Chapter 5: The Moon Temple Journey

The council meeting ended well after midnight.

No one left feeling reassured.

The threat of Malakar hung over Ravenwood like a storm cloud, and every report arriving from the northern forests seemed worse than the last.

Emma followed Kael through the castle corridors in silence.

For the first time since arriving in the hidden kingdom, she could feel the weight of responsibility pressing down on her shoulders.

'You haven't said a word in ten minutes,' Kael finally observed.

'I'm thinking.'

'Dangerous.'

Emma rolled her eyes.

'You know, normal people usually try to comfort someone after telling them an ancient evil wants to use them to destroy a kingdom.'

'I never claimed to be normal.'

That earned the smallest smile from her.

They continued walking.

Outside the tall windows, the crimson moon still dominated the sky.

Its strange light painted the castle walls in shades of red and silver.

'Do you really think we'll have to leave Ravenwood?' Emma asked.

Kael stopped walking.

'I won't abandon my people.'

'That's not what I asked.'

His silver eyes met hers.

'If the temple falls, Ravenwood falls.'

The answer was enough.

Emma didn't need him to say anything else.

They reached a balcony overlooking the valley.

Hundreds of torches burned below.

Warriors trained in the courtyards.

Blacksmiths worked through the night.

Messengers hurried between buildings.

The entire kingdom was preparing for something terrible.

'All these people trust you,' Emma said quietly.

'They trust the crown.'

'No. They trust you.'

Kael remained silent.

For a moment he looked older than before.

Not physically.

Just tired.

Like someone who had carried responsibility for a very long time.

'What happens tomorrow?' Emma asked.

'We leave for the Moon Temple.'

'Tomorrow?'

'At sunrise.'

'That's soon.'

'Exactly.'

Emma leaned against the stone railing.

'And if Malakar gets there first?'

'Then everything becomes much more difficult.'

'That's not exactly comforting.'

'I wasn't trying to be.'

Before she could respond, footsteps approached.

Lord Aldric emerged from the shadows carrying an ancient scroll.

'My king.'

'What is it?'

The old advisor looked troubled.

'I've been studying the prophecy again.'

'Find something useful?'

'Possibly.'

That caught Emma's attention.

'What kind of useful?'

Aldric slowly opened the scroll.

The parchment appeared centuries old.

Strange symbols covered its surface.

'The prophecy contains a passage most scholars ignored.'

'Why?' Emma asked.

'Because it made no sense.'

'And now?'

'Now it makes far too much sense.'

Aldric pointed toward a section of faded writing.

'When the Moon Bearer awakens, the Shadow King shall stand beside her. Together they shall open the path of light or darkness.'

Emma frowned.

'That's vague.'

'Prophecies usually are,' Kael said.

'What does it mean?'

Aldric looked between them.

'I believe neither of you can activate the temple alone.'

Silence followed.

'Meaning?' Emma asked.

'Meaning the temple requires both of you.'

Kael immediately understood.

'The moonstone and the royal bloodline.'

'Exactly.'

Emma groaned.

'Wonderful. Another reason for Malakar to hunt us.'

'Unfortunately, yes.'

A horn suddenly echoed through the valley.

Then another.

Kael's expression darkened instantly.

'Report.'

A guard sprinted onto the balcony.

'My king! Scouts have returned.'

'What did they find?'

'The rogues are moving toward the eastern pass.'

'How many?'

'At least five hundred.'

Emma nearly choked.

'Five hundred?'

'That number will grow,' Kael said grimly.

'You're saying more are coming?'

'Malakar is gathering every rogue pack in the region.'

The scale of the threat was becoming impossible to ignore.

This wasn't a raid.

It was an invasion.

'Have they reached the valley?' Aldric asked.

'Not yet,' the guard replied.

'Then we still have time.'

Kael nodded.

'Prepare the expedition.'

'Yes, my king.'

The guard hurried away.

Emma watched him disappear.

'How many people are going with us?'

'Twenty elite warriors.'

'Only twenty?'

'Speed matters more than numbers.'

'That's usually what people say before something goes horribly wrong.'

Aldric laughed unexpectedly.

'I like her.'

'You're the first person here who has said that,' Emma replied.

'Give it time.'

The old advisor left shortly afterward, leaving Emma and Kael alone once more.

For several minutes neither spoke.

The valley below remained alive with activity.

Then Emma noticed something.

'What's that?'

She pointed toward the far side of the castle grounds.

Several warriors were kneeling around a massive black wolf.

Even from a distance the creature looked enormous.

'My wolf,' Kael said.

Emma stared.

'Your wolf?'

'My other form.'

She blinked.

'Right.'

'You forgot I'm a werewolf?'

'Honestly? With everything else happening, yes.'

Kael actually laughed.

The sound surprised both of them.

For a brief moment, the tension vanished.

Then the moonstone around Emma's neck pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Both of them felt it immediately.

'That's new,' Emma said.

The crystal began glowing brighter.

'What's happening?'

Kael stepped closer.

'I don't know.'

The light intensified.

Silver energy flowed through the pendant like liquid moonlight.

Emma gasped.

Images suddenly flooded her mind.

A mountain.

Ancient ruins.

A glowing temple hidden among cliffs.

And standing before its entrance—Malakar.

His crimson eyes burned with hatred.

Then the vision changed.

Emma saw a battlefield.

Fire.

Blood.

Collapsed walls.

Countless wolves lying dead.

At the center stood Kael.

Alone.

Broken.

Dying.

'No!'

Emma stumbled backward.

The vision vanished.

She nearly fell, but Kael caught her.

'Emma.'

'I saw something.'

'What?'

Her breathing was rapid.

'The temple.'

Kael's eyes narrowed.

'Go on.'

'Malakar was there.'

Silence.

'What else?'

Emma hesitated.

The second vision still haunted her.

'I saw a battle.'

'And?'

'I saw you die.'

For the first time since meeting him, Kael looked genuinely shocked.

Neither of them spoke.

The wind swept across the balcony.

The crimson moon hung overhead.

Far beyond the valley, wolves howled in the darkness.

Finally Kael looked toward the northern mountains.

'Then we leave at dawn.'

'That's it?' Emma asked.

'Visions are possibilities, not certainties.'

'You seemed pretty concerned a second ago.'

'I am concerned.'

'But?'

His silver eyes met hers.

'I'm not dying tomorrow.'

The confidence in his voice should have reassured her.

Instead, it made her even more worried.

Because the Kael from her vision had probably believed the exact same thing.