Chapter 246 The Altar

Chapter 246: Chapter 246 The Altar

Talia’s POV

I stood in the center of the ruins, and I felt the weight of everything pressing down on me.

The air was thick and heavy, like the grief of the dead had settled into the ground and refused to leave. I could feel it in my lungs, in my bones, and in the ache of my heart.

The village was silent, but it was not empty.

I could hear the wind whispering through the ruined buildings, and I could almost imagine the voices of the people who had once lived here. I could imagine their laughter, their songs, and their prayers to the Moon Goddess.

I could feel the presence of the Silvertongue people, with their spirits lingering in the ashes. They had been here, they had lived here, and they had died here.

I took a breath, and I forced myself to look around.

The ruins stretched out before me, with a graveyard of memories and broken dreams. I had to see it all, and I had to bear witness to what had been taken.

There was so much I had missed in my first glance, like the remains of homes, the blackened ground, and the scattered remnants of a life that was destroyed. I walked slowly, with my feet carrying me through the ruins.

I saw a child’s toy, half-burned, lying in the ash.

I could picture the child who had played with it, running through these streets with laughter and joy, and I wondered if that child had survived. I wondered if any of them had.

The toy was a small wooden wolf, with its edges charred and blackened. I knelt down and picked it up.

"Talia," Kaelen said. "What is that?"

I held it up, and gave a bitter smile. "It is a toy. A child’s toy."

Piper’s voice was soft. "Someone lived here. A whole family lived here."

I nodded. "They did."

I set the toy down gently, and I kept walking.

Each step felt heavier than the last, like the ground itself was trying to pull me down. But I kept moving, because I had to see it all, and I had to understand.

I saw the outline of a garden, now nothing but dead earth, I saw the bones of a building that might have been a meeting hall, and I saw the remains of a fountain, with its water long gone.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the dry stone basin. I could almost hear the sound of water trickling, and I could almost see the reflection of the moon on its surface. But there was nothing now, just dust and silence.

Silas walked beside me, with his voice low. "This was not just a fire, Luna."

I turned to face him, and I saw the grim set of his jaw. He was not one to speak lightly. If he was saying this, it was because he had seen enough to know.

I looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He pointed to the patterns in the destruction. "Look at the way the buildings fell. They were not random, they were targeted."

I followed his gaze, and I saw what he meant. The buildings had been burned from the inside out, and the fire had not spread naturally. It had been placed, deliberately, with the intent to destroy everything in its path.

Whoever did this wanted to erase everything.

I looked at the ruins, and I felt the cold settle into my bones. "This must be Malachai’s doing. It had to be him."

I could see his hand in this. The cruelty, the precision, and the complete lack of mercy, and I know with great certainty that he must had done this. He had destroyed my mother’s home, her people, and her legacy, and he had done it without a second thought.

Silas nodded. "It is his style. From what we know about him, he wipes out everything, and leaves nothing behind."

Cain stood a few feet away, with his face grim.

His eyes were fixed on the ruins, and I could see the anger simmering beneath the surface. He had definitely seen destruction like this before. He had walked through the ashes of packs and had fought countless times in Blackmoor valley, so he understood what I was feeling.

He did not say anything, but I could see the anger in his eyes. He had seen destruction like this before, so he knew what it meant.

Piper stayed close to me, with her hand on my arm. "Talia, are you okay?"

I wanted to say yes, and I wanted to be strong for her, and for all of them. But I could not lie. Not about this, and not about the weight of what I was feeling.

I shook my head. "I do not know."

Kaelen walked beside me, watching me, and ready to catch me if I fell. "Keep moving," he said. "We will see this through."

I nodded, and I kept walking.

We reached the center of the village, and then I saw it.

There was a stone altar, half-buried in ash and debris. It was dark and weathered, but I could see the markings on it. They were Silvertongue symbols, the same ones I had seen on the tree.

I walked toward it, with my heart pounding.

"Talia," Kaelen called. "Be careful."

I did not answer, I only nodded once, with my eyes that were still fixed on the altar.

I knelt down and brushed away the ash. The stone was cold beneath my fingers, and I could feel the roughness of it. I cleared more ash, and I saw something that made my heart stop, and then began to pound nonstop in my chest.

My mother’s name was carved into the stone. “SERAPHINA.”

I stared at it, and I felt the tears prick at my eyes.

"Her name," Piper whispered. "It is her name."

I nodded. "She was here. She was definitely here, in this village, which is why I can feel her so strongly."

Jax was quiet for once. "This must be where she made her stand."

I closed my eyes, reached out, and I placed my hand on the stone.

The stone burned me immediately.

I gasped, and I felt the heat searing through my palm. The pain was sharp, and white-hot, and I could feel it spreading through my arm, but I did not pull away.

Kaelen stepped forward. "Talia, what is it? pull your hand back, NOW!"

"No," I said. "I have to hold on, I can feel something here."

Piper’s voice was filled with fear. "Talia, you are hurting yourself."

"I know," I said. "But I have to hold on, just a little longer."

The pain was growing hotter, and unbearable, but I did not let go. I could feel the stone burning into my skin, and I could feel the warmth spreading through my chest.

Then suddenly everything changed.