Chapter 6 The home I never prayed for

SIENA

Day after day, life in Blackfang Castle felt like being trapped in a storm that never passed.

The stone walls towered around me, cold and unforgiving, steeped in a history that weighed heavy on my shoulders. They whispered of old battles and colder hearts. I moved through the halls like a ghost-unseen, unwanted. A stranger in a place that was supposed to be my home.

Lorenzo remained a constant shadow-always there, but never truly present. His gaze, sharp and unreadable, passed over me like I was nothing more than an obligation. When our eyes met, they held no warmth. When our hands brushed, it was like touching ice-duty without desire.

This wasn't a home. This was a gilded prison. And I was chained to a mate who barely remembered I existed.

×××

One quiet afternoon, I wandered alone along a garden path behind the east wing. The world was hushed-no wind, no birdsong. Just stillness. For the first time in days, I let myself exhale.

Then a raven swooped low, its wings cutting through the silence like a scream.

I gasped and stumbled back, my heart slamming against my ribs.

The rush of air. The blur of black feathers. It jolted something deep inside me-something buried.

A memory, or maybe just a feeling.

That night.

The night of the wedding.

I'd woken to a silence that felt wrong-too deep, too still. Like the world was holding its breath.

And then I'd felt it.

Not a sound. Not a voice. A pull.

It stirred in my blood-wild, ancient.

The ring on my finger had grown warm. I'd looked out the window and seen a flicker of light in the trees. Not fire. Not danger. Something older. Something that called to me.

Something had shifted inside me that night. Something I couldn't name. And now, here in the quiet, heart still racing from the raven's flight, I felt it again. A low hum beneath my skin. A whisper in my bones.

Was it fear?

Or power?

I didn't know. But it hadn't left me.

It was silent now, yes-but silence didn't mean it was gone.

What was stirring inside me?

What was this flame, this voice in my veins?

I barely had time to gather my thoughts before cruel voices sliced through the air.

"She's weak," one of them spat, her words sharp as knives.

"Lorenzo's mistake," another sneered. "A fragile omega dragged in by some dusty promise."

"She doesn't belong here," came a third, dripping with scorn. "That ring? It's just metal. She'll never carry the power behind it."

Each word hit harder than the last. These were the ones who should have honored me as Luna, yet they looked at me like I was nothing.

Even the servants watched me with disdain, their eyes heavy with unspoken judgment. Whispers followed me everywhere. I walked on, pretending not to hear-but their venom clung to me like smoke.

Their voices weren't meant to challenge. They were meant to break.

And then, like darkness summoned by cruelty, Mara appeared.

She glided toward me like a predator, her red gown trailing behind her like blood on marble. Her eyes glittered with something almost gleeful.

"Well, well," she said, each syllable laced with poison. "The castle's newest Luna, barely holding it together."

I said nothing. I met her gaze, even though her words sliced deep.

"You think Lorenzo's coldness will melt just because of that ring?" She stepped closer, her smile razor-sharp. "You think he'll ever see you?"

She reached out, brushing her fingers against the silver band on my hand. Her touch was ice.

"Power isn't gifted," she whispered. "It's taken. And right now, you're nothing but a placeholder in a game you don't understand."

Her voice echoed all the doubts I tried to silence. Every fear I buried. Every night I cried in silence.

"You wear the crown," she hissed, "but you haven't earned his heart. Or his respect."

She laughed-a sound as cruel as it was triumphant. The kind of laugh that wants to see you fall.

I clenched my jaw. The words cut deep. But in the silence that followed, something inside me shifted.

Not with a roar.

With a spark.

A flicker.

"You know what, Mara?" I said, and even I was surprised by the steadiness in my voice. "I see it now. All of it. The bitterness, the venom... it's jealousy."

Her smirk faltered-just slightly.

"You act above it all, but we both know the truth. He chose me. Not you."

My words dropped between us like a blade.

"No matter how many times you sneer, no matter how hard you try to tear me down... that fact won't change."

I let the silence linger.

"So keep your threats. Keep your venom. All it does is show how small you really are."

For the briefest moment, her face twisted. The mask slipped. I saw it-doubt.

I stepped back, heart pounding. My hands didn't shake. Instead, warmth bloomed in my chest, slow and sure.

It was unfamiliar.

And powerful.

Could this be the Luna's spirit awakening in me?

The thought flickered, but I didn't hold on to it. Not yet. I wasn't ready to believe I was more than the weak, invisible girl I'd always been.

Still... the warmth stayed.

A quiet flame curling behind my ribs, waiting.

Mara narrowed her eyes, masking the crack in her composure.

"We'll see how long that fire lasts... Luna," she sneered, before turning and vanishing into the shadows.

Alone again, I stood still. My fingers curled around the cold band on my finger.

The silence pressed in.

But inside me, something whispered: Nothing will stay the same now.

I had faced Mara.

I had spoken back.

Not as the frightened girl she expected...

But as something else.

Something is beginning to wake.

Was it the hidden flame-the power buried deep beneath my fear?

Or was it something darker?

I didn't know.

But for the first time in this cursed castle, I didn't feel entirely powerless.

And that scared me.

Because I had crossed a line today-one I didn't know existed.

And I wasn't sure if stepping over it would save me...

...or burn me alive.