The moonlight felt heavier in Vaeloria.
It clung to the air like breath on glass, soft yet suffocating. The wolves in the valley howled again not in celebration this time, but in confusion. As if they sensed something waking that should have remained forgotten.
Melody stood at the ridge, the chill of the wind tangling her hair. The twin moons bled silver and pale gold across the horizon, their light spilling through her veins until her mark burned faintly beneath her skin.
Asha watched her carefully. "It's stronger now," she murmured. "The realm's recognizing her."
Lucien said nothing. His gaze was fixed on the city below towers carved from moonstone, rivers glowing like molten glass, and bridges that hung suspended between spires of light. It should have been beautiful. Once, it was.
Now the silence of it all felt wrong.
Kael shifted beside him. "You'd think a returning queen would get a better welcome."
Darian's eyes darkened. "The last time she set foot here, the realm burned."
That shut him up.
Melody turned toward them, confusion flickering behind her eyes. "What do you mean?"
Lucien's voice was quiet, almost a growl. "You shouldn't remember that. Not yet."
"But I do," she said softly. "Not all of it. Just… flashes. Fire. Chains. You reaching for me through the flames."
He turned away, his jaw tense. "Then it's begun."
The wind changed.
It moved through the trees like a whisper, carrying a scent that made even the wolves below stir uneasily something cold, metallic, almost like the moment before lightning strikes.
Asha's hand went to her dagger. "Hollow scent."
Lucien's head snapped up. "Already?"
Darian stepped closer to Melody instinctively, his presence calm but alert. "It's faint, but it's spreading fast. Whatever sleeps in the Hollow feels her now."
Melody's pulse quickened. "I didn't mean to"
"It's not your fault," Asha said. "The moment your blood crossed the veil, your curse reconnected. The Hollow knows the goddess's mark."
"The curse," Melody repeated, her voice trembling slightly. "You mean… the one that kills me?"
Lucien's silence was answer enough.
Kael, ever the reckless one, tried to cut the tension. "Well, on the bright side, at least now we know she's the real deal."
Lucien's glare could have turned him to stone.
The mist around them began to shift again, moving like something alive. Shapes flickered within it dark, fluid, and whispering. One reached too close, and Asha's dagger flashed, slicing through the air. The mist recoiled with a hiss.
"They're not fully formed yet," Darian said. "But if they're here, the Hollow's gate is cracking."
Lucien turned to Melody, voice low and urgent. "We need to get you to the Citadel. The mark will stabilize near the heartstone."
She nodded, though fear rippled beneath her calm. "And after that?"
Lucien hesitated a rare moment of uncertainty. "We find a way to break what the goddess bound."
Asha frowned. "You've tried that before."
"I'll try again."
They began their descent toward the valley. The path wound through silver grass that whispered as they passed, each blade glowing faintly under the moons. Shadows rippled through the hills, keeping pace not quite seen, but felt.
As they walked, Melody glanced toward Lucien. His expression was unreadable, carved from restraint. The closer they drew to the city, the heavier the air felt thick with memory and magic.
She finally broke the silence. "Lucien… when I said your name earlier your true name– you looked like it hurt."
He didn't answer at first. The sound of their steps filled the pause.
Then, quietly: "Because no one's spoken it in a thousand years."
Her throat tightened. "Because of me?"
He stopped walking. The others went ahead, giving them distance. The moonlight turned his hair to a silver flame.
"Because when you died," he said softly, "I swore I would never let anyone speak it again. That name belonged to the man who failed to save you."
Melody's breath caught. "You didn't fail me."
His gaze lifted to her eyes ancient and pained. "Didn't I? You died in my arms beneath the Hollow Moon. You looked at me and asked why love had to end in fire. And I had no answer."
Tears stung her eyes. For a heartbeat, she saw it the same silver field, her body wrapped in moonlight, Lucien holding her as the world burned around them.
"Lucien…"
He stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't remember more tonight. The past has teeth."
But her mark pulsed again, harder this time, like something inside her wanted to be remembered. She gasped softly, clutching her neck. A whisper echoed in her head not hers, but the goddess's, low and cruel:
Defiled by love, bound by fate. Die beneath his eyes until your soul repents.
She staggered. Lucien caught her before she fell, his arms firm, his heartbeat a storm against her ear. "Easy," he murmured. "It's just a memory bleed."
"It felt real," she whispered. "She hates me."
"She fears you," he corrected. "Because even cursed, you defied her once and you will again."
The conviction in his voice sent a shiver through her.
They reached the valley floor. The Citadel loomed ahead, its gates carved from bone-white stone, marked with lunar sigils that pulsed faintly as they approached. The wolves guarding it bowed low, their eyes gleaming gold.
Asha stepped forward, murmuring something in the old tongue. The gates responded with a deep rumble, then opened.
Inside, the air was cool and humming with energy. The halls shimmered faintly, lit by veins of light running through the walls. Melody could feel the realm breathing around her, ancient and alive.
At the center of the great hall stood the Heartstone, a massive crystal pulsing with moonlight. Its glow matched the rhythm of her heartbeat.
Lucien guided her forward. "Place your hand on it," he said. "Let it know you've returned."
She hesitated, then pressed her palm to the surface. The light flared not just silver, but gold and crimson. For a moment, she saw flashes: her past self crowned in light, Lucien kneeling before her, the goddess's shadow towering above them both.
Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.
The Heartstone dimmed to a soft pulse again. Melody swayed. "It knew me."
Lucien nodded. "Then we're out of time."
Asha looked up sharply. "You mean"
"The Hollow has fully awakened," he said. "And it's coming for her."
Outside, the first tremor rolled through the valley, a sound like the earth itself drawing breath. Wolves began to howl again, this time in terror.
Darian's voice was grim. "Then the prophecy begins."
Melody looked from one face to another. "What prophecy?"
Lucien met her gaze, silver and sorrowful.
"The one that says only your death can close the Hollow again."