Sera's POV
"You're lying." I stare at Elder Marcus, my hands trembling over Grandmother's convulsing body. "My mother died from an attack. Not poison."
"That's what everyone was told." Elder Marcus's kind eyes hold something darker now. Something calculating. "But I examined her body myself. The wounds were staged. She was poisoned first, then made to look like she died in battle."
My stomach lurches. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you deserve to know the truth." He steps closer, and several wolves move out of his way. "Your mother was murdered by someone who wanted her power. Someone who knew exactly what poison to use against moon-blessed witches."
"And you just happened to have this information?" Rowan moves between me and Elder Marcus. His voice drops to a dangerous growl. "How convenient."
"I've been investigating moon-blessed deaths for fifteen years." Elder Marcus doesn't back down, even facing an angry Lycan King. "Your mother's death was the first in a pattern. Over the years, dozens of moon-blessed wolves have died under suspicious circumstances. Always the same poison. Always made to look like accidents or attacks."
"Then help her!" I scream, gesturing at Grandmother. "If you know so much about this poison, tell us how to save her!"
"There is no cure." Elder Marcus's voice softens with what looks like genuine sympathy. "The poison was designed by ancient moon-blessed hunters. It attacks magic itself, burning it from the inside out. Your grandmother has maybe an hour before her heart stops."
"No." The word rips from my throat. "No, I won't let her die!"
Silver light explodes from my hands again, brighter than before. I press my glowing palms against Grandmother's chest, desperate to push healing magic into her.
"Sera, stop!" The healer grabs my wrist. "You'll kill yourself! You don't know how to control your power yet!"
I don't care. I pour everything I have into Grandmother, begging the Moon Goddess to help me save her.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then Grandmother's convulsions slow. Her breathing evens out. The foam at her lips disappears.
Everyone gasps.
"Impossible," Elder Marcus breathes. "No one should be able to counter that poison."
The silver light around my hands flickers and dies. I collapse forward, my energy completely drained. Rowan catches me before I hit the floor.
"Did it work?" I whisper. "Is she okay?"
The healer checks Grandmother's pulse, his eyes wide with shock. "The poison is still in her system, but it's not spreading anymore. Something is holding it back. I've never seen anything like this."
"Sera neutralized it." Luna Silvermoon appears beside us, her expression both proud and worried. "She used pure moon magic to create a barrier around the poison. It won't kill your grandmother, but it won't leave her body either."
"So she's trapped?" My voice cracks. "The poison is just sitting inside her?"
"Until we find a way to remove it safely, yes." Luna kneels beside Grandmother, her hands glowing as she examines her. "But this bought us time. Time to find whoever did this and make them tell us how to cure it."
Rowan's arms tighten around me. "Can you track the poison? Find its source?"
"I can try." Luna closes her eyes, her magic spreading outward like invisible tendrils. After a moment, her eyes snap open. "The poison came from a wine glass. Someone at this party brought it specifically to kill Sera."
"Find them," Rowan commands. His voice echoes with power that makes every wolf in the room straighten. "Lock down this palace. No one leaves until we find the poisoner."
Guards rush to obey. Wolves who were trying to sneak toward the exits find their paths blocked.
"This is an outrage!" someone shouts. "You can't hold us prisoner!"
"I'm the Lycan King." Rowan's eyes flash pure silver. "I can do whatever I want. And right now, I want the person who tried to murder my mate."
The ballroom erupts in nervous whispers. Guards fan out, checking everyone for suspicious items.
I stay on the floor next to Grandmother, holding her hand. She's unconscious but breathing steadily. The barrier I created pulses with silver light under her skin.
"You saved her," Maya says quietly. She's been standing nearby, clutching her wounded hand. "I didn't know you could do that."
"Neither did I." I look up at my former best friend. Blood still seeps through the bandage around her palm. "Maya, I need to know. When the Silver Chain Hunters contacted you, did they say anything about my mother? About moon-blessed witches?"
Maya's face goes pale. "How did you—"
"I know they forced you to poison me. But I need to know everything they told you. Please."
Maya glances around nervously, then lowers her voice. "They said your bloodline was dangerous. That moon-blessed witches were abominations that needed to be eliminated. They've been hunting your family for generations."
Ice floods my veins. "Generations? But my mother—"
"Wasn't the first." Maya's voice drops to barely a whisper. "They said they killed your grandmother's sister twenty years ago. And your great-aunt before that. They've been eliminating your family one by one, waiting for the right time to finish the job."
My mind reels. How many of my relatives died because of the Silver Chain? How many murders were covered up as accidents?
"Sera." Elder Marcus approaches again. "May I examine your grandmother? I might be able to help stabilize her further."
Something about his tone makes Luna tense beside me.
"Don't let him touch her," Luna says sharply.
Elder Marcus frowns. "I'm only trying to help—"
"You smell like the poison." Luna stands, her magic crackling around her. "Very faint, but it's there. You've been in contact with it recently."
The ballroom goes silent.
