Silver Savior

Selene had been walking the edge of a ravine for hours, one she had seen through the thinning fog this time at least. Her breathing was still rapid and shallow as she stumbled forward, her limbs trembling from exertion and fear. Despite the fog around her growing thinner in the pre-dawn light, it left her cold and damp, seeping into her bones and making her shiver against the chill of the air. It felt more like autumn here rather than the warm summer season she knew it was. 

Once the fog burned away completely with the morning sun, she would be vulnerable. She could still hear the distant howls of Lucian's wolves. They weren't directly behind her anymore, but they were still too close for her to put her guard down. Wolves had keen noses and they could pick her scent back up at any time.

She hesitated as the softer bits of earth at the edge gave way and cascaded into the void below. The entire edge of the cliff seemed ready to collapse beneath her weight and she wished she knew how deep it went. If it was more ravine than canyon, she might be tempted to press her luck in descending. She glanced left and right, searching for a safer path, but the ravine stretched endlessly in either direction. A tree, not far from her, clung to the edge of the ravine as its limbs and roots dangled into the misty void below it.

This was the path she would take.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she gripped the gnarled roots of the ancient tree and carefully began her descent. Her fingers ached as she clung to the whip-like roots, her feet clawing at the crumbling soil of the ravine wall. Her body protested and ached with each movement, but the fear of the hunt spurred her on.

It took many painful minutes until she was halfway down, finally able to see the bottom as the mist dissipated. An old tree trunk lay on its side below her, and she could see a hole in the top. She wondered if it would be big or sturdy enough to hide in.

Her foot slipped on the dusty, crumbling surface. She inhaled sharply, trying to retain her footing so she was not dangling freely, but the dirt merely disintegrated into tiny pieces and fell to the ground below. She could hear the creak of the tree above, the sharp sound of wood splintering.

She let out a strangled cry as a loud snap sent her free-falling for several terrifying seconds. A searing pain in her back and side made her vision go white as she crashed through the hollowed-out trunk of the rotting tree, the ancient wood splintering beneath her weight.

Agony flared through her head and body as she hit the ground and the air left her lungs. She gasped for a few moments, struggling to breathe against the pain and the air that had been knocked from her body. She took small, shallow breaths, trying to maintain a rhythm and control, but a new, more isolated pang to the side of her stomach had begun to blossom and she winced. She moved to put a hand to her stomach and to her dismay, she felt a jagged piece of wood sticking out of her.

She tried to lift her head to see the damage, but the world began to spin violently and she felt sick as pain overwhelmed her senses once more so she closed her eyes tightly. She lay sprawled on the forest floor, her body broken and bleeding. The world around her felt as if it tilted and swayed as her consciousness flickered.

She did not know how long she laid there as her consciousness faded in and out. Some moments she felt coherent, the pain in her body present and grounding despite the vertigo. Other moments the delirium took her, twisting her fears into nightmares as she saw Lucian standing above her, his cold eyes gleaming with rage and vengeance as he ripped a crying infant from her arms. Her scream echoed through the darkness as she reached for her child, but her limbs felt heavy and useless. Shadows of wolves circled her, watching as she bled out onto the floor of the Duskveil estate grand hall.

Amber eyes appeared first in the mist, glowing with an otherworldly light before a woman with soft white hair emerged, standing above her. Selene blinked, struggling to distinguish reality from her fevered visions, but immediately closed her eyes again as her skull felt like it would crack into two and the vertigo was almost too much.

"Are you…real?" she murmured, her voice cracking and barely a whisper.

The woman knelt beside her, her hands gentle as they assessed Selene's wounds. "Don't talk," she said, her voice low and soothing, her presence ethereal and calming. "I'll help you."

Selene's head lolled to the side. She tried to hold on, to speak to the woman in her dreams, but she faded.

* * *

A soft breeze stirred around her, carrying the rich scent of earth and pine and blooming wildflowers. Selene's body felt weightless as she drifted in a space between reality and dreams. The pain in her side had ebbed away and she felt a sense of peace.

Before her stood Nyara, bathed in golden light and hidden in shadow, her two halves always in fluctuation. Her expression was curious, but not unwelcoming. Her eyes gleamed like the morning sun, and then the midnight moon, but they held a little bit of amusement.

"Child, welcome once more. What ails you little one?" she asked, her voice deep and light at the same time.

Selene stood in silence for a moment.

"Why me?" she asked, "Why this child?"

Nyara's expression changed to one of sympathy.

"Once there was four great packs. Nyxbourne, Duskveil, Solmere, and Dawncaller."

"I know about them!" Selene spat. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Opportunity," said the Goddess patiently. "Over the centuries, the divine power blessed upon them has waned, and the balance between the light, and the dark, has tipped, allowing the darkness to overcome the light."

"But darkness must always relinquish to the light, just as the light must surrender itself to the dark in an eternal cycle, the balance of life—"the goddesses expression became stern and serious, and her voice became deeper until it was booming—"You, Selene Nyxbourne, are from one the two packs who where blessed with the dark divine. And you will now birth the divine power of light once more into the world. You will help to restore balance, your child has a destiny. Salvation."

Nyara's expression turned sorrowful. "Fate's threads are woven in ways even I do not fully understand. She is fickle in her ways and I cannot interfere directly in another Gods affairs, any more than I can mortal ones. But I can counsel those who walk the path of destiny. Your mate's rejection was not merely born of hatred and betrayal. His instincts fear the divine energy your child possesses. It threatens everything he has fought to claim."

Selene's eyes filled with tears. "He will never stop hunting us," she said, despair threatening to overtake her.

"No," Nyara said gently. "But you are not alone. Allies will come to your aid, willing to protect you and the life you carry."

Selene suddenly felt her body growing heavier, her consciousness slipping away once more. "Please... don't leave me. I have so many questions."

Nyara reached out, her glowing and shadowy hand brushing Selene's cheek. "I am always with you, child. Survive, for through your blood and the blessing of the goddess, your daughter will bring balance"

The world faded into darkness once more, and Selene surrendered to the pull of unconsciousness, the goddess's words echoing in her mind.