Chapter 66
Ella's POV
The moment the words left my lips, the crimson red faded from my eyes, and I regained control of myself.
Julian was half-kneeling on the ground, the crown having rolled off his head to the side. His face was pale, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He didn't speak, only looked at me as if waiting for some kind of verdict.
I walked over to him, crouched down, and reached out to pick up the crown. It was heavier than I'd imagined, the metal cold and rough to the touch.
"Why did you come?" I asked him.
"Because I need you," he said, his voice unusually firm. "Not as a tool. But as... as someone who can save the Silver Moon Pack."
I froze.
He slowly stood up, forcing himself upright. Even covered in wounds, he still maintained that innate pride and dignity.
"Stella took Kane's dark flame. Sage has been sealed," he said. "My father is holding the line, but Blood River's army is already at our gates." He paused. "Without elemental power, without... your elemental power, the Silver Moon Pack will fall within three days."
"That's not my problem," I said, my voice cold as ice.
Julian didn't argue. Those blue eyes of his held something close to pleading understanding.
"You're right," he said. "It's not your problem. You've been hurt, used, abandoned. You have every right to leave, every right to pursue your own freedom."
He took a deep breath.
"But I'm still going to ask you, Ella. Not as the high and mighty Crown Prince, not as your master." His voice dropped lower. "But as someone... someone who hurt you, yet still hopes you might forgive him."
My throat tightened.
"Please, save the Silver Moon Pack."
The moment he finished speaking, his body finally gave out and he pitched forward.
Instinctively, I reached out to catch him. His weight pressed against me, his warm breath falling against my ear.
"You look..." his voice was barely audible, "truly like a Luna now. You just... lack a crown."
Then he lost consciousness.
I stood frozen in place, still holding the crown in one hand, the other supporting his body as it went limp. His head rested against my shoulder, his breathing gradually evening out, as if he could finally trust me with everything.
"Miss?" Bryan's voice came from behind me.
I didn't answer, only looked down at Julian in my arms, at his closed eyes.
"Even this pitiful look is rather charming," Ignis said with a light laugh in my mind. "I'd love to take a bite of that neck."
"Ignis!" I warned her mentally. "Behave yourself!"
"What?" she said dismissively. "He's the mate the Moon Goddess chose for you. No one can resist the pull of the bond."
"Could she be wrong?"
"Absolutely impossible!" Ignis's voice was adamant.
"Then why hasn't he recognized us?"
"His wolf spirit is sealed," Ignis explained. "Once it's unsealed, he'll recognize us."
Sealed? I looked questioningly at the mark on Julian's chest.
"Bryan," I raised my head to look at the three men, "do you know what this seal is?"
Bryan, Gregory, and Zachary exchanged glances and stepped forward.
"It's the Seven Claws Generals' seal," he said, his tone complicated. "Previously, the three of us joined forces, intending to seal the informer Kane. But at the last moment..." He paused. "Julian stepped in front of Kane."
I stared in shock.
"He took the seal for Kane?"
"Yes," Gregory continued. "We didn't expect it either. The kid could have just stood aside and let us kill Kane, but he chose to protect him instead."
Zachary sighed. "As a result, his wolf spirit was sealed, along with his elemental power."
I looked down at Julian, a complicated emotion rising in my chest that I couldn't quite name.
The Crown Prince who had once used me, treated me as a pawn, had actually sacrificed his own power for his "brother"?
"Kane..." I heard myself ask, "are you certain he betrayed my father?"
Bryan's expression darkened.
"That traitor! That traitor sold out the Crimson Flame War Marquis's injury!"
"But how old was he then?" I couldn't help asking. "Eight? Ten?"
"Twelve," Bryan said coldly. "Old enough to know what he was doing. And he was the Silver Moon Wolf King's son—he had every motive to pass intelligence to his own pack."
"That's not right," Ignis suddenly said in my mind, her voice grave. "I inherited the War Marquis's wolf spirit memories. In those fragments, the one who truly harbored treasonous intentions was Nicholas!"
"Nicholas?" I murmured.
"Blood River's current Grand General," Ignis explained. "The War Marquis had already discovered that Nicholas was secretly building his own power base!"
I fell into thought. While Ignis's words made sense, now wasn't the time to dwell on the past.
I looked at the unconscious Julian, another question rising in my mind.
"If his wolf spirit is sealed, how was he using ice elemental power?"
"The crown," Ignis reminded me.
I looked down at the crown in my hand.
The crown held five gemstones in total. Four were dull and lightless, while the sapphire-colored one in the center was particularly pale, like frost about to melt away.
I reached out and gently touched the crown. A warm sensation spread from my fingertips. I could feel the fire element flowing within me, following my will as it slowly poured into the crown.
Red light flared up. The flame element lit one of the gemstones, manifesting as a blazing red.
Bryan, Gregory, and Zachary all stared at the scene in shock.
"This should be an artifact capable of storing, releasing, and even fusing elemental powers," Ignis said, excitement in her tone.
Just then, a horn sounded from the ship.
"Miss," Bryan stood up, lifting the unconscious Julian onto his back, "we need to board now."
I looked at him, then at the crown in my arms, hesitating.
But in the end, I followed them toward the dock.
The ship was large, but there were hardly any people on it.
Only a sailor and a first mate stood on deck, speaking in hushed tones.
"Did you hear? That dark flame is absolutely terrifying!"
"The Crimson Flame War Marquis must have fallen to evil too, right? How else could he have that kind of power..."
"The world's truly going to hell when even legendary heroes..."
Gregory suddenly rushed forward, furiously interrupting them.
"What the hell are you talking about?! My lord would never do something so despicable! Pure flame power doesn't carry a trace of evil!"
The sailor and first mate jumped back in fright at his appearance.
"What... what are you here for?" the first mate stammered.
I stepped forward and said calmly, "Isn't this ship going to Free Haven?"
The two Omegas looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
"Free Haven?" the sailor said mockingly. "Don't you know the Blood River Pack and Silver Moon Pack are at war? Blood River has completely blockaded the southern shipping routes."
"When war comes," the first mate added, "where is there any freedom?"
I stood frozen in place, my mind going blank.
Free Haven—the place I'd dreamed of escaping to day and night, the place Ruby had told me to take Jack to see, the place that symbolized "getting away from all this"...
All gone.
I felt my chest tighten, breathing becoming difficult. As if an invisible hand had closed around my throat.
Bryan, Gregory, and Zachary also fell silent, their expressions equally grim.
"Miss," Bryan said carefully, "there are other routes..."
"Let me handle this," Ignis urged in my mind. "I could easily burn those bastards to ash. Not to mention that lowly dark flame—I don't even consider it a threat..."
When Ella didn't respond, Ignis called out softly again: "Ella?"
I stood on the deck, looking at that distant land shrouded in war.
I thought of Julian weakly saying "you truly look like a Luna now," the earnestness in his eyes. I thought of my father's honor, now tainted in Ignis's inherited memories. I thought of Ruby screaming through the flames for me to take Jack and run, never getting my answer.
I thought of so many people, so many things, so many memories I thought I'd let go of, yet they remained carved into my heart.
Flames burned in my eyes.
"Bryan," I turned to face him, "how long will it take to break the seal?"
Bryan hesitated, then said, "It will take two full days of our concentrated effort."
I took a deep breath and straightened my spine.
"Then let's begin," I said, my voice calm but resolute. "Let's go clear the Crimson Flame War Marquis's name."