Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Chapter 164

Selene waited until the sleepover was in full swing before making her move.

Celeste and Mira had outdone themselves. The dormitory was filled with candles and cushions, with platters of sweets and cups of spiced wine. They had braided each other’s hair and told ghost stories and laughed until their sides ached. It was the kind of night Selene had once loved—the kind of night she had once believed in.

But tonight, she had other plans.

"Where are you going?" Celeste asked, when Selene rose from the pile of cushions.

"Just to get some air. I’ll be back in a moment."

She slipped out of the dormitory before anyone could question her further. The east wing was quiet, the corridors dark. She had memorized the guard rotations days ago—Roderic’s men were good, but they were predictable. She avoided their patrol routes with practiced ease, her footsteps silent on the cold stone.

She found Finn waiting for her in the abandoned classroom at the end of the corridor.

He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. The flickering candlelight cast strange shadows across his face. He looked different in the darkness—colder, harder, nothing like the foolish, friendly boy everyone knew.

"You came," he said.

"I said I would." Selene closed the door behind her. "We need to talk."

Finn gestured for her to continue. Selene took a deep breath.

"I have a plan. A way to distract Soren from the investigation."

"I’m listening."

"We kidnap Freya."

Finn’s eyebrows rose. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face—a cold, calculating expression that made Selene’s skin crawl.

"The princess," he murmured. "Soren’s little sister. The one person he loves more than anything."

"Exactly. If Freya is taken, Soren will forget about everything else. The investigation, the mole, the search for Varek—none of it will matter. He’ll tear the realm apart looking for her. And the King will divert every resource to finding her."

"And in the chaos, we move freely." Finn nodded slowly. "It’s a good plan. A dangerous plan, but a good one."

"I thought so."

"There’s just one problem. Freya is heavily guarded. The princess is never alone. Taking her will require planning, resources, timing."

"Then we plan. We gather resources. We wait for the right moment." Selene stepped closer. "But we don’t have much time. Soren is already suspicious. He confronted me tonight asked about my connection to you. If we don’t act soon, he’ll figure everything out."

Finn was silent for a moment. Then he nodded.

"I’ll discuss it with my father. Varek will want to be involved—this is exactly the kind of move he would approve of. But we need to be careful. If this goes wrong—"

"It won’t go wrong." Selene’s voice was firm. "I’ll make sure of it."

"Then we have an agreement." Finn stepped back into the shadows. "Go back to your sleepover. Act normal. I’ll contact you when we have a plan."

Selene nodded and slipped out of the classroom. She didn’t look back.

She didn’t see the figure hiding in the shadows at the end of the corridor.

She didn’t see the young student, a second-year named Tomas—who had been walking back to his dormitory when he’d heard voices. He paused, his curiosity getting the better of him, his footsteps silent as he crept closer to listen.

He listened to every thing they said, careful not to expose himself.

When he saw Selene coming, he quickly hid himself watching her go, then he started leaving also, his heart pounding with the need to tell someone—anyone—what he had just heard.

He didn’t see Finn emerge from the classroom, his dark eyes fixed on the retreating figure.

Tomas was halfway down the corridor when he heard the footsteps behind him.

He didn’t have time to turn around.

Finn’s hand closed around his mouth, silencing the scream before it could escape. The dagger was already in his other hand—a thin, wicked blade that gleamed in the darkness. He drew it across Tomas’s throat in a single, swift motion.

Tomas’s body went rigid. Then limp.

Finn held him for a moment, feeling the warmth drain from his body, feeling the life leave him. He felt nothing. No guilt. No regret. Just the cold, clinical satisfaction of a problem solved.

He dragged the body into an empty classroom and left it there. He would dispose of it later—when the corridors were empty, when the sleepover was over, when no one would notice one more missing student.

He wiped his hands on a cloth and threw it into the shadows. Then he walked back to his dormitory, his expression blank, his steps steady.

No one saw him. No one suspected anything.

The night was silent.

In the Moon Court, Nyra had made a decision.

She was going to try again. She was going to plead with her mother—to demand, to beg, to do whatever it took to convince her to let her return. She couldn’t stay here any longer. She couldn’t watch from the shadows while the people she loved suffered.

She made her way through the palace corridors, her heart pounding with determination. She reached the great hall—and stopped.

The doors were slightly ajar. She could hear voices inside.

"—if Nyra is to go back, Soren has to sacrifice his life. I will tell him myself. I want to see how much he loves my daughter."

It was the Moon Goddess. Her voice was calm, measured, utterly without emotion.

