Only once the last ripple faded did Redmoon lower the bow, jaw tight, eyes still scanning.
Nova's eyelids fluttered—silver, not green this time.
Her gaze drifted past Redmoon and Fin, unfocused, locking on a solid slab of obsidian wall.
Fin immediately shifted her in his arms so she faced it.
She whispered a string of Draken-Vorah.
The runes along the stone ignited—one by one—like a wick catching flame. A serpentine dragon unfurled across the wall in glowing lines.
Nova pushed the token in Fin's hand, her own hands trembling. Still holding her, he knew what to do and pressed it into the dragon's mouth.
With a deep, ear-shaking boom, the wall split open into a doorway.
"Inside. Now." Redmoon ordered.
They slipped in fast. The doors slammed closed behind them with a sealing hiss.
The chamber was circular and cavernous, carved from volcanic stone.
At its center stood a pedestal of jagged black rock—on it, a metal basin held a weak, flickering, unnatural flame.
Fin put Nova down, with one arm still around her. She choked a raw cough, and her lungs felt like they were burning from the inside.
Channeling Fin's magic, she shaped a dagger from thin air—pure gold and glowing faintly. She slashed her palm without hesitation. Silver blood spilled into the basin, the flame hissing as it drank it down.
"We all have to" she rasped, breath catching. "You'll need to touch one of us…to hear what they say, Alpha." She started coughing again, doubling over.
Redmoon didn't argue, stepping forward.
Fin took the dagger from her trembling hand and drew it across his palm.
Redmoon followed, slicing his own palm. He placed a firm hand on Fin's shoulder.
The moment their combined blood hit the basin, a burst of golden fire detonated upward, hitting the ceiling.
It filled the cavern with a divine, ancient heat.
A whispering began, warped and unnatural, as though spoken by many mouths sharing one voice.
Ah yes… what do we have here…
Interesting indeed…
The two most powerful Alphas across all continents.
The fire within the basin moved from the ceiling back to a normal height.
One a descendant of the First Dragon King.
Redmoon's brow dipped a fraction.
The other, an incarnate of the First King of Wolves.
The voices sounded entertained. Mocking amusement rippled under their tones.
They are teaming up together this time, working smart.
A first.
The flame shifted, silver rising like smoke.
And what else do we have here?
A double incarnate.
First Dragon Queen and First Queen of Wolves.
Descendant of the Moon Goddess, carved in her image.
The sole living white wolf and silver blood.
Oh yes... you are known by the Gods.
The voices hummed with interest.
You did not fail this time.
A surprise.
The whispers continued, deepening to pitch black.
Ah yes… we see now why.
We see all.
Redmoon inhaled through his nose—quiet, steady, unshaken.
The descendant of the First Dragon King is here for his son.
The white wolf saved his life.
Bitten by a vampire… a fate worse than death.
Redmoon's posture held, but his eyes went to Nova. This was new information.
Father stands in place of son.
Blood for blood.
Life for life.
The chorus crackled with dark amusement.
How touching.
Then whispering shifted—lower, deeper, as though the cavern itself inhaled.
We are the Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame,
forgers of hidden oaths,
wardens of bloodlines not yet awakened,
sworn to guard the unrisen star from eclipse.
The cavern thrummed with layered voices.
What would you say, child of the forge?
Nova blinked. For once, she didn't even have an educated guess.
She'd never read about the Brotherhood of the Hidden Flame.
But Redmoon was already exhaling. His eyes fixed on the basin. His voice came steady— as though he'd been waiting his entire life to say it.
"I am the Hand of the Hidden Anvil. Bound to shield the Starborn, sworn before breath, blood-pledged to protect the chosen one who walks."
The basin glowed in approval and the whispers continued.
The Cinders Beneath the Mountain's Heart,
the quiet watchers beneath cooled fire,
those who listen for the step that wakes the west.
Nova frowned. A memory surfacing. One from her lifetime. Her mother. Something in her knew this answer. She might have been very young when her mother died, too young to remember anything. But through instinct, heritage, and fate, she knew this was something her mother said.
"I am the step that stirs the cinders. The echo that wakes the mountain, and the one who hears the watchers by their silence."
The basin flared white— a bright, ringing approval.
Redmoon's composure cracked for just a breath— a flicker of realization and shock crossed his face before he forced it still.
Fin looked at Redmoon and then to Nova for a split second.
The whispering darkened.
Lower.
Older.
As if the cavern itself leaned in to speak.
Very well… White Wolf.
The runes dimmed, every light bending toward her.
You have now seen what becomes of one who is bitten.
They seek your blood in ritual sacrifice.
A ripple of cold crept through the chamber.
They seek your death upon the altar,
to free themselves of their binds to the sun and to sacred ground.
