Moonlit Echoes

The air in the ruins was thick with unspoken tension.

Selene could feel the weight of a hundred wary eyes upon her, watching from the shadows, from behind crumbling stone pillars and the overgrown remains of ancient walls. The survivors had emerged cautiously—silent figures cloaked in faded remnants of the past, their expressions unreadable.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stand tall. This is what I came for.

The warrior at her side took a slow step forward and lowered his hood. "She has returned."

A murmur rippled through the gathered figures. Some expressions shifted—from suspicion to something softer. Hopeful. Disbelieving. Others remained cold, unmoved by the declaration.

Then, from the crowd, an older woman stepped forward.

Her silver hair was braided back in intricate twists, her eyes sharp despite her frail frame. She studied Selene for a long moment, her gaze piercing—as if looking through her, searching for something beyond flesh and bone.

"You claim she is our queen," the woman said, voice steady. "And yet, we buried our queen long ago."

Selene's stomach twisted.

She wanted to speak—to say something, anything—but what could she offer them? She didn't have memories of the life they spoke of. She didn't remember leading them.

How could she claim to be their queen when she barely knew who she was?

The warrior did not waver. "Her blood carries the truth."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Blood is not enough."

Orion stepped closer to Selene, his presence steady, grounding. He didn't speak, but she could sense the question in his stance: Do you want to walk away from this?

She didn't.

She couldn't.

Steeling herself, Selene took a step forward.

"I don't remember the past you knew," she admitted, her voice quieter than she intended. "But I know the Order has spent my entire life trying to keep me from finding it." She hesitated, then lifted the pendant from around her neck, letting it catch the light. "I know this led me here."

Another ripple of whispers passed through the crowd.

The older woman's gaze flickered to the pendant.

Then, slowly, she extended her hand. "Show me."

Selene hesitated. But then, trusting her instincts, she placed the pendant in the woman's palm.

The moment skin touched metal, the air shifted.

A pulse of energy rippled through the ruins, faint but undeniable.

The pendant glowed, its soft light reflecting in the woman's wide eyes.

She let out a sharp breath. "It's true."

Selene's pulse pounded. "Then you believe me?"

The woman's gaze met hers.

"I believe that fate has brought you here," she said carefully. "But whether you are the queen we lost—" Her lips pressed into a thin line. "That remains to be seen."

Selene exhaled slowly. A trial, then. A test.

She could feel the weight of their expectations settling onto her shoulders.

She wasn't just a lost girl anymore.

She was the spark of something bigger.

And she would not let them down.