Evelyn’s voice followed, softer. "And if he agrees? If he’s willing to die for her?"

"Then he will prove himself worthy of her. And if he doesn’t—" The goddess paused. "Then he will prove that he never deserved her in the first place."

There was a heavy pause. Then Evelyn spoke again. "Will Nyra be happy with this? Will she forgive you for forcing this choice on the man she loves?"

The goddess was silent for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was heavy with something that might have been grief.

"I’m doing this for her sake. I’m doing this because I love her. And because I know what’s coming. I can’t let this realm destroy her. I can’t lose her again."

No, Nyra thought. No, no, no.

She turned and fled back to her room. Her heart was pounding, her hands trembling. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think.

What does she want to do with Soren? What does she mean by sacrifice?

She tried to use her power—to see into the mortal realm, to find Soren, to warn him. She reached out with everything she had, desperate, terrified.

But her power wouldn’t respond.

She tried again. And again. And again. Each time, the silver light flickered and died. Each time, the vision failed to form.

She collapsed against the door, her body weak, her energy spent. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t reach him. She couldn’t warn him.

Soren, she thought. Soren, please. Please be safe.

But there was no answer. Only silence.

She curled into a ball on the floor and wept.

Soren had been dreaming.

He stood in a vast, empty darkness, no walls, no floor, no sky. Just silence. And then a light appeared, blinding and beautiful. A figure stood within it a woman, tall and regal, her form too bright to look at directly.

"Lycan prince," she said. Her voice was like the moon itself—cold and distant and impossibly beautiful.

"Who are you?"

"I am the one you have wronged. The one whose daughter you failed to protect."

Soren’s blood ran cold. "The Moon Goddess."

"Yes." She paused. "I have come to give you a chance—a chance to correct your mistakes. To earn forgiveness for the way you treated my daughter when you forgot her."

Soren’s heart leaped. "Nyra? Is she alive? Can I save her?"

"There is a way. But it requires sacrifice." The goddess’s voice was soft but unyielding. "A soul for a soul. If you wish to bring her back, you must give your own life in exchange."

Soren stared at her. "You want me to die for her."

"I want you to prove that you love her. To prove that you are worthy of her." The goddess paused. "You have one week. At the end of the week, I will come for your answer."

"But—"

The light flared brighter, and the goddess was gone.

Soren woke with a gasp, his body drenched in sweat. The dream was still vivid in his mind—the goddess’s voice, her words, the impossible choice she had offered him. He pressed his hand to his chest, his heart pounding.

A soul for a soul.

He sat up slowly, trying to process what he had just heard. Was it real? Or was it just a dream—a manifestation of his guilt, his grief?

Before he could think further, a knock sounded at his door.

"Come in."

A guard stepped inside, his face pale. "Your Highness, the Proctor requests your presence immediately. It’s an emergency."

Soren frowned. "What kind of emergency?"

"I don’t know, Your Highness. But there are palace guards here. They arrived a few minutes ago."

Soren dressed quickly, his mind still churning from the dream. He made his way to the Proctor’s office, his steps steady despite the unease coiling in his gut.

When he entered, he knew something was very wrong.

The Proctor sat behind his desk, his face ashen. The Silvermoon Proctor was there too, her expression grim. Several lecturers stood in the shadows, their faces unreadable. And two palace guards stood near the door, their expressions grave.

Valeria was there, her dark hair pulled back, her face pale. She met Soren’s eyes briefly, then looked away.

"What’s going on?" Soren demanded.

"Sit down, Your Highness," the Proctor said quietly. "You need to be calm."

"I don’t want to sit down. I want to know what’s happened."

The Proctor exchanged a glance with the others. Then he cleared his throat.

"Your Highness, I need you to be calm with whatever we are about to tell you."

Soren’s blood ran cold. "Tell me straight. What’s happened?"

The Proctor paused. The room fell silent. Then he spoke.

"Freya has been kidnapped."

Soren stared at him. The words didn’t make sense. They couldn’t be real.

"What?"

"Your sister was taken from her academy this morning. The guards were found unconscious. There was no sign of a struggle—they were overwhelmed before they could react."

Soren’s hands curled into fists. His vision blurred. The world tilted around him.

"Where is she?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Who took her?"

"We don’t know yet. We’re searching. The King has been informed. Every available resource is being diverted to finding her."

Soren didn’t hear the rest. He was already moving, pushing past the guards, out the door, into the corridor.

His sister. His little sister. The one person in the world who had never betrayed him, never hurt him, never lied to him. She was out there somewhere, frightened and alone.

And he was going to find her.

No matter what it took.