Chapter 5 The Luna's Fall

Selene's POV

The dungeon felt chillier now that I knew I'd never leave it alive. Dawn was just a few hours away, and with it, my demise. I sat on the wet straw, gazing up at the stone walls that would be my last sight.

My fingers shook, but not with fear. Fury ran through me like flames, hot and consuming. Not at Corwin – he was as much a pawn as the rest. My rage was for Kane, the man who had orchestrated this perfect destruction of my existence.

Why? What had I ever done to him to deserve this?

I tried to think back over the years, searching for some slight or hurt that I might have caused him. Kane had always been polite to me, respectful, even. He'd helped my marriage to Corwin and defended me when pack members mocked my lowly birth.

Or had he? I remembered now that Kane's defense had always contained veiled jibes. "Selene has no Alpha blood, but she's caught on well enough." "The Luna's low birth gives certain insight into pack issues universal to all."

Always keeping everyone in mind that I was not a part of it. Always making sure they remembered I was not like them.

Footsteps echoed down the stone staircase, and I tensed. But it was not the executioner come to escort me prematurely to the gallows. It was Sarah, the small servant who had testified against me. She carried a tray of food and water, her pale face strained.

"Luna," she whispered, setting the tray just outside my cell. "I brought you some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Please. You must keep your strength up."

I laughed harshly. "For what? My death?"

Sarah winced. "Don't say that. Maybe the Alpha will reconsider. Maybe-"

"Sarah." I moved to the bars. "What you said I forbade you to help with the wine. You certain that's what happened?"

The girl's eyes dropped from mine. "I. I was telling the truth."

"Did you? Because I don't remember that conversation at all."

"Memory's strange when you're under stress," Sarah said quickly. "Beta Kane told us all about that. Folks don't always recall things they've done."

Kane, the hundredth time. Kane with his rational explanations.

"Listen to me," I commanded, using the Luna voice I'd accumulated over three years of ordering.

Sarah's eyes darted to mine against her will. I saw fear there, and guilt, and something else. Something that looked almost like.

"Who instructed you to say that?" I asked softly.

"No one. I mean, I just remembered-"

"Sarah. You've been working in my home for two years. You understand that I would never abandon my duties in the midst of a festival. You understand that I always help with the ceremonial wine."

Tears started to flow down the girl's face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Tell me the truth. Who instructed you to lie?"

"I can't." She moved back from the bars. "He threatened. he threatened that my family would be exiled if I did not comply. My little brother is not well. We require the protection of the pack."

My heart sank even as hope sprouted. "Kane threatened you."

Sarah shook her head pathetically. "He said you were dangerous. That you'd killed the prince and would kill others if we didn't do something to stop you. He said it wasn't lying to keep from telling the truth in order to protect the pack."

"And you trusted him?"

"I didn't know what to believe. The evidence seemed so clear. And Beta Kane is always someone we can count on. Why would he lie about something like that?"

That was the question, wasn't it? Why would Kane kill me so completely?

"Sarah, listen to me. I didn't murder Marcus. You are being led to falsely accuse me of murder. When the truth comes out-"

"The truth?" Sarah swiped at her eyes. "Luna, you will be dead at dawn. What truth could possibly matter now?"

Before I could say a word, other footsteps descended the stairs. Heavy boots. Several sets. Sarah grabbed her tray and fled, leaving me to deal with three figures who entered the dungeon.

Kane was at the lead, followed by Elder Morrison and the pack's executioner, a huge man named Garrett who handled the pack's dirtiest business. They stood in front of my cell, their faces grim in the light of the torches.

"It's time," Kane declared.

"Dawn is still two hours away."

"Plans were changed. The pack becomes restless. Alpha Corwin thought it was best to handle this quietly, before emotions get out of control."

I stood up slowly, legs shaking but voice firm. "How considerate of him."

Kane unlocked my cell with silver keys, and Garrett stepped forward with chains to restrain my wolf. Metal burned against my skin as they encircled my wrists and ankles.

"Last words?" Morrison requested, his voice proper and cold.

"Yes." I stared directly at Kane. "I know what you did."

His expression did not change. "You poisoned Prince Marcus. That's what I did – I found the evidence and brought a murderer to justice."

"You planted the evidence. You intimidated the witnesses. You staged the entire thing."

"Grief does funny things to people's minds," Kane said sorrowfully. "Sometimes they create complicated fantasies so they don't have to face their guilt."

"Then say this," I said as they began to drag me towards the stairs. "Why? What did I ever do to make you so angry with me?"

For a moment, Kane's mask fell. I saw something dark and hungry flash across his blue eyes. "You were there," he whispered. "That was enough."

They pulled me up the stairs and through the empty corridors of the pack house. All were asleep or engaged in avoiding the unpleasant chore of execution. We emerged into the night, and I saw the hastily erected platform in the central courtyard.

There was a chopping block in the center, dark stains already marking the wood. Garrett's axe stood against it, its blade so sharp the light of the moon reflected off of it. At least it would be quick.

"Where's Corwin?" I asked as they shoved me toward the platform.

"The Alpha didn't feel like he needed to be present at the execution," Morrison replied. "He thought that it would be. too difficult."

Even so, even after sentencing me to death, Corwin could not let me be killed. Half of me was relieved. Half of me seethed that he could sentence me and not suffer the consequence of his sentence.

