"Targen, how much longer are you planning to carry it?"
Even though my sister thought what I was doing was ridiculous, I didn't want to leave Kutay's new body here. I had spent far too many resources creating this body.
"It was supposed to take the shape of an egg," I said. "Without a soul, the body is useless."
I had been carrying the body over my shoulder for several minutes, and it was starting to wear me out. I lifted the body a little higher and repositioned it on my shoulder.
When my sister suddenly stopped, I had to stop as well so I wouldn't bump into her. She turned around and looked at me.
"That girl… she called him Kongar," she said.
I already knew that.
"So?"
"So… by giving him a name, she must have bound him to herself for the second time," she said, clenching her hands into fists at her sides.
Could that be possible?
I had added this name thing later, but that wasn't my original intention. My goal had been to create a loyal servant.
I needed to look into this name bond as well.
"You said their hearts were connected," she continued.
I nodded.
"The body might not be disappearing because this heart bond hasn't been severed," she said.
"Why do you think the body turned black?" I asked. I wasn't even sure about my own creation anymore. Then again, it was Kutay's creation; it wasn't entirely mine to begin with.
My sister thought for a while.
"It's dark magic," she said. "The soul was trapped inside that body by dark magic. So it could be a side effect."
That made sense.
My sister was far more knowledgeable than I was. I had never understood why Kutay had chosen me as his assistant instead of her.
"Then, why do you think the color of his body darkened from yellowish to black? Remember. When we saw him at the ball, his skin was light," I said. "That was the color of the material I used."
She took a deep breath.
"He must not have been able to control the body because of the name magic," she said. "You know, name magic is very powerful. Of course, he must have managed to break free from it over time."
"Yes, that's possible," I said, stroking my chin. "Kutay was a very powerful witch; he was feared and respected."
My sister nodded. Then she turned around and started walking.
"Wouldn't it be a problem if we left without telling the Alpha what we did?" I asked.
She slowed her steps but didn't stop.
"We'll call him in the morning—"
My sister suddenly fell silent when she noticed a shadow rushing past us a few meters away, and we both crouched down slightly.
Shadows were rushing past one another until one of the guards at the gate noticed them.
"Vampires!"
The guard shouted to alert the others. They transformed into their wolf forms and chased after the shadows. Then we heard a loud roar and the sound of breaking glass.
"Hurry, Targen," my sister said quietly. "We need to leave here immediately."
"Aren't we going to help?" I asked.
"This isn't our war," she said. "If we get involved, we'll drag the witches into this war as well."
She was right.
"Leave the body behind, too. It's slowing us down," she continued.
Even though I didn't want to leave it behind, she was right about this as well. I hid it in the bushes and continued following my sister. I would come back for it.
Taking advantage of the chaos, we slipped out through the main gate without being seen.
---
Kayra
I had left Arkan there alone. I should have been by his side.
"Soren, let me go."
"No, Luna. You need to get away from here," he said, his voice deepening. "If something happens to you…"
He growled.
"…we can't risk losing our Alpha."
My heart tightened. I couldn't lose Arkan. I didn't care whether the others cared about me or not.
I started struggling in Soren's arms. I couldn't leave Arkan alone.
I knew I wouldn't be much help, but I felt like I needed to be by his side.
"Luna, please—"
"Luna Kayra!"
Soren's words were cut short by Alara's voice.
"Alara," I said. Maybe she would understand me. "Arkan is alone. I need to go to him."
Alara looked away from me and turned to Soren. Then she looked back at me.
"Luna…" she said with a smile. "The Alpha isn't alone. He's with his pack."
Yes, he was an Alpha, and he had a pack. But I had no one but him. When I felt my eyes welling up, I tried to wipe away my tears with my hand. Now wasn't the time to cry.
I guess I really… was in love with him.
This time, I couldn't hold back my tears.
"Luna," Alara said softly. "Soren, let's get her out of here."
I couldn't stop crying the entire way. People were rushing around us, but all I could think about was Arkan.
We kept going farther and farther down into the pack house. Eventually, we stopped, and I got out of Soren's arms.
Soren grabbed the corner of the embroidered rug on the floor and lifted it. An iron door was hidden underneath. Then he opened it. The light coming from inside suddenly hit my face.
I expected it to be dark. Instead, it seemed to open into a large, well-lit room. I could hear the voices of children and women coming from inside.
Did I have to go in there? I didn't want to be trapped underground again.
Speaking of underground, where was Kongar?
Maybe he was with Arkan, I thought. He had said he would protect us. He would, wouldn't he? He wouldn't betray again, would he?
Alara gently pushed me forward from behind.
