Chapter 78 Seventy Eight

Chapter 78 Seventy Eight
LILA’S POV

The dagger sinks deep into the stone pillar, and a sound like thunder rips through the cavern as cracks spread outward, racing toward the ceiling.
Dust and small stones rain down on us, and I feel Walter pull me close with his body shielding mine even as he struggles to stay upright.

“Get back!” he shouts, pushing me toward the far wall. Even when his shoulder is bleeding heavily with blood soaking through his shirt, but he doesn’t seem to feel it, his eyes are locked on Nora, who stands frozen for a moment before a wild grin spreads across her face.

“You never should have exposed me,” she hisses, pulling the dagger free and letting the pillar groan in protest. 
“Draven promised me power, true power, not just being a servant to a broken Alpha. He said when he takes your power, he’ll make me his second-in-command, give me a pack of my own!”

“Draven lies to everyone,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. The golden light at my fingertips glows brighter, responding to my focus and my need to protect.
“He used you, Nora. Just like he used Adrian and just like he’s trying to use me.”

She laughs, it's a sharp, bitter sound. “Used me? I chose this! I’ve been waiting for the Star Born to awaken my whole life, did I ever tell you my mother was a Star Born too, you know. But she chose her pack over her mate, and look what happened to her. She died alone with her power wasted on people who didn’t deserve it or even appreciate her!”

My wolf stirs inside my mind, her voice sharp with recognition. She’s telling the truth. 
Her blood runs with the same starlight as ours, but it's twisted by anger and greed.

I take a step forward, the light around my hands flaring warm and bright. 
“Your mother didn’t waste her power. She saved her pack and she didn’t die alone, she’s here, in these carvings and in every Star Born who comes after her. You could be part of that too, Nora. You don’t have to follow Draven.”

“Too late for that!” she snarls, raising the dagger again.
“Draven’s already at the estate, he is making sure your precious pack pays for what you did to us!”

The pillar gives a final, agonized groan, and a section of the ceiling crashes down between us, cutting me off from Nora. 
Walter grabs my arm, pulling me toward a narrow tunnel and that we hadn’t noticed before, one that leads upward, toward what looks like a faint sliver of daylight.

“We have to go,” he says, his voice rough with pain and urgency. 
“The cavern’s going to collapse any minute.”

I glance back toward the main cavern, where Draven’s warriors are scrambling to escape the falling stone. Nora is nowhere to be seen, she must have slipped through another tunnel while we were distracted.
My heart races as I think of the estate, of Elara and Mirabel and all the people who’ve stood by me even when I didn’t deserve it.

“Walter, we have to hurry,” I say, helping him toward the tunnel. His leg is dragging badly, and every step costs him visible effort, but he refuses to let me carry him or slow down.

“I can make it,” he grits out, gripping the tunnel wall for support.
“We just need to get to the surface and find a way back to the estate before it’s too late.”

We climb in silence for what feels like hours, the tunnel winding upward through solid rock. The air grows cooler, fresher, and finally we emerge into a small clearing that's hidden deep in the woods and surrounded by thick trees that block out most of the sunlight.

But the moment we step into the open, I freeze. The air is thick with smoke, and in the distance, I can see a dark plume rising from the direction of the Fairmoon Estate. My hands shake as I reach out, trying to feel the bond between myself and the pack and what I feel makes my blood run cold.

Fear. Panic. Pain.
And something else, dark magic, weaving through the estate like a net, tightening around every heart and every mind.

“They’re already inside,” Walter says quietly, following my gaze. He leans heavily against a tree, his face pale from loss of blood. 
“Draven’s using his magic to turn them against each other. That’s what he does, he doesn’t need to fight with swords when he can make us destroy ourselves.”

I close my eyes, reaching deep inside myself, calling on the starlight power that’s been waking up bit by bit. Show me, I whisper to my wolf. Show me how to help them.

Images flood my mind—scenes from the estate. Mirabel fighting off three warriors at once, the ancient scroll clutched in her hand. Caelum barricading the great hall doors, his sword stained with blood. Elara hiding in the kitchens, her hands shaking as she tends to wounded guards. And at the center of it all, Draven standing on the great hall steps, his eyes glowing gold as he raises his hands to the sky, calling up a storm of dark violet magic.

But there’s something else in my vision—something I haven’t seen before. A hidden chamber beneath the estate, marked with the same carvings as the cavern. And in the center of it, a pool of silver water that glows with soft moonlight, even in the middle of the day.

The Moon Well, my wolf whispers. The source of all pack magic. If Draven corrupts it, the Fairmoon will fall forever. But if you can purify it with your light…

I open my eyes, looking at Walter. “I know where we need to go. There’s a chamber under the estate that can help us get there through the old tunnels, it's the same ones I used to run away from the world whenever it becomes overwhelming.”

Walter nods, pushing himself away from the tree.
“Then let’s go. But Lila… if we get to the well, and you have to choose...”

“I won’t choose,” I say firmly, taking his hand. The golden light flows between us, warm and steady. 
“The carvings only show two paths because people thought there was no other way. But I’m not like the Star Born who came before me. I have you, and you have me. We’ll find a third way.”

We start running toward the estate, Walter leaning on me for support as we push through the trees.
But as we break through the treeline and see the estate ahead with the smoke pouring from the windows and the doors hanging off their hinges, I stopped dead.

Standing at the gates, flanked by his remaining warriors, is Draven. And at his feet, bound and gagged, are Mirabel, Caelum, and Elara. His eyes lock on mine, and he grins as he raises a silver blade to Mirabel’s throat.

“THERE YOU ARE, STAR BORN!” he shouts, his voice carrying across the grounds. 
“I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU! YOU KNOW THE RULES. 
CHOOSE YOUR MATE, OR CHOOSE YOUR PACK! AND THIS TIME, THERE’S NO RUNNING AWAY!”

As he speaks, the ground begins to shake, and from the center of the estate, a dark violet light bursts into the sky, Draven has already reached the Moon Well, and he’s beginning to corrupt it.