Chapter 6 THE HEALER'S SILENCE

Elara POV

I woke to silence. Not peaceful silence. Wrong silence. Empty. Like the world had stepped away and left me behind.

For a long moment, I didn't move. I barely breathed. I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts slow, tangled. Dark stone. Smooth. Cold. Faint symbols shimmered along the surface, curling like they were alive. They pulsed softly, in rhythm with my breath, watching me. I had never seen markings like this before.

The air smelled sharp, clean crushed herbs, fresh water, and something bitter that burned faintly in my nose, like smoke after lightning. I tried to sit up. Pain exploded through my chest and arms, sudden, cruel, merciless. A broken sound tore from my throat as my muscles locked, betraying me.

"Don't," a calm voice said. "You'll make it worse."

I turned my head slowly. A woman stood beside a long stone table lined with folded cloths, shallow bowls, and small glass vials filled with dark liquids. Her dark hair, streaked with silver, was pulled back tightly. She moved with quiet authority, her eyes sharp and missing nothing.

"A healer," I whispered. My throat burned. "Where am I?"

"The infirmary," she said. "You collapsed in the Lycan court."

Memory came in pieces. The court. Alphas pressing in from every side. Kael's low, commanding voice. The weight in my chest. And then... nothing. Darkness.

Kael. My heart skipped. The healer's hand rested on my shoulder, firm, steady, unshakable. "Easy," she said. "Your body has been under more strain than it can handle."

"Am I dying?" I whispered.

For a flicker, something crossed her face. Almost amusement. "No," she said. "But you are not untouched either."

I swallowed. That did nothing to calm me. She lifted my wrist carefully. Fingers cold against my skin. She didn't check my pulse, not really. Her eyes unfocused slightly, as if listening to something beyond sight. Fear coiled tight in my chest.

"What is it?" I asked.

She didn't answer. Instead, she placed her palm over my chest, just above my heart. Warmth spread instantly beneath her hand, slow and deep. My breath caught. A shiver ran through me. For a heartbeat, my thoughts fractured into pure sensation. Heat beneath my skin. Silver light flashing behind my eyes. And a pull. Low, constant. Drawing something inside me upward, awake, aware.

Maelis stiffened. She yanked her hand back as if burned. "Has this happened before?" she demanded.

"I... I've fainted before. From hunger. Stress," I said, panic rising.

"This was not that," she said sharply. She crossed the room quickly, poured a dark liquid into a cup, and returned. "Drink."

The liquid burned my tongue and throat. My eyes watered. Then warmth spread, easing the pressure in my chest. My breathing slowed. The pain dulled to a dull ache. Maelis watched every movement, silent and sharp.

"You are omega," she said.

"I know," I whispered.

"But your body does not behave like one," she replied. My stomach twisted.

"What does that mean?"

Her gaze faltered, just a moment. Enough to make my heart hammer. "Your body remembers something," she said softly. "Something you do not."

"Remembers what?"

She looked at me carefully, guarding the answer. "That," she said, "I cannot tell you yet."

Footsteps echoed outside. Maelis straightened instantly. The door opened. Kael stepped inside. The air shifted the moment he crossed the threshold, heavy, measured, like a storm held back by sheer will. His eyes went straight to Maelis.

"Report," he said, calm, sharp.

"She collapsed from internal strain," Maelis replied. "Not illness. Not injury."

Kael's jaw tightened. "Why?"

"Her body is reacting to changes it does not fully understand," Maelis said cautiously.

Kael's gaze sliced to me. "What kind of changes?"

Maelis hesitated. Too long. Kael noticed.

"She needs rest," she said finally. "And observation."

"That was not my question," Kael said, quiet, deadly.

"There are signs," Maelis said slowly. "Signs of an early awakening."

Kael froze completely. "Awakening of what?"

Maelis opened her mouth, but Kael's hand flicked slightly. "Enough. You will speak to me privately. Later."

Maelis bowed. "As you command, my King."

He turned to me. His presence pressed against my chest like an invisible weight. "You will remain here tonight. You will not be left alone."

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. He stepped closer, still careful not to touch me. "Do you feel pain?"

"A little... mostly pressure," I admitted.

His eyes darkened. "This does not change what is coming," he said quietly. The certainty in his voice made my chest tighten with fear.

"Rest," he said, finally. That was all. And then he left. Silence closed behind him.

Maelis let out a slow breath. "You are standing at the edge of something very old. Something the Lycan Dominion has not seen in generations."

"And Kael?" I asked. "Does he know?"

"Not yet," she said. "But he suspects."

Night came slowly. Sleep arrived in pieces. Dreams followed, fragmented and jagged. The moon burned red in the sky. Blood soaked into black stone. A crown of silver fire hovered, waiting.

I woke with a gasp. Horns sounded outside. Deep, ancient, vibrating in the stone. Maelis was at the window, pale.

"That sound?" I whispered.

"Another horn answered," she said. "The council is calling the court."

My heart slammed. "Why?"

Her hand gripped mine. "The Blood Moon. It has been announced early."

I stared at her. "That's... impossible."

"It is now," she said. Her eyes were steady, but sharp.

The horns blared again. The sky itself seemed heavy with warning. And one truth struck me, deep and unshakable: it wasn't the sky that had changed. It was me.