The sun clan didn't bleed; they burned. Or at least that was what the elders said.
But as I scrubbed the grease from the tiles of the kitchen floor that refused to budge , my hands told a different story. They were raw, and very much bleeding.
I watched the thin lines of red swirl into the cloudy water for a second… then disappear.
I felt nothing about it.
So maybe they were wrong.
Or maybe I was never a sun clan to begin with.
The brush scraped again. And again. The same spot, each
stroke following the same rhythm.
"Move it, stupid Void!".
A cook snapped , kicking my bucket as she hauled a tray of roasted chicken toward the Great hall. The dirty bucket water splashed over my skin, soaking my boots.
"The Alpha-prince doesn't want to see a dusty Omega when he comes down for the pre-ceremony tasting".
I didn't argue. I didn't even bother to look up.
Though it still stung. Just a little.
Arguments required energy I didn't even have, and Void was a name I'd answered to since I was seven . To them I wasn't just a weakling Omega; I was the daughter of a Gamma traitor. A girl whose wolf had never sparked a single golden flame or even shifted.
I was the help. The girl who polished the silver she'd never eat from and swept the floor she'd never dance on.
"Still at it, Viv?''
The voice was like a sudden burst of warmth.
I didn't need to look up to recognise his smell. The smell of expensive cedar and cologne. It was Damain.
He didn't belong in the kitchen. He was the Sun's favorite son, the Alpha-heir whose skin seemed to catch the light even in the darkest room. He leaned against the stone archway, his golden hair that made every girl in the citadel skip breaths.
The head cook dropped into a deep shaking bow.
"Alpha Damian! We didn't expect—"
"Leave us ", Damian said ,his voice quiet but final.
The kitchen cook cleared in seconds . I stayed on my knees ,my wet hands trembling against the wooden brush.
"You're still working", he whispered .
"The feast won't cook itself, Damain", I said, my voice dry from the ash. I sat back on my heels, wiping a dark stain on my forehead. ''And the elders don't like it when you're seen down here with the help".
Damian stepped into the heat of the kitchen, he sat in the soot beside me , not caring for his white tunic. He reached out, his thumb brushing a streak of dirt from my cheek. His touch was warm, too warm I almost pulled back.
"Tonight is the Blood Moon, my love'', he whispered, his eyes searching mine. "Today is the choosing''.
My heart did a slow, painful roll in my chest. '' I know''.
"Everyone expects me to claim Sofia", he said, his voice dropping to a low vibration. "Her lineage is pure. Her father is the high commander. It makes sense on paper".
He took my finger and interlaced it with his. For a second, the crushing weight of being an omega and outcast vanished and I felt like I could actually breathe.
But his hand felt …tighter than usual.
"But I don't want on papers'', Damain said, leaning closer until I could feel the heat radiating from his skin.
"Meet me at the Whispering Falls an hour before the ceremony. Away from the elders . Away from the chores.
I have something for you, something that will change everything''.
He squeezed my hand, flashed a sweet smile I had always loved before vanishing back into the light of the upper halls.
I spent the next hour in a daze, letting the cold water wash the kitchen grime off my skin. But before I could leave, Sofia found me.
She was in a chemist's apron, her hands stained with the juices of bitter herbs.
"Time for your medicine, Vivi", she said, her voice like honey poured over glass. She held out a small, pewter cup filled with a thick blue tonic.
I hesitated, I hated the tonic. Every time I drank it, my head felt like it was filled with wool, and a strange weight settled over my chest. "I feel fine today, Sofia. I don't think I need it".
Sofia's smile didn't reach her eyes. She grabbed my jaw, her fingers digging into the bone. "Don't be difficult. Your Void status is a sickness, remember? Without this, your blood becomes unstable. Do you want to have another episode in front of the Alpha?"
She forced the cups to my lips. I swallowed, the bitter taste coating my tongue.
"There", Sofia whispered, patting my cheek. "Now go play with your prince". Sha whispered as she turned walking away from the room.
