Chapter 19: The Moon Temple

The burial for Lord Cedric was held before sunrise.

No royal ceremony.

No gathering of nobles.

Only silence.

Derek stood beside the grave with Magnus while Kira watched from a distance.

The old council member had died protecting a secret instead of revealing it.

Someone had wanted him dead before he could finish speaking.

As the last handful of earth covered the coffin, Derek turned toward Magnus.

'Prepare six riders.'

'We're leaving today.'

'Where are we going?' Magnus asked.

'The Moon Temple.'

Kira looked up immediately.

'You believe Cedric's last words? '

'Dead men rarely waste their final breath.'

By midday, six horses rode through the northern gates of the capital.

Derek led the group while Magnus and four royal guards followed behind.

Kira rode beside Derek.

Neither of them spoke much.

The farther they traveled north, the colder the air became.

Ancient forests surrounded the narrow mountain road.

The trees grew so thick that sunlight barely reached the ground.

Magnus finally broke the silence.

'The Moon Temple has been abandoned for nearly twenty years.'

'Not completely,' Derek replied.

'The priests left.'

'But legends don't.'

Kira looked at him.

'You've been there before?'

'Once.'

'My father took me when I was twelve.'

'He said every Lycan King must visit it at least once.'

'What did you find?'

'Nothing.'

'Just broken statues and empty halls.'

'Maybe we weren't supposed to find anything then,' Kira said quietly.

Derek glanced at her but didn't answer.

As evening approached, the mountains became steeper.

Snow covered the rocky cliffs.

The ruined Moon Temple finally appeared between towering pine trees.

Its white stone pillars were cracked with age.

Vines wrapped around the entrance.

A massive stone wolf guarded the staircase, its eyes worn smooth by centuries of wind.

'Stay alert,' Derek ordered.

'If Cedric sent us here, someone else may already know about this place.'

The guards spread out immediately.

Magnus inspected the outer walls while Derek and Kira climbed the stairs together.

The enormous wooden doors resisted at first.

Then Derek pushed harder.

With a loud groan, they slowly opened.

Dust floated through the cold air.

Inside, dozens of broken statues lined both sides of the hall.

Most had lost their heads.

Others had crumbled into piles of stone.

Kira walked carefully across the cracked floor.

Something about the temple felt strangely familiar.

She had never visited before.

Yet every corridor stirred distant memories she couldn't explain.

'This way,' Derek said.

They reached the central sanctuary.

Moonlight poured through a shattered dome above.

At the center stood a circular stone altar.

Unlike the rest of the temple, the altar remained untouched.

Its surface was perfectly clean.

Kira stepped closer.

Ancient symbols were carved around its edges.

The moment her fingers brushed the stone, the symbols began glowing faintly blue.

Magnus drew his sword.

'Your Majesty...'

The entire floor trembled.

Dust rained from the ceiling.

A deep grinding sound echoed beneath their feet.

The stone altar slowly shifted aside.

A hidden staircase appeared below.

Everyone froze.

'Only royal blood could open it,' Magnus whispered.

Derek looked at Kira.

Neither of them spoke.

The answer was obvious.

Without her touch, the staircase would have remained hidden forever.

'We're going down,' Derek decided.

They lit torches before descending.

The underground passage smelled of old stone and damp earth.

Ancient murals covered the walls.

Unlike the paintings inside the palace archives, these were untouched by time.

One mural showed a woman wearing a silver crown standing beside two enormous wolves.

Another depicted a child wrapped in moonlight while warriors knelt before her.

Kira stopped walking.

'She looks familiar.'

Derek raised the torch.

The woman's face resembled Kira almost perfectly.

Only her eyes were different.

They glowed bright silver.

'Is this your mother?' Magnus asked.

'No,' Kira whispered.

'I've never seen her before.'

Further ahead, they reached a stone chamber.

At its center rested a black marble pedestal.

Upon it lay an ancient wooden chest sealed with silver chains.

A wolf-shaped lock held the chains together.

Derek reached for it.

Nothing happened.

Magnus tried next.

Still nothing.

Kira slowly stepped forward.

The moment her fingers touched the lock, a soft click echoed through the chamber.

The chains slipped away by themselves.

The chest opened.

Inside rested a single parchment wrapped in blue silk.

Derek carefully unfolded it.

The faded handwriting remained readable.

At the bottom was the royal seal of the First Lycan King.

Across the top, one sentence was written in larger letters.

'The Last Daughter Must Never Return.'

Silence filled the chamber.

Kira stared at the words.

'Last daughter...'

'Does that mean me?'

Before anyone answered, a loud explosion shook the entrance tunnel.

The torches flickered violently.

Magnus spun toward the staircase.

'We're under attack!'

Steel clashed somewhere above.

The sound of battle echoed through the underground halls.

Derek folded the parchment and placed it inside his coat.

'Protect Kira,' he ordered.

'No matter what happens, the document leaves this temple with us.'