They pushed me to my knees beside the block. Garrett came up, his face hidden behind an executioner's hood. His hands were unshaking as he lifted the axe, balancing it in his palm.

"Any final prayers to the moon goddess?" Morrison asked.

I let my head fall back to look at the blood moon still hanging in the air. The same one that had witnessed Marcus's death. The same one that would now witness my death.

"Goddess," I breathed, "if you can hear me, do not make my death meaningless. Let the truth unravel somehow. Let justice catch the actual killer."

"Nice words," Kane shot back. "But the real murderer is going to get what she deserves."

I closed my eyes and prepared for impact. At least my suffering would soon be at an end. At least I would never have to suffer Corwin's treachery, nor the pack's scorn.

But the killing blow never came.

Instead, I heard Morrison gasp in air. "What in the goddess's name-"

I woke up to the presence of a figure emerging from the darkness at the edge of the courtyard. An elderly woman, hunched and frail, with silver hair that glimmered in the moonlight. She wore the white robes of a moon priestess, and her eyes glowed with an otherworldly light.

"Stay," she ordered, her voice ringing out despite her apparent frailty. "You are about to condemn an innocent woman to death."

Garrett let his axe fall, stunned. Morrison and Kane exchanged glances, seemingly unsure of what to do with this situation.

"Thalia, Priestess," Morrison said uncertainly. "Pack business. The temple doesn't have authority here."

"The temple is governing wherever justice is at stake." Thalia stepped closer, and I saw she was older than I'd assumed. Ancient, actually, with parchment-like skin and bones that looked too thin to hold her up. "This woman did not murder Prince Marcus."

"The evidence indicates otherwise," Kane said smoothly. "And with all due respect, Priestess, you weren't around when the crime was committed. You can't possibly know-"

"I have resources you cannot imagine, little Beta." Thalia's gaze fell upon Kane, and he stepped away from her. "The goddess of the moon speaks truth to those who are devoted to her true. And the truth is that Selene is innocent."

Hope flared in my chest like a fire being lit. Someone believed me. Someone with influence and credibility was defending me.

But Kane recovered quickly. "Even so, the law has already been summoned. The Alpha has weighed in. You have no right to intervene."

"Don't I?" Thalia smiled, and there was something reckless in her smile. "Tell me, Beta Kane, are you familiar with the ancient laws? The ones from centuries past, even before your pack was formed?"

Kane's confidence slipped a bit. "What ancient laws?"

"The law of sanctuary. When a priestess of the moon lays claim to an innocent for the goddess' protection, no mortal authority can override the claim." Thalia moved forward to stand at my side, her bony hand coming down on my shoulder. "I claim sanctuary for this woman."

Morrison's face was perplexed. "I've never heard of such a law."

"Because it has not been employed for three centuries. But it is, in the most ancient works, sanctified by the goddess herself." Thalia's voice grew firmer, more commanding. "You cannot harm her with the moon goddess protecting her."

"This is ridiculous," Kane barked. "You can't simply appear out of nowhere and claim some ancient right-"

"Can't I?" Thalia raised her unmuffled hand, and the silver moon above them flared with light. The beam struck us directly, illuminating the courtyard as brightly as day. "The goddess herself proves my point."

Even Kane stood awestruck before such blatant divine intervention. Garrett set his axe down entirely, not willing to risk the anger of the moon goddess.

"What do you want?" Morrison finally spoke.

"Time," answered Thalia bluntly. "Time to get this woman's name cleared. Give me three days, and I'll tell you who really killed Prince Marcus."

"Three days?" Kane laughed, but it was not a joyful sound. "Within three days she could escape. She could disappear forever."

"She will not leave my side," Thalia vowed. "I stake my life and my sacred promises on her remaining. If she flees, you can kill both of us."

The old woman was staking everything for a stranger like me. I stared at her in amazement, wondering why she must do this.

Morrison was conflicted. "This is wildly irregular. The Alpha will have to approve any postponement of the execution."

"Wake him," Thalia ordered. "Wake him and inform him that the moon goddess herself has acted to stay his justice. Inform him that killing an innocent woman who is under the goddess's protection would curse his entire pack."

Kane's mouth moved to protest, but Morrison was already shaking his head. He was old enough to recall the tales of the consequences when packs crossed the moon goddess directly.

"Yes, but she's still in custody. Sanctuary or not, she's still a murder suspect."

"Agreed." Thalia assisted me to my feet, her grip unexpectedly firm for such a thin, fragile-looking woman. "But she accompanies me to the temple. That is where sanctuary is offered."

As they unbound my chains, I glanced at Kane. His face was a mask of rage held only by sheer strength of will. Whatever plan he had devised, this ancient priestess had just turned it around.

"Three days," he told me quietly, his words spoken only for my ears. "Enjoy them. Because when your guardian fails to make you innocent, I'll make your death as unpleasant as it would be otherwise tonight."

Thalia must have overheard him, because she turned around and fixed Kane with a stare that made him look pale.

"Watch your step, young Beta," she said softly. "The goddess sees all. Even our crimes we think are hidden in the darkness."

As she led me off the execution dais into the forest path to the temple of the moon, I couldn't but wish for the first time since this nightmare began.

But I also asked myself: who was this mysterious priestess, and why had she known I was innocent?

Above all, what would she demand in return for saving my life?