The whispering Falls were hidden behind a veil of ancient willow trees. Usually, the rush of water filled the air so completely it drowned out everything else. But tonight, it was different. The sound seemed distant.
Damian was already there, standing by the edge of the pool.
But he wasn't alone.
Sofia stood beside him, her hand resting on his shoulders. She wasn't wearing her usual saintly smile. This time , she looked bored.
"Shes here'', Sofia said, her voice cutting through the mist.
I stopped, the cold moss on the ground dampening my boots. '' Damian?''. My voice came softer than I meant to be it to.
Damian turned. The warmth I had felt in the kitchen was gone.
What stood in front of me now.. Was something else.
Something cold.
"I said it will change everything, Vivian". Damian said. He pulled out a small, silver dagger from his belt ,the kind used for ritual sacrifices. "And it will".
I took a step back, my heart beginning to jump around my chest. "I…dont understand ", I said shakenly.
"The elders won't let me take the throne while your Father's 'Curse' still lingers in our borders", Damian said, stepping toward me. Sofia followed, her eyes gleaming with a sharp, predatory hunger. "They say as long as the traitors blood walk these halls, the sun will never be at its peak".
" What do you mean, Damian", I said , my eyes already watery. "You said my status didn't matter".
"It doesn't", Sofia chimed in, her voice mocking, like she was stating the obvious to a kid sho didn't want to listen. "What matters is the opinion, Vivi.". She continued. "An alpha doesn't reject a Void girl at a ceremony. That makes him look weak".
Damian stopped a foot away from me. His face didn't reek of anger. He looked at me with pity,which was even worse.
"I'm not going to kill you, Viv", he said, raising the dagger in his hand up. The silver blade caught the first crimson ray of the rising blood moon. "But you can't stay. And you can't just leave with your memories of what we were. It's too messy".
Before I could scream, he moved faster. His hand clamped on my mouth as I tried to fight my way out. I thrashed, my fingers clawing at his arms, but the golden boy was a wolf, and I… I was just a weak wolf".
The blade came into view, catching what little light remained.
My heart paused, waiting and bracing for the pain. For the kind of hurt that bleeds and ends quickly.
Instead he pressed the fiat of the silver blade against the mark on my collarbone—the blank space where a mate mark should have been.
His lips brushed against my ear, close enough that I felt the ghost of his breath sink into my skin.
"I, Damian of the Sun.." his voice was quiet.
"…renounce you".
"Now go, before the council realises you're still breathing".
Immediately I heard those words, a searing agony exploded in my chest. I felt a piece of myself, the part that's still hoped, the part that still remembered his laughter. I felt it shrivel and die.
"Now", Sofia whispered, leaning in close. "Run. Run into the Dead zone. If the guards find you here after the moon hits its peak , they won't be as merciful as Damian".
Damian released me, and I collapsed into the mud, struggling to breathe as if inhaling broken glass. He didn't glance back as he walked away with Sofia, showing no sign for whether I was still alive.
I managed to pull myself up, my vision fading in and out. The metallic taste of blood coated my throat, but there was no visible injury; it felt like it was coming from within.I reached out to brace myself against an ancient oak, but the moment my hand touched the bark, it disintegrated into ash.
I stared at my pain. A faint, violet glow was pulsing beneath my skin .
I stumbled toward the river, the border of the shadow lands. I reached out to brace myself against a tree, the moment my hand made contact with the bark, it disintegrated into ash.
Staring at my palm, I noticed a faint violet glow pulsing beneath my skin.
A deep, resonant vibration trembled through the ground beneath me.
"Run!!, my wolf whispered, her voice a dying ember. "The shadows….. They aren't empty".
I turned toward the dark tree line of the North, my breath hitching as a twig snapped.
A pair of silver eyes ignited in the darkness, ten feet away.
I tried to scream, but a gloved hand slammed over my mouth, smelling of old blood. A cold voice whispered directly into my ear, sending a chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold.
"Don't make a sound, little Sun girl", the voice murmured. "The king has been waiting a very long time for a piece of the Sun to fall".
The world tilted as a black stone was pressed against my temple—
And then, there was only the dark.