"Come on, Luna Kayra," she said. "We need to get inside without anyone seeing us."
Even though I didn't want to go in, I didn't want to put the others in danger.
As soon as Alara and I entered, the door closed. When I turned around, Soren was gone.
"He went to the Alpha," Alara said.
I nodded.
That was good. Soren was strong too. He would be able to help Arkan better than I could.
As I made my way through the room, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I kept moving, trying not to make eye contact with them. When I found an empty spot in the corner, I crouched down and sat there.
Although Alara and a few others wanted to give me a chair, I refused. There weren't enough chairs. The elderly and pregnant women needed them more.
"Mom, isn't she the Luna?" a child asked.
When I looked up, I saw the little girl; she was the one Kongar had pushed. I tried to smile at her.
"She smiled at me, Mom," she said.
This time, I genuinely smiled back at her.
"Are you feeling better?"
I looked at Alara when I heard her voice.
"I'm fine," I said. "Weren't you going back to your pack?"
She looked away from me and began watching the crowd.
"I was going to. But then I heard that Kongar had kidnapped you," she said. "I couldn't leave after that."
When Kongar's name was mentioned, all the murmuring in the room stopped, and everyone's eyes turned toward me again. I quickly lowered my head.
Alara slowly lifted my head and turned it toward her.
"Lift your head," she said, fixing her eyes on mine. "You're the Luna."
Luna… the powerless Luna.
I tensed when the door opened.
Was the war over? Could it have ended this quickly?
I slowly got to my feet, but Alara quickly stepped in front of me. Then everyone in the room—the elderly, the pregnant women, even the children…
This made me even more uneasy.
Alara suddenly started growling. The others joined her. I was trying to figure out what was happening. I tried to push past the people in front of me to see who had arrived, but they wouldn't move out of my way. I had no choice but to give up.
I wasn't strong. I didn't even have enough strength to move them out of my way.
I didn't belong in this world.
"Mom!"
I heard a child scream. It sounded like the little girl from earlier.
"Lale!" a woman shouted. She must have been her mother. No one else could have screamed so desperately.
I tried to push past the people in front of me again, but they still wouldn't move. Instead, they backed up, forcing me even closer to the wall.
"Where is Luna Kayra?"
It was a hypnotic male voice.
Why was he looking for me?
My heart was beating faster and faster.
"Mom!"
"It's okay, sweetheart. Calm down," the woman said with a growl.
Then I started hearing the sounds of bones breaking. I guess they were turning into wolves.
"Ladies, I really wouldn't recommend this," the man said. "I'm not alone. Even if I were, you wouldn't stand a chance against me."
He spoke with complete confidence.
I heard more footsteps coming into the room, but I couldn't tell how many there were.
At the man's warning, they stopped transforming.
"I'm not here to hurt you," the man said. "Your Alpha killed Prince Lucas."
The crowd held its breath.
"Isn't that a perfect reason for war?" the man asked. "But don't worry, I have no problem with any of you."
"Then why are you here?" someone from the crowd interrupted.
"That's a good question," the man said. "I want someone in exchange for the prince who was killed…"
Who?
"…Luna Kayra."
"The Luna isn't here," a woman said.
"We're not giving anyone to you," another woman said.
Was the pack protecting me? No… They were protecting their Alpha. I was the one who had led their Alpha to his death. I shouldn't have bitten him.
The man laughed.
"Then you'll all die," he said.
"No! Mom!" the little girl screamed.
Unable to take it anymore, I started frantically pushing the people around me out of the way.
"I'm here!"
The women surrounding me tensed at my shout.
"Ah, I knew she was here," the man said.
He didn't speak for a while.
"I can smell that sweet scent."
A shiver ran through me. Why did I do that? But when I remembered the little girl's smile, I realized I had done the right thing.
"I'm here. Let that girl go," I said.
Then, in a deep voice I didn't know where it had come from, I shouted:
"Get out of my way!"
At my command, each of the women quickly moved to either side, clearing the way for me—even Alara.
"That's more like it. Listen to your Luna," the man said. There was a strange sense of pride in his voice.
What was he so proud of?
As I walked through the women, I saw Lale run to her mother and throw her arms around her. I smiled as I watched them, but the farther I went, the more my fear grew.
Was I going to die?
Because of me, both Arkan and Kongar would die. I wished I could be the only one to die.
When I reached him, I stopped and slowly lifted my head. He must have been wealthy. His clothes looked very clean and expensive. He had long black hair. His eyes, however, were bright red.
"Kayra," the man said.
Wait a minute… I knew him. His voice sounded familiar too, but I never expected to see him standing in front of me. Unable to believe my eyes, I whispered:
"The Vampire King… Valen."