Fin's jaw tightened. Redmoon stayed still, listening.
The last forty-eight hours for you have been but a taste of what befell Moonveil.
Nova's breath hitched.
Rumors of Moonveil silver blood spread across continents.
However, you were not born yet.
The scent and promise drew monsters from every border.
The basin glowed silver— a pale, mournful light.
Your father sacrificed himself to save your mother
and the lives of his people.
Not at Ashbane's blade.
Fin's brows furrowed—sharply.
Your mother agreed to remain in the enemy's den,
for at that time… he was not the enemy.
The late Ashbane Alpha did not slaughter Moonveil.
A pause, heavy as stone.
He arrived after it was done.
He claimed credit to solidify his pack's dominance.
Nova swayed slightly at the words.
He was fated to your mother, as a second-chance mate.
The cavern pulsed, acknowledging the truth.
The Moonveil mages sacrificed themselves as the slaughter began.
A final spell— pure silver— binding death-to-death.
The runes around the basin flickered like extinguished candles.
They ensured the vampires in Varos would never rise again.
Every last one ended.
A long, echoing silence followed.
Their sacrifice saved the other fourteen packs of Varos.
A victory no one remembers.
A truth no one knows.
A cost born by one pack alone.
The cavern exhaled a sorrow older than kingdoms.
Moonveil fell so the rest might stand.
The whispering deepened, like a chorus dragging itself from the bottom of the lake.
The late Ashbane claimed you as his bastard to protect you.
He loved your mother more than he had ever loved another.
The cave dimmed. Even the runes seemed to listen.
His name slandered by the one who murdered him and your mother.
A queen whose heart he turned black.
Fin's chest tightened. Redmoon's stance hardened by a fraction.
His heir dishonored him.
Chained you.
Beat you.
Not for justice… but torment.
A cold wind rippled through the cavern, unnatural and ancient.
His hatred for your mother and for what you represent twisted him.
Yet he desired you.
Forbidden lust.
Fin's fingers curled against Nova's back.
He was already going mad before Shadowclaw took you.
But when he learned you were not his sister…
The voices chuckled, in an unnerving sound.
That his desire for you wasn't forbidden.
When he learned it was your mark he needed to take Varos…
The basin shuddered.
…that is what drove him fully into darkness.
In that moment, Fin's outrage and anger bled through the matebond. Nova realized this, and surged calm and love back into him without a word, jolting him.
Redmoon said nothing, but the muscle in his cheek ticked once.
The torment he gave you knowing now you were not the bastard he thought.
He has not slept one night full living in the knowledge.
His mind is in darkness now.
Silence. Almost pitying.
Queen Velora is bound to five continents.
She draws power from old darkness.
He draws from her.
The runes flared violently, then steadied.
The item you seek is here.
A small object hovered from within— complex, metallic, glowing with layered runes.
The Ascendant Key.
The key is the gate and the gate is the key.
This is the relic your people died to defend.
Let it not fall where shadows bend.
It binds the packs, all fourteen sworn,
Varos's fate lies thus reborn.
Then the whispering dropped to a growl—urgent, unmasked.
Be warned.
Nova's pulse stilled.
You are still tethered to him.
Fin's breath hitched—quiet, raw.
Death will claim you tomorrow at dusk.
His wolf will rip your throat.
Nova swallowed, already aware of that.
Redmoon's eyes snapped toward Nova, but he remained silent— forcing discipline through the alarm.
If you survive tomorrow,
your fate is to die at his blade in nine days.
The cavern walls trembled.
Ashbane is at this very lake.
The vampires see him as their ruler.
He promises your blood.
Fin and Redmoon exchanged a sharp, silent look.
He will arrive at the door shortly.
We cannot hold him.
Light flickered.
Make a portal.
Leave immediately.
The basin snapped shut. The cave went dark.
And all three of them knew— they had seconds left.
Nova didn't hesitate. Her hand—shaking, bloodless—shot into the basin's collapsing light and closed around the Ascendant Key.
With the last breath of strength she had left, Nova lifted her free hand, and a portal tore open in front of them.
Fin didn't waste a heartbeat.
He scooped her into his arms—her head falling against his shoulder, consciousness slipping even as the portal pulsed violently.
"Go!" Fin barked.
Redmoon was already moving. They sprinted.
The portal was shrinking, collapsing inward like a dying star.
They dove through just as Ashbane stepped into the chamber.
His silhouette—tall, coiled, unnatural—filled the doorway.
His eyes locked on the collapsing portal, arriving a heartbeat too late.
Fin, still clutching Nova, saw a flash of murderous recognition from across worlds.
Then the portal snapped shut.
The cave vanished.
Silence struck.
Nova's body went limp in Fin's arms— completely unconscious, utterly spent, the Ascendant Key still clutched in her hand.