Chapter 40 The Truth Unveiled
"Get away from the gate!" Zevran shouted, pulling Mara back.
But Morgana did not move. She just stood there, smiling her terrible smile.
"Relax. I am not here to fight you."
"Then why are you here?" Mara demanded. "To watch your mother kill us?"
"My mother?" Morgana laughed. It was a harsh, bitter sound. "Is that what Kieran told you? That Elara is my mother?"
"Is she not?"
"No. She is my prison warden. My tormentor. My curse." Morgana's red eyes blazed with hatred. "She created me from shadow and malice. Made me to serve her. To do her bidding. I am not her daughter. I am her slave."
Everyone went silent. Staring at Morgana in shock.
"You are lying," Luna said. "You tried to hurt Mara! You made those deals!"
"Because I had to! Every Shadow Wolf answers to Elara! Every action we take is to serve her plans!" Morgana's voice rose. "Do you think I wanted to manipulate you? To trap you? I had no choice!"
"Everyone has a choice," Mara said coldly.
"Not when you are made from darkness itself. Not when disobeying means being unmade. Returned to the void." Morgana's shoulders slumped. "You think your life was hard as a slave? Try existing as a conscious thought with no free will. Try being forced to hurt people you do not want to hurt. For a thousand years."
"If you are really Elara's slave, why tell us this now?" Riven asked suspiciously.
"Because Kieran chose to fight her. For the first time in a thousand years, one of us chose resistance over obedience." Morgana looked at Mara. "And that gave me hope. Hope that maybe I can choose too."
"So help us," Mara said. "Help us break the Shadow King's curse. Help us stop Elara."
"I cannot fight her directly. She would destroy me instantly." Morgana pointed at the palace gates. "But I can get you inside. Past the traps. Past the guards. To the Wolf King's Tomb where Aiden was buried."
"Why would you help us?"
"Because if you succeed, if you break Kieran's curse, it will weaken Elara's power. And if she is weakened, maybe I can finally break free too." Morgana's red eyes were desperate. "Please. Let me help you. Let me do one good thing before I fade into nothing."
Mara looked at Zevran. At Riven. At the others.
"It could be a trap," Zevran warned.
"Everything is a trap lately," Mara said. "But what choice do we have?"
She turned back to Morgana. "Fine. Help us. But if you betray us, I will find a way to destroy you myself."
"Fair enough." Morgana waved her hand. The palace gates creaked open. "Follow me. Stay close. Do not touch anything. The palace is full of death traps."
They entered cautiously. The palace was massive and decaying. Columns had fallen. Walls had crumbled. Vines grew through cracks in the floor.
But it was still beautiful in a haunting way.
"This was the greatest kingdom in the world once," Morgana said as they walked. "Before Elara destroyed it. Before she turned it into her fortress of nightmares."
"Why did she destroy it?" Isla asked nervously.
"Because they refused to worship her. Refused to make her their queen. So she killed everyone. Thousands of wolves. Men, women, children. All slaughtered in a single night."
"That is horrible," Luna whispered.
"That is Elara. She sees mortal lives as playthings. Insects to be crushed when they bore her."
They walked through endless corridors. Down spiraling staircases. Deeper and deeper into the earth.
"How far down is this tomb?" Marcus asked.
"Very far. Aiden wanted to be buried as close to the earth's heart as possible. He believed it would help his spirit find peace."
Finally, they reached a massive door made of solid stone. Strange symbols were carved into it.
"This is it. The Wolf King's Tomb." Morgana touched the door. It did not move. "I cannot open it. Only someone of royal wolf blood can."
Everyone looked at Zevran.
"I am not royalty anymore," he said.
"Your blood does not know that. Try."
Zevran placed his hand on the door. The symbols glowed blue. The door rumbled and slowly swung open.
Inside was a vast chamber. Hundreds of stone coffins lined the walls. Each one contained a wolf king from ancient times.
"Which one is Aiden?" Mara asked.
"The one in the center. With the white stone."
They approached the white coffin. It was beautiful. Carved with images of wolves running under the moon.
"Now what?" Zevran asked.
"Open it," Morgana said. "We need Aiden's tears. They should be preserved in a vial beside his body."
Riven and Zevran pushed the coffin lid. It was heavy but it moved. Inside lay the skeleton of a wolf in human form. And beside the bones was a small crystal vial.
Mara picked it up carefully. Inside was a single tear, perfectly preserved. Still liquid after a thousand years.
"How is this possible?" she whispered.
"Magic. Grief. Love. All mixed together to create something that lasts forever." Morgana looked sad. "Aiden truly loved his brother. His tears were powerful enough to transcend time."
"Now we have the blood and the tears," Mara said. "We just need the sacrifice."
"What kind of sacrifice?" Luna asked.
"Something precious. Something you cannot bear to lose." Morgana looked at each of them. "Who among you will give up what they love most?"
Silence fell over the group. Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably.
"I will do it," Isla said quietly.
Everyone turned to stare at her.
"What?" Mara grabbed her friend's hand. "No! You do not have to do this!"
"Yes I do. You saved my life more times than I can count. Let me save yours for once." Isla smiled through tears. "What do I need to sacrifice?"
"Your memories," Morgana said. "Your past. Everything that makes you who you are. If you give those up, the ritual can work. But you will wake up as a blank slate. No memory of anyone here. No memory of your own name."
"That is too much!" Mara shouted. "There has to be another way!"
"There is no other way. The sacrifice must be equal to the curse being broken. A thousand years of suffering requires a thousand memories." Morgana's voice was gentle. "The choice is hers alone."
Isla squeezed Mara's hand. "I choose this. I want to do this."
"But you will forget me. Forget everything we went through together."
"Then you will just have to tell me about it later. Make me remember through stories." Isla smiled. "I would rather forget you than watch you die. That is my choice."
Mara pulled her friend into a tight hug. Both of them were crying.
"I am so sorry," Mara whispered.
"Do not be sorry. Be brave. Finish this. Free the Shadow King." Isla pulled back. "How do we do the ritual?"
Morgana explained the steps. They would need to pour the blood and tears onto Aiden's grave while Isla gave up her memories. Then speak ancient words that would break the curse.
"Are you ready?" Morgana asked.
"Yes," Mara said. Though her heart was breaking.
They arranged everything. Mara held the vial of blood. Zevran held the vial of tears. Isla stood in the center of a circle that Morgana drew with ash.
"Begin," Morgana said.
Mara poured the Shadow King's blood onto the grave. It sizzled and steamed.
Zevran poured Aiden's tear. It glowed with brilliant blue light.
The blood and tear mixed together. Swirled. Rose into the air like smoke.
"Now the words," Morgana said. She began chanting in an ancient language. Mara did not understand the words but she felt their power.
Isla stood in the circle, eyes closed. White light began to pull from her head. Strands of memory. Each one a moment from her life.
Mara watched her best friend lose herself piece by piece. Watched the light fade from her eyes. Watched her become empty.
"It is working!" Morgana's voice rose. "The curse is breaking! Keep going!"
The mixture of blood and tears shot upward like a pillar of light. It burst through the ceiling. Through the earth. Into the sky.
Somewhere far away, they heard the Shadow King roar. Not in pain. In liberation.
The ritual was succeeding.
But then something went wrong.