Chapter 94 – The Echo of Her Name
The village of Eldowyn was tucked deep into the northern forests, veiled from the world by mist and myth. Few traveled this far, and those who did never returned quite the same. It was said that time moved differently here. That those who stayed too long began to remember things they never lived.
Selis, now nearly seven winters old, ran barefoot through the dewed grasses, her white hair trailing behind her like a comet's tail. The morning sun caught the shimmer of her eyes—one gold, one violet—and in her wake, the wind stirred the petals of wildflowers as if bowing to her.
The villagers whispered.
They called her the Marked One.
Some with reverence. Others with fear.
But Selis only knew the forest and the stories her mother told her—of a king made of night and a queen made of stars. She didn't know why those stories always made her chest ache, why she dreamed of obsidian trees or heard music in the moonlight when no one else could.
She didn't know she was being watched.
Far from the village, cloaked in illusion, a raven-haired woman stood on a cliff, her cloak billowing, her lips pursed in a whisper. A sentry for the Night King, her task was simple:
> "Find the child. Do not touch her. Do not speak to her. Just watch."
But something about the girl made it impossible to just watch.
Selis stopped at the edge of the river, dipping her fingers into the cold stream. Suddenly, the air around her thickened. Her eyes narrowed. Her fingers trembled.
"I know you're there," she said softly. "Why do you follow me?"
The sentry froze.
No one could see through her illusions—not even vampires.
But the child had.
The woman stepped forward, removing her hood. Her fangs gleamed, but her voice was gentle.
"You have his eyes."
Selis blinked. "Whose?"
"The Night King."
The girl tilted her head, curious. "I don't know him."
The vampire stepped closer. "But he knows you. The moment you were born, the stars told him. The wind carried your name across the world."
Selis shivered. "What name?"
The vampire knelt, placing a hand over the girl's small chest.
"The name beating inside your blood. The one that's older than this world."
Selis whispered, "Selene."
The wind howled.
The sky darkened for a heartbeat.
And the sentry rose, eyes wide.
> "It's her," she whispered into her crystal communicator. "It's her. The prophecy wasn't broken—it was just waiting."
---
Far away, in the Night King's Court
Valerian stood at the edge of the balcony, watching the red star pulse in the sky like a heartbeat. He had felt it again—the tug, the calling. Stronger now. Like a thread pulling him across distance and time.
Lucien entered, breathless. "We found her. She's alive. And she remembers."
Valerian turned.
The shadows thickened behind him. The air pulsed with power long dormant.
"She's not a child," he said softly.
Lucien frowned. "She's seven."
"No," Valerian murmured. "She's all of her. The queen. The bloodline. The curse. The flame."
He turned his gaze to the window.
"She's coming back in pieces… and we're running out of time to gather them before others do."
---
Back in Eldowyn…
Selis stood in her room, gazing out the window. A mirror hung on the wall behind her.
And for a moment…
Just one blink of a heartbeat…
Her reflection wasn't her.
It was Selene.
Eyes glowing. Hair streaming like silk. Marked with the prophecy sigil on her collarbone.
> "Soon," the reflection whispered. "He's waiting."
Selis turned around.
But the mirror showed only her again.
And the trees outside whispered a name too old to be spoken.
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