Chapter 3 The City of Silver Blood

By dawn, the storm had died - but the world smelled of smoke and magic.

Lyra stood at the edge of the mountains, her cloak whipping in the early wind, and looked down at the valley below.

A city shimmered in the mist - vast, ancient, and alive. Spires carved from moonstone stretched toward the sky, their tips catching the first light. Bridges made of crystal arched over silver rivers that cut through the heart of the city.

The City of Silver Blood.

A place where gods once walked - and where their children still ruled.

It was the last place Lyra wanted to go. But it was the only place she could hide.

She pulled her hood lower and started down the winding path, boots crunching against frost. With every step, she could feel eyes on her - whispers of the Moon's presence curling through the air.

"She's awake again."

"The Huntress returns."

"Will he find her first, or will we?"

Lyra gritted her teeth and ignored them. She had no intention of being found - not by gods, not by monsters, and certainly not by him.

Yet even as she thought it, she felt it - the faint hum at the back of her mind. The thread between her soul and Eryndor's. It pulsed every few minutes, like a heartbeat echoing from a great distance.

She hated that she could feel him.

She hated that part of her wanted to.

By the time she reached the city gates, the sun had climbed high enough to turn the world gold. The guards barely looked up as she passed - just another traveler with a hood and tired eyes.

Inside, the city was chaos disguised as beauty. Merchants shouted over each other in the crowded markets, hawking glittering fruits and bottled dreams. Silver-armored patrols moved through the streets like predators. Everywhere, the Moon's sigil - the same eye etched into her palm - glowed from banners and walls.

Lyra tugged her gloves higher to hide her mark. The last thing she needed was divine attention.

She found an inn on the edge of the old district - a crumbling tower that smelled faintly of dust and lavender. The innkeeper, a plump woman with kind eyes, didn't ask questions. She handed Lyra a room key and a bowl of something that might've been soup.

Lyra ate without tasting it. Her mind wouldn't stop replaying the night before - the moment Eryndor's fingers brushed hers, the flash of memory, the look in his eyes.

He said he remembered.

He said he tried not to kill her.

Could that be true?

No. She couldn't afford to believe him. Not now.

Still... something about the way he'd said her name - like it hurt him - made her heart ache in ways she didn't understand.

That night, Lyra dreamt.

She stood in a forest of silver trees beneath a bleeding moon. The air shimmered with magic.

Someone was calling her name.

"Lyra."

She turned - and saw him again. Eryndor stood at the edge of the clearing, his blade dripping moonlight.

"Stay away," she said.

But he didn't move closer. His voice was quiet, heavy with sorrow. "You shouldn't have remembered me."

"I didn't ask to."

"I know. But the moment you did, the Goddess felt it. Every reborn memory weakens her seal. That's why she's hunting you."

Lyra frowned. "Seal?"

Eryndor stepped into the moonlight. His armor was cracked and stained with silver veins. "Your death was never meant to be final. You were supposed to stay asleep - because the thing inside you isn't human."

Her pulse spiked. "What are you talking about?"

He hesitated, then whispered, "You're the last piece of her power, Lyra. The Goddess trapped part of her divine soul inside you when you defied her. If you awaken it fully... you could destroy her."

The air trembled. The trees began to burn with cold blue fire.

Lyra took a step back. "You're lying."

"Am I?" His voice broke. "Why do you think she made me your killer? To keep you from remembering what you are."

The world shattered like glass.

Lyra woke up gasping, drenched in sweat. The mark on her palm glowed through her glove, pulsing violently as if alive.

Her door creaked open.

Eryndor stood in the doorway - not a dream this time. Real. Solid. His presence filled the room like a storm.

"How-" she began.

"You called me." His eyes flickered to her hand. "The mark does that when you're afraid."

"I wasn't-"

He arched a brow. "Lying doesn't suit you, Huntress."

She glared. "Don't call me that."

He crossed the room slowly, his movements smooth, controlled. "Then what should I call you?"

"Gone," she said, shoving past him.

He caught her wrist - gently, but firmly enough that she stopped. The warmth of his hand burned through the thin leather of her glove.

"Listen to me," he said, voice low. "You can't stay here. The Goddess's soldiers are already in the city. They're hunting for anyone with your signature."

Lyra yanked free. "Then let them come."

"You can't fight them all."

"Maybe not. But I can kill enough to make them remember me."

Eryndor's jaw tightened. "That's not bravery, Lyra. That's suicide."

"And what would you call what you're doing?" she shot back. "Running from a goddess who owns you?"

For a heartbeat, they stood there, fire and shadow colliding.

Then Eryndor said quietly, "You think I haven't tried to kill her?"

Lyra froze. "What?"

He looked away, eyes dark. "She bound me to the Moon when I was mortal. Every time you died, she made me remember - every scream, every wound. She wanted me to suffer until I broke."

Something inside Lyra cracked.

For centuries, she'd thought he was the monster. The blade. The curse.

But maybe he'd been a prisoner too.

The silence between them grew heavier, thick with things neither of them dared say.

Finally, Lyra whispered, "What do we do now?"

Eryndor's gaze met hers - gold burning into silver. "We run. Together."

Lyra's breath caught. "Together?"

He nodded once. "The only way to break this is to find the Moon's heart before she does. And I can't get there without you."

Her chest ached. She wanted to say no - to tell him she didn't trust him, that she'd rather die than follow him again.

But she didn't.

Because deep down, she knew the truth: she needed him just as much as he needed her.

Lyra exhaled slowly. "Fine. But if you betray me again, I'll make sure you remember it next time you die."

Eryndor's lips curved into the faintest, most tragic smile. "Fair enough."

He turned toward the window. "We leave at moonrise."

As he stepped into the shadows, Lyra whispered, almost to herself, "This time, it won't end the same way."

He paused, his voice soft but certain.

"It never does."