Chapter 4 - The Daughter Hidden Beneath the Mountain
Declan didn't speak for several seconds.
Another child.
Rosalind's eyes filled with tears.
“Your father knew.”
“My father knew what?”
“That Finn had a twin.”
Declan's world tilted.
“A daughter.”
Rosalind nodded.
“She was born first.”
He stared.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You said there was another child.”
“I said I didn't know where she was.”
Declan's voice dropped.
“Rosalind.”
She closed her eyes.
“When the soldiers attacked Winterborn, the servant who helped me escape took the baby.”
“Why?”
“To protect her.”
“From who?”
“The Moon Council.”
Declan felt sick.
“They knew about the prophecy.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to the girl?”
“Maribel took her through a second tunnel.”
“Finn?”
“I had him.”
“Why separate them?”
“Because if they caught one child, they might not catch the other.”
Declan stared at his mate.
“You've been carrying this alone.”
“Yes.”
“For five years.”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I wasn't sure anyone could be trusted.”
He lowered his head.
“I would have searched.”
“You were drowning in grief.”
“And you knew that.”
“Yes.”
“I could have saved her.”
“You were fighting a war you didn't know existed.”
He looked at Finn.
The boy was asleep.
His small face peaceful.
“We're finding her.”
Rosalind nodded.
The trail began with Maribel.
Her old home was abandoned.
But beneath the floor, Declan found a message.
Two royal symbols.
One wolf.
One moon.
Underneath:
THE GIRL LIVES WHERE THE MOUNTAIN HAS NO SHADOW.
Declan knew the place.
Moonfall.
An isolated valley north of the kingdom.
No sunlight reached the village during winter.
They traveled for seven days.
Finn rode beside them.
He asked constantly about his sister.
“What does she look like?”
Rosalind smiled sadly.
“Like you.”
“Does she have your eyes?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know me?”
“No.”
Finn looked down.
“I wish she did.”
Declan reached across the horses.
“She will.”
At Moonfall, they found a monastery.
The monks refused them entry.
Until Declan showed his royal seal.
The abbot stared.
“You're the father.”
Declan froze.
“You knew?”
“We have protected your daughter since birth.”
“My daughter is here?”
“Yes.”
He opened the gates.
A little girl stepped into the courtyard.
Five years old.
Black hair.
Emerald eyes.
A silver streak through one curl.
She looked at Declan.
He couldn't breathe.
“Her name?”
The abbot smiled.
“Lyra.”
Finn stepped forward.
The children stared at each other.
Then Lyra spoke.
“You look like me.”
Finn smiled.
“You look like me too.”
Rosalind began crying.
Declan knelt.
He opened his arms.
Lyra hesitated.
Then ran to him.
He held both children.
For the first time in five years, the broken part inside him cracked open completely.
His wolf howled.
Not in rage.
In joy.
Then the monastery bells rang.
The abbot looked toward the mountain.
“They've found you.”
Bram's army appeared on the ridge.
Hundreds of soldiers.
Declan handed Lyra to Rosalind.
“Take them inside.”
“No.”
“Rosalind.”
“I fought beside you before.”
“I know.”
“Then stop trying to protect me by sending me away.”
He stared at her.
Then smiled.
“That is the woman I remember.”
The battle began.
Declan shifted.
Rosalind drew silver knives.
The monks sounded horns.
The children watched from a tower window.
Bram rode at the front.
“You cannot defeat the old order!”
Declan roared.
“I already have.”
Their armies collided.
Hours passed.
The mountain filled with blood.
Finally, Declan reached Bram.
The two men faced each other.
“You stole five years from me.”
Bram smiled.
“I gave you a kingdom.”
“You gave me a prison.”
He swung.
Bram blocked.
They fought across the snowy ridge.
Then Bram whispered:
“Ask your mate who really started Winterborn.”
Declan froze for half a heartbeat.
Bram struck him.
Declan fell.
Rosalind screamed.
“No!”
She attacked.
Bram fled.
The monks captured several soldiers.
But the battle had revealed something worse.
Bram had been telling the truth about one part.
Rosalind knew more about Winterborn than she had told Declan.
Declan confronted her that night.
“What aren't you telling me?”
She cried.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From the truth.”
He stared.
“Tell me.”
She whispered:
“The order to burn Winterborn did come from the royal palace.”
Declan's heart stopped.
“But you said—”
“The order was written under your seal.”
“Forged.”
“Yes.”
“Who forged it?”
Rosalind looked toward the children.
“Someone inside your father's family.”
Declan understood.
His father's bloodline.
His own relatives.
Someone who wanted the prophecy fulfilled.
Someone who believed the twins were dangerous.
The true enemy wasn't Bram.
Bram was only the sword.
May you like
There was someone holding it.
And that person had been waiting for five years.
Related Stories
