Chapter 40: Unwanted truth

The wind tore through the ruins.

Broken banners fluttered.

Dust swirled between shattered pillars.

Nobody moved.

Nobody blinked.

Lyra stood at the edge of the palace ruins with her people behind her.

Seraphine stood opposite her.

Between them stood Lena.

And for the first time, Lena felt like she was standing in the middle of a war that had started long before she was born.

Or perhaps before she was supposed to remember.

Lyra crossed her arms.

"We're running out of time."

Seraphine's silver eyes flashed.

"You always say that."

"Because we're always running out of time."

Their exchange sounded less like enemies and more like people who had been arguing for centuries.

Lena was beginning to notice that pattern.

Ancient beings apparently had the social skills of exhausted relatives at a family reunion.

"Can somebody explain what's happening?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Lena groaned.

"Shocking."

To her surprise, Lyra laughed.

A genuine laugh.

"I like her."

"You don't know her."

The response came instantly from Caleb.

Lyra looked at him.

"You glared while saying that."

"I meant it."

"You absolutely did not."

Jacob snorted.

The sound escaped before he could stop it.

Immediately everyone looked at him.

Jacob raised both hands.

"Sorry."

Then he paused.

"I thought it was funny."

The atmosphere cracked slightly.

Just enough.

Just enough to remind Lena that not everyone present was an immortal nightmare.

Then Lyra's expression grew serious again.

She looked directly at Lena.

"What do you remember?"

The question hit differently this time.

Because nobody had asked it before.

People kept talking about her memories.

Talking about what she forgot.

What she lost.

But nobody had actually asked what she remembered.

Lena thought about it.

"The palace."

The mark on her wrist glowed faintly.

"A throne."

"A woman crying."

Her gaze shifted toward Seraphine.

The queen remained silent.

Lena continued.

"A little girl."

The words felt strange.

Heavy.

"Sometimes I think it's me."

Nobody corrected her.

That alone was an answer.

Lyra nodded slowly.

"Anything else?"

Lena hesitated.

Then remembered the burning palace.

The screams.

The panic.

Being carried away.

Her stomach twisted.

"There was a fire."

The moment she said it, silence swallowed the ruins.

Seraphine closed her eyes.

Orion looked away.

Even Adrian became quiet.

Lena noticed immediately.

Important.

Very important.

"The fire mattered."

Nobody answered.

Which confirmed it.

Lyra sighed.

"Of course that's the memory coming back."

Seraphine's voice cut through the night.

"Don't."

The warning was sharp.

Lyra ignored it.

"She deserves the truth."

"Not from you."

"Then from who?"

The question struck harder than intended.

Seraphine had no answer.

Neither did Caleb.

Nor Adrian.

The silence that followed felt uncomfortable.

Because everybody present knew the same thing.

Nobody had actually told Lena the truth.

Not fully.

Lyra pointed toward the ruined throne.

"Do you know why that palace burned?"

Lena slowly shook her head.

"No."

The woman smiled sadly.

"Neither does anyone else."

That wasn't the answer Lena expected.

"What?"

"The official story changes depending on who tells it."

Lyra looked toward Seraphine.

"The Moon Court blames the Wolf Court."

Then Orion.

"The Wolf Court blames the Moon Court."

Then herself.

"The Ash Court blames both."

Orion rolled his eyes.

"That's convenient."

"It usually is."

Lena stared.

"So nobody knows?"

"We know how it started."

Lyra's voice became quieter.

"We don't know who lit the first match."

The ruins fell silent.

Then something clicked in Lena's mind.

A detail.

Small.

But important.

Her gaze moved between the three factions.

Moon.

Wolf.

Ash.

Three courts.

Three royal families.

Three sides.

A thought occurred to her.

A dangerous thought.

"If everybody was fighting each other..."

Her voice trailed off.

Nobody spoke.

Lena slowly looked around.

At their expressions.

At their silence.

At the way nobody wanted to meet her eyes.

Then realization hit.

Hard.

"No."

The word escaped her lips.

"No way."

Nobody denied it.

The answer was written across every face.

Lena felt sick.

"The palace burned because of a civil war."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Then Orion quietly said:

"Yes."

The truth hit like a punch.

Not monsters.

Not invaders.

Not demons.

Their own people.

Their own courts.

Their own leaders.

The realization made everything worse.

Far worse.

Because it sounded real.

Human.

Believable.

Then Lyra dropped the next bomb.

"And you were at the center of it."

The mark exploded with pain.

Lena staggered.

A memory slammed into her mind.

Not fragments.

Not flashes.

A real memory.

Clear.

Sharp.

Terrifying.

A grand hall.

People screaming.

Silver fire consuming banners.

Soldiers fighting.

Blood across marble floors.

A child standing on a throne platform.

Dark hair.

Terrified eyes.

Crying.

And dozens of people shouting the same thing.

Not at each other.

At the child.

At her.

At Lena.

"Choose!"

The memory shattered.

Lena nearly collapsed.

Caleb caught her immediately.

His arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Steady.

Solid.

Real.

The ruins returned.

Everyone was staring at her.

Waiting.

Watching.

Fear crawled through her chest.

Because that memory felt different.

Not distant.

Not ancient.

Personal.

"What did I choose?"

The question escaped before she could stop it.

Nobody answered.

Then Lyra spoke.

"You didn't."

The wind howled.

Broken stone groaned.

Lena stared.

"What?"

Lyra's eyes softened.

"That's why the war started."

The entire world seemed to stop.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

The words echoed through Lena's head.

That's why the war started.

Not because she chose.

Because she refused to choose.

Then Orion quietly added:

"The three courts wanted a ruler."

Seraphine's jaw tightened.

"The kingdom wanted unity."

Adrian looked exhausted.

"The nobles wanted power."

Lyra finished.

"And you wanted none of it."

The realization hit everyone differently.

Jacob looked confused.

Caleb looked worried.

Seraphine looked heartbroken.

But Lena...

Lena felt something unexpected.

Recognition.

Because deep inside, the decision felt right.

Familiar.

Like she'd made it a thousand times.

Then suddenly a loud crack echoed through the ruins.

Everyone spun.

The broken throne.

A fracture had appeared across its center.

Silver light leaked from inside it.

The glow intensified.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter.

The mark on Lena's wrist responded instantly.

Burning hotter than ever.

The throne wasn't supposed to be glowing.

Everybody knew it.

Everybody reacted.

Orion drew a sharp breath.

Lyra swore.

Seraphine went completely pale.

And that frightened Lena more than anything.

Because Seraphine looked like someone seeing a ghost.

The silver light burst from the throne.

A voice echoed across the ruins.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Male.

And unmistakably shocked.

"Impossible."

Silence.

Then the voice spoke again.

This time directly to Lena.

"You're alive."

And every single person in the ruins looked suddenly terrified of what was waking up inside the throne.