Elder Marcus's kind expression doesn't change, but something dark flickers in his eyes. "Of course I've been in contact with it. I told you, I've been investigating these deaths for years. I've examined dozens of poisoned bodies."
"Then you won't mind if I verify that." Luna's hand shoots out, her magic wrapping around Elder Marcus like chains.
He tries to dodge, but he's not fast enough. Luna's power locks him in place.
"Let me go!" Elder Marcus struggles against the magical bonds. "This is assault on a Council member!"
"This is justice." Luna's magic digs deeper, searching through his clothes and his aura. Her face goes white. "He has a vial of the poison. Hidden in his robes."
Rowan is there in a heartbeat, ripping open Elder Marcus's robes. A small glass vial falls out, filled with dark liquid that seems to swallow light.
"Well," Elder Marcus says calmly. Too calmly. "I suppose there's no point in pretending anymore."
His entire demeanor changes. The kindly old man vanishes, replaced by something cold and calculating.
"You're the poisoner," I breathe.
"One of them." Elder Marcus smiles, and it's nothing like the gentle expression he wore before. "Did you really think I was the only one? The Silver Chain has members everywhere. In every pack. On every council. We've been planning this for decades."
"Planning what?" Rowan snarls.
"The complete elimination of moon-blessed bloodlines." Elder Marcus's eyes gleam with fanatical light. "Your kind is an abomination. Too powerful. Too dangerous. The Moon Goddess made a mistake creating you, and we're correcting that mistake."
"You're insane," I whisper.
"I'm practical." Elder Marcus looks at Grandmother's unconscious form. "That one should have died tonight. So should you. But you keep surviving when you should be dead. First you come back from death itself. Now you neutralize poison that should be incurable. It's getting annoying."
Luna's magic tightens around him. "Who else is working with you? Give us names."
"Why would I do that?" Elder Marcus laughs. "You can torture me all you want. I won't betray my brothers and sisters in the Chain. We're willing to die for our cause."
"Then die." Rowan's claws extend.
"Wait!" I struggle to my feet, still weak but determined. "He might know how to cure Grandmother. If we kill him, we lose that information."
Elder Marcus smirks. "Smart girl. Yes, I know the cure. And I'll never tell you. Your grandmother will spend the rest of her life with poison in her veins, slowly weakening until it finally kills her. Unless—"
"Unless what?" I demand.
"Unless you give yourself up." Elder Marcus's smile widens. "Come with me willingly. Let the Silver Chain study your power. Let us find a way to eliminate moon-blessed magic permanently. Do that, and I'll give you the cure."
"Don't even think about it," Rowan growls.
But I am thinking about it. Grandmother is the only family I have left. The woman who raised me, who loved me, who protected me after my parents died.
Could I sacrifice myself to save her?
No! Luna screams in my mind. Sera, if you give yourself to them, they'll kill you and use your body for experiments. And Grandmother will die anyway. He's lying!
"I need proof you have the cure," I say carefully.
"I don't need to prove anything." Elder Marcus's eyes bore into mine. "You either trust me or you don't. You either love your grandmother enough to save her, or you're as selfish as—"
A scream cuts through his words.
One of the maids rushes into the ballroom, her face white with terror.
"Help!" she shrieks. "Someone help! There's a body in the garden!"
My heart stops. "What?"
"A dead girl!" The maid sobs. "She's wearing a cloak just like yours, Lady Sera! And from behind, she looks exactly like you!"
Cold dread washes over me. I look at Elder Marcus, whose smile has turned victorious.
"Oh dear," he says mockingly. "It seems the hunters aren't done for the night after all. Someone just killed a girl who looked like you. I wonder who their next target will be?"
Rowan's hand finds mine, squeezing tight.
"This was a distraction," Luna says urgently. "The poisoning, the confrontation—it was all to keep us busy while they killed someone else."
"But why kill a girl who looks like me?" I ask.
"Maybe they didn't mean to," Maya says quietly. Everyone turns to look at her. She points at the maid with a shaking hand. "Look at what she's holding."
The maid clutches something in her hand—a piece of torn fabric. Silver fabric with a moon embroidered on it.
The same emblem on my cloak.
"They thought they were killing you," Rowan says, his voice deadly quiet. "They killed an innocent girl by mistake."
"Not by mistake." Elder Marcus's smile is pure evil. "We killed her as a message. To show you what happens to people close to you. Your grandmother was the first target. That girl was the second. And we have a whole list of people you care about, Sera. One by one, they'll all die. Unless you surrender."
My vision blurs with tears and rage. An innocent girl is dead because she looked like me. Grandmother is poisoned because of me. How many more people will die?
"Sera, look at me." Rowan turns me to face him. "Don't listen to him. We'll find another way."
But I'm not looking at Rowan.
I'm looking past him, at the ballroom doors.
Where three more figures in silver masks have just entered.
And they're all holding crossbows aimed at the crowd.
"Nobody move," the center hunter announces. "Or we start shooting."