturally still, as if the wind itself was holding its breath. I stood at the edge of the sacred circle, Ayla pressed close to my side, her small hand wrapped tightly around my fingers. The seer stood across from us, her silver eyes glowing beneath the moonlight, veiled and otherworldly.
“It is time,” she said, voice like wind over bone. “The Moon has called. The Trial begins.“”
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. I had faced death. I had faced betrayal, exile, and war. But this? This was something else. A test | couldn’t fight with claws or fury. A test that demanded my soul.
Ayla trembled slightly beside me. I knelt to her level, brushing a loose curl behind her ear. “We’re together,” I whispered. “No matter what happens, I’ll be right here.“>
She nodded bravely, though her eyes shimmered. The seer stepped forward and placed a mark of moonlight on both our foreheads–cool, glowing silver that pulsed with ancient power.
“Close your eyes,” the seer instructed. “Let go.”
The world shifted.
I gasped as we fell–not in body, but in spirit–plunging into a realm of mist and memory. Shadows and starlight danced around us. I was standing alone at first, Ayla gone from my side. Panic surged, but then I saw them.
My mother. My grandmother. Women I had only seen in old portraits or heard about in whispered stories. Ancestral queens and warrior Lunas. They circled me, eyes full of knowledge and fire.”
“Selene of Stormclaw,” one said, her voice echoing through the air like thunder and silk. “Daughter of legacy. Mother of the marked.“} “Why have you come?” another asked.
I wanted to speak, but my throat was tight. I had no sword, no armor. Just truth.
“To protect my daughter. To understand what this mark means. To become what I was born to be,” I said.”
They nodded, satisfied.
“Then face your truth.”
The mists parted, and I saw it: the worst day of my life. My body being dragged through the snow. Damien’s cold eyes as he cast me out. Elara’s laugh. Ayla’s first cry in the darkness.
My knees buckled, but I didn’t look away.
“You lived,” one ancestor said. “But did you rise?”
The vision shifted. I saw myself in Nightfang, choosing to walk away from vengeance. I saw Ayla sleeping safely beside me. I saw Stormborn gathering, loyal to me–not by law, but by choice.
“You rose,” another said. “And now, you must lift her.“>
I turned, and Ayla was there, across a chasm of light. She stood at the edge, the moon mark on her brow glowing brighter. She looked frightened.
“Mama,” she whispered.}
The seer’s voice echoed through the dreamscape. “She must cross the Trial herself, but your love is her bridge.“}
I extended my arms. “Come to me, Ayla. I’m right here.”
She hesitated, then stepped into the light. The chasm trembled, but held.
Each step she took glowed with moonlight until finally, she reached me–and when our hands touched, a brilliant flare of silver enveloped us both.
The ancestors reappeared, solemn and radiant.}
“She is marked not just by blood, but by purpose,” the eldest said. “The moon chose her. But your strength, Selene, is what will shape her destiny.“”
They placed their hands on our heads, and I felt a searing rush of heat and clarity. Visions of a future–Ayla standing as a protector, a leader, a light. My voice guiding her. My strength in her bones.
Then, darkness whispered around the edges. A looming threat, faceless but near.
“You must be more than mother now,” the ancestor said. “You must become guardian, guide, shield. The war is not over.” And just like that-
I woke.!
The night air was sharp in my lungs. Ayla clung to me, her moonmark still glowing faintly.”
The seer stood over us, her expression unreadable. “The Trial is complete.”
Garrick appeared at the edge of the circle, his eyes wild with worry–until he saw us both whole. Then pride replaced the fear.
I rose slowly, lifting Ayla in my arms. She nestled into my shoulder, whispering, “I saw the moon, Mama. She talked to me,”
I held her tighter.!!
The seer stepped forward once more. “She is more than we imagined. And so are you. The mark has awakened. Protect her well, Selene. The true test has only just begun.”
Chapter Twenty Two
11:26 AM
I didn’t need a prophecy to feel it. The weight of what was coming. The fire growing on the horizon.
But I also felt something else.}
A calm strength.
The Moon had tested us.”
And we were still standing.
