Chapter 14 Which secret

Chapter 14 Which secret


Chapter Fourteen

Maxie’s POV

The sanctuary groaned under the force of Cameron’s aura. The glowing walls flickered violently, the ancient magic struggling to hold back the power beating against it from the outside.

Leo dragged Tiara behind me just as a crack snaked across the ceiling, dust raining down in thin trails.

“Move,” I ordered, pulling her close. “We are leaving now.”

Elias stayed planted in front of the passage, blocking our escape with infuriating calm. His eyes flicked between Tiara and me, weighing every movement, every breath.

“Maxie,” he said, voice low, “the moment that barrier breaks, the King will see all three of us. You cannot outrun him with her in your arms.”

I stepped forward slowly. “Get out of the way.”

“I am not trying to stop you,” Elias said. “I am trying to keep her alive. There is a difference.”

Another tremor shook the corridor. Cameron’s roar thundered again, closer this time, rattling the stone beneath our feet.

Tiara flinched, gripping my arm. I could feel her trembling. Her mark glowed brighter with each pulse, responding to the rising danger like a heartbeat made of pure light.

She was awakening too fast.

Too soon.

If Cameron saw that mark fully formed, he would raze the entire forest to claim her.

I drew her against me, shielding her body with mine, my wolf rising beneath my skin with violent urgency.

“Elias,” Leo snapped, stepping in front of Tiara, “we do not have time for your hero complex. Move.”

Elias’s jaw tightened. “If you rush into that tunnel, he will sense her the moment you cross the border. The exit on that side is too open. You would be sending her into his hands.”

“He is right,” Tiara whispered shakily. “I can feel him near the opening. His energy. It is everywhere.”

My breath stilled.

She was sensing the King’s aura.

Her power was waking faster than her memories.

Leo looked between us, urgency etched across his face. “Then what do we do?”

Elias took a single step closer, eyes locked on me. “There is another exit.”

Leo’s head whipped around. “There is no third exit.”

“There was,” Elias said. “Hidden before your time. Before hers.”

He pointed toward the dark end of the corridor. “A path made for marked wolves only. A way out the King cannot sense because it is bound to the Moon, not the throne.”

Tiara trembled against me. “Will it work?”

Elias hesitated for the first time.

“It will work,” he said. “But only if you go with her.”

My grip tightened. “What do you mean?”

“You need to guide her,” Elias said. “The path reacts to the bond. If she walks alone, the passage may collapse. You must stay with her.”

Leo stepped forward. “And what about the King pounding down the door?”

Elias’s eyes darkened. “I will hold him off.”

The corridor shook again. The sound of stone breaking echoed like thunder. Cameron had reached the sanctuary’s heart.

“What are you planning to do?” I asked.

Elias smiled faintly, humorless and tired. “I survived banishment. I can survive a King.”

“No,” Tiara said suddenly, voice strangled with fear. “You will die. He will kill you.”

Elias looked at her with a softness I had not expected. “I owe you a debt, Tiara. I failed you once. I will not fail you again.”

She shook her head, tears forming. “You did not fail me. I do not even remember you. I do not remember anything.”

“You will,” he whispered. “And when you do, you will understand why I am not the enemy.”

Tiara flinched. “Are you saying Maxie is?”

The air froze.

Even the sanctuary seemed to hold its breath.

Elias looked straight at me. “I am saying he is hiding something from you.”

My wolf surged, ready to tear him apart.

Tiara grabbed my arm. “Maxie… is that true?”

I forced myself to breathe slowly. “I hid things to protect you. Not to fool you.”

Her eyes searched mine, confused and aching. “What things?”

Before I could answer, the sanctuary door shattered with a boom that shook the entire corridor. A violent burst of power ripped through the stone, sending cracks crawling across the walls like spiderwebs of light.

Cameron’s aura flooded the sanctuary.

He was inside.

Leo swore loudly. “We are out of time.”

Elias stepped back and slammed his hand against the symbol carved into the wall. The stone groaned, splitting down the center. A dark passage opened, shimmering with pale silver light.

“Go,” Elias shouted. “I will delay him as long as I can.”

Tiara clutched my sleeve. “Maxie, please.”

I didn’t hesitate.

I caught her hand, pulled her into my arms, and backed into the hidden passage.

Elias stopped at the opening, blocking the tunnel with his body.

He looked at me one last time.

“Maxie,” he said. “Do not let history repeat itself.”

“What history?” Tiara cried. “Tell me.”

Elias opened his mouth to speak.

He never got the chance.

Cameron’s roar cracked through the sanctuary like lightning.

A burst of golden light erupted from the main chamber. The entire world shook. Stone split. The air fractured with force.

Elias braced himself and shouted without looking back.

“Run!”

The tunnel slammed shut behind us.

Everything went dark for a breath.

Then light flared around Tiara as her Mark blazed to life again.

The corridor around us awakened with her power.

And her voice trembled in the air.

“Maxie… what did he mean? What history? What did you hide from me?”