Chapter 2 Shadows and Prophecies

The forest seemed different at dawn.

Amara had barely slept. After the vision, she'd wandered aimlessly through the trees, replaying the goddess's words over and over. *Declared wanted... by the goddess herself.* The weight of it pressed against her chest, heavy as chainmail.

By sunrise, her decision felt less like courage and more like inevitability. Running had kept her alive, but it hadn't given her answers. Maybe now, finally, she'd learn why her life had been marked from the start.

She emerged onto a narrow road, hidden by centuries-old oaks whose gnarled branches twisted skyward. A worn path led east - toward Blackthorne Fortress, Alpha Kael's domain. The very thought of seeing him made her heart flutter with dread and something she dared not name.

Kael. She had heard whispers of him: ruthless, cunning, yet strangely fair. A leader bound by an unspoken code. But what could he possibly want with her? Unless... he too served the goddess's will.

*Or perhaps he serves only himself,* a darker voice in her mind reminded her.

Amara shook her head, trying to silence the doubt. Step by step, the choice became clearer: find him, face him, and demand the truth. Even if it meant risking everything.

Hours later, as the sun climbed higher, Amara stumbled upon a village she had passed through once before. Stone cottages clustered around a well, smoke curling lazily from chimneys. Children chased chickens in dusty alleys, and merchants set out bolts of dyed cloth, gleaming trinkets, and freshly baked bread.

Her stomach clenched painfully at the smell. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning. Carefully, she pulled her hood lower and slipped through the crowd, eyes scanning for danger.

A sudden hush fell over the market. Heads turned toward a wooden notice board near the well, where a burly guard was nailing up a fresh parchment. The seal at the bottom caught the light - a crescent moon entwined with runes.

Amara's breath caught. She edged closer, heart pounding.

The parchment bore a single message, written in bold, unmistakable script:

**By decree of the Moon Goddess:**

*Amara, daughter of the lost bloodline, is declared WANTED - alive and unharmed. She is to be brought before Alpha Kael of Blackthorne Fortress without delay.

Those who aid her will be rewarded. Those who hinder will face divine wrath.*

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Eyes widened. Voices buzzed like hornets.

"Did you hear? Wanted by the goddess herself!"

"She must be dangerous... or special."

"Alive and unharmed - that's rare."

Amara felt her blood turn to ice. Her name. In public. On parchment bearing the goddess's seal.

She turned away sharply, tugging her hood lower. Every heartbeat felt deafening. If anyone recognized her now, her fate would be sealed before she reached Kael.

She ducked into an alley, breathing hard. *So it wasn't just a vision. It's real. The entire kingdom will be searching for me.* And worst of all, people might help - not out of loyalty, but for the promise of divine reward.

The words *daughter of the lost bloodline* echoed louder than the rest. Lost bloodline? What did it mean? A truth her parents had died to protect?

A memory flickered: her mother's trembling voice, whispering of a sacred legacy before pushing her into the night. A memory so faint, yet so sharp it cut through years of denial.

*I have to know.*

As twilight bled into the horizon, Amara left the village behind. She took hidden paths, avoiding the main road. Her legs ached, and exhaustion weighed on her eyelids, but her resolve only hardened.

By nightfall, the looming silhouette of Blackthorne Fortress rose before her: a fortress of black stone and ancient banners, perched on a hill like a silent sentinel. Torches flickered along its battlements, and from within, faint music drifted on the wind.

Fear coiled in her stomach. This was it. The moment she'd chosen - or perhaps the moment chosen for her.

She stepped closer, heart thudding painfully, each beat whispering: *Wanted... by the goddess herself.*

Within those walls waited answers. And maybe, the beginning of a destiny she could no longer escape.