Chapter 23 Tomorrow
~Lyra’s POV~
High Seer Elda had always been spoken of with a kind of reverence that made her seem untouchable. Every tale I ever heard described her as the most powerful witch to ever walk the earth.
Only high ranked witches were permitted to call her High Seer Elda. Everyone else, including creatures far beyond our kind, knew her simply as Elda the Great. Her name alone carried a weight that could silence a room. Her power was said to be so immense that the ground itself would hum beneath her footsteps.
For Taren to speak her name so casually, and to use the title reserved for the chosen few, it meant he must have known her personally. That thought alone slipped a strange, unsettling sense of belief into my chest.
Yet no matter how convincing his tone was, he was still a werewolf, and werewolves did not befriend witches. That was one of the rules I had grown up with, one of the truths I never questioned.
“Shocked?” he asked with a soft, almost playful curl of amusement in his voice. Then he let out a quiet chuckle that filled the room in a way that made me momentarily forget where I was. “Do not be. She was my mother’s best friend when they were little girls, long before everything fell apart. The war did not break their bond. She remained close to us. She told us a lot of things about you.”
“About me?” I frowned, feeling confusion coil in my stomach. Now he was going too far. “High Seer Elda was dead before I was born,” I said with full certainty, as if repeating it aloud would steady the world he had begun to shake beneath my feet.
But he shook his head slowly, almost sorrowfully.
“That is not correct. She died a few years after you were born, in the plains of Rameet,” he said gently. His statement collided with everything I thought I knew.
“What?” I whispered. “I thought she died at Astra Ellis.”
“She was buried at Astra Ellis,” he replied. “But she died at Rameet.”
My face twisted into a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and a faint thread of fear that slithered up my spine.
“How do you know all this?” I asked, unable to hide the sharp edge in my voice.
“We were there with her,” he revealed quietly. “My mother and I, along with a few other witches. We were all there the day she died.”
My breath caught and refused to settle. A strange coldness crept over my skin.
“If I was still a child when she died, then what did she tell you about me?” I asked, desperately hoping he would slip and reveal a lie.
He did not answer immediately. Instead, he simply stared at me with an intensity that made my heart thump painfully. He looked as though he was weighing a truth he was unsure I could handle.
“She said I would meet you one day,” he finally said. His voice carried the weight of a prophecy. “She described you exactly. She said you would know absolutely nothing about who you are or what you represent. She was right. She was right about everything. I have waited a long time to meet you, and I cannot explain how happy I am that I finally did.”
“I do not understand,” I whispered.
“I know,” he replied softly. “Your name is Lyra Vale. You grew up with your aunt, Mia Xaton. You were given information that does not match what you are seeing today. Your wolf is dormant. You do not know any serious magic. None of this happened by accident. It was all intentional. It was planned from the moment you were born.”
My throat tightened. The room blurred slightly as I stared at him. Every word he spoke slid into old cracks inside me and forced them open. None of it was a lie. He knew my aunt’s surname. He knew my past. He knew the one truth I could never admit out loud, that I knew nothing about myself.
I could not speak. I could only stare at him while my mind scrambled through every memory I had ever stored away.
“The reason everything was hidden from you,” he continued, “including your wolf, is because they wanted to protect you from the Shadow Pack. If you had begun practicing your magic, your wolf would have awakened long ago, and that would have made it easier for your enemies to find you.”
He paused, and I swallowed hard. My entire life I carried the fear of unseen threats. I always believed those threats came from werewolves. I never even knew the Shadow Pack existed until the day I arrived here. His explanation made sense, but understanding it did not make the truth any easier to accept.
“But there is something I still do not understand,” he said as he leaned slightly forward. Curiosity glowed clearly on his face. “If nothing about you was activated, then how did Alpha find you?”
“Some stupid warrior from your pack called Fin,” I answered, the irritation rising immediately. The memory stormed back into my mind with vivid clarity.
“Fin?” he repeated with genuine surprise. “He found you?”
“He was dying,” I said sharply. “He staggered to my house, begging for water. Out of the kindness of my heart, I rushed out to help him. I forgot to wear my gloves. He saw the mark on my hand, and instead of minding his business or showing gratitude, he ran off to report to your Alpha. Then he led them straight to my house.”
“Oh, I see.” Taren let out a laugh that sounded almost like a giggle. “No wonder he is terrified.”
“Terrified of what?” I asked.
“He said you promised to make his existence miserable in this life and the next,” he said with a grin.
“Yes, I did, and I will keep that promise,” I replied without hesitation. “He will pay for betraying me.”
“Oh, he is already paying,” Taren said. “Trust me. And I will help you add more spice to the punishment.”
For the first time since I arrived in this place, I smiled. The scene suddenly felt like two friends plotting something mischievous together.
“How are you going to do that?” I asked.
“Leave it to me,” he said with a wink. “Anyway, now that you have been exposed, you need all the information that will prepare you for what is ahead.” His tone shifted back to the serious one he carried earlier, and my heart tightened.
“What is ahead?” I asked.
“Your life. Your destiny,” he said. His words felt like a riddle pressed into my chest.
“I do not understand.”
“Short summary,” he said. “The Shadow Pack wants to use you to resurrect the Void Wolf. Only your blood can bring him back. If they succeed, there will be no stopping him.”
The Void Wolf again. That name had been following me like a curse.
“What is this Void Wolf everyone keeps talking about?” I asked.
“The Void Wolf is a dark deity,” Taren explained. “I do not know how he was created. I do not know how he came to exist. I only know what I have heard. He lives off blood and the energy of living beings. Witches. Humans. Werewolves. Anyone. He is obsessed with power. The first time he appeared, he had no physical body. He was composed only of shadow and smoke. But this time he promised to return through a living vessel that will house him.”
He stopped speaking abruptly. I opened my mouth to ask why he had stopped when he answered the question before I could finish forming it.
“Alpha is back,” he whispered. “I have to go.” He turned around.
“Wait,” I called.
“Shh. We will continue tomorrow,” he whispered back. Then he disappeared through the door.
I listened to the fading sound of his footsteps. A moment later, I heard another set approaching. The steps stopped right in front of my door. I held my breath, expecting it to open, but it never did. After a long moment of silence, the footsteps turned away and walked off down the hall.