Chapter 43 Two opposing sides of the war
Conrad pulled his sword from the wall.
“How much time do we have?”
I closed my eyes for a moment and let the golden heat spread beneath my skin, listening to what made no sound.
“Not much,” I replied. “But enough to decide whether we will run… or whether we will finally stop hiding.”
The castle fell into a state of vigil.
There were no shouts or chaotic running, only that kind of tense silence that only exists before something too big to name. Soldiers crossed the corridors with quick steps, black cloaks brushing against the stone walls, while the bells continued to toll at long, solemn intervals.
Conrad was already in motion, the posture of the king giving way to that of the wolf he leads in war. He opened the hall door and called out quick orders to the guards in the corridor, his voice firm, unquestionable. The castle responded immediately, footsteps echoing, armor being donned, lives awakening to something they could not yet name.
“Close the gates of the pack and the castle. No one enters, no one leaves without my command.”
The guards nodded and disappeared down the corridors.
Kael walked beside me, his fingers trembling slightly, as if he were still touching something I couldn't see.
“The summoning of the border isn't just a physical alert,” he explained. “It's an ancient call. It means something has crossed the boundary between planes. Not in body… but in intention.”
“They don't need to be here to reach us,” I murmured.
I began to walk toward the strange power that was approaching. I could feel the energy and also a tingling in my fingertips.
It was as if my body had a memory of manipulating that energy.
As if that magic had already passed through me.
“You won't go alone,” he stated. It wasn't a request.
“I know,” I replied. “But I also know that there are parts of this path that only I can cross.”
He clenched his jaw, fighting against it, but he didn't deny me.
Kael opened one of the ancient scrolls on the table. Symbols I recognized from the book began to move on their own, rearranging themselves into a path that led north, beyond the known borders.
“The Rift isn't a fixed place,” he explained. “It shifts according to who seeks it. This time… it's seeking us.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Then we'll have no choice,” I murmured.
“We will,” Kael corrected. “The choice to arrive as kings trying to contain a problem… or as something new, willing to break the silence.”
I felt my body tremble at that realization.
I hadn't imagined these things would happen so quickly.
We arrived at the council chamber. The doors were already open, and the closest alphas began to enter, summoned hastily. Tired faces, eyes full of questions that no one wanted to ask aloud.
Conrad took his place at the head of the table.
“Today we are not just rulers,” he said, his voice echoing firmly. “We are the last line between what exists and what wants to erase us.”
The murmurs ceased.
Kael positioned himself beside me, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“They call them Void Hunters,” he announced. “But they are not beings. They are orders. Ancient protocols created to correct ‘errors’ in the fabric of life.”
Some alphas exchanged frightened glances.
I took a deep breath before speaking.
“And we are those errors,” I declared. “Not because we are imperfect, but because we have proven that the world cannot fit into a single form.”
A different murmur ran through the room. Not of fear. Of recognition.
Conrad turned to me, his golden eyes firm.
“Then tell us, my queen,” he said. “If they come tonight… how do we defeat something that doesn’t live?”
I felt the symbol pulsing, slow and deep, like a war drum.
The first to rise was an elderly alpha, his fur already silvery, leaning on a staff carved with forgotten symbols.
“My grandfather talked about these things,” he said, his voice trembling. “He called them the Erasers. He said they didn’t just take bodies… they took stories.”
A shiver ran through the room.
Conrad placed his hands on the table.
“Then let’s stop them from taking any more.”
Kael took a deep breath.
“There’s a pattern to the attacks,” he explained. “They always start in packs where the blood is mixed, where there are ancient or forgotten lineages. They don’t hunt strength. They hunt memory.”
I felt the weight of that as if it were a sentence written on me.
“Because memory is what sustains the Bond,” I murmured. “Without memory, there is no pact. Without a pact, there is no right to exist.”
Kael nodded slowly.
“The symbol on you isn’t just power,” he added. “It’s a living archive. You carry what has been erased from the world.”
One of the alphas stood up, his voice heavy with anger. “So she’s proof that they’ve lied to us for centuries.”
“No,” I replied, staring at him. “I’m proof that they haven’t managed to destroy us yet.”
The atmosphere shifted. It wasn’t fear anymore. It was something more dangerous.
“Those so-called erasers that seem to be on their way here…” An alpha stood up in the middle of everyone, Steven. “The erasers are after forbidden memories, memories of things that deviate from Luna’s divine pattern. Creatures different from us. Creatures that are impure and could become a great risk to our kingdom. So most of us don’t need to worry about any of that!”
Steven stared at me seriously and then turned towards the crowd.
“Perhaps these erasers are only awakened to maintain the balance of the species, to erase those who shouldn’t exist! Why should we be afraid, then? Why should we fight a war that isn’t ours?”
Steven looked at all the alphas present, giving an inspiring speech.
"If we hand over all the impure ones, the so-called hybrids, everything will be fine! There will be no bloodshed, and we'll be rid of creatures that don't fit into the hierarchy!"
All the alphas present looked thoughtful, exchanging silent glances. It was clear they all agreed with Steven's words.
Steven looked at me with a victorious gaze, as if he had come precisely for this.
To cause a rebellion.
To make everyone choose the quickest path.
The air in the room became thick, as if someone had ripped the oxygen from the walls.
I felt it before I saw it.
The symbol under my skin burned, not with pain, but with indignation.
I took a step forward, but Conrad moved with me, standing firmly beside me.
"You're asking for people to be handed over," I said, my voice low but sharp. "Not objects. Not memories. People."