bChapter /bb106 /b

Eine’s Point of View:

The market in the vige is never loud. It hums with quiet life–baskets thudding softly on worn tables, murmurs exchanged over bunches of bherbs/b, bold /bwolves haggling with kind smiles and crooked hands. There’s a peace in this small river settlement that I’ve never questioned, though I often bwondered /bwhy it feels bothforting and iplete.

I was with Mara, gathering rosemary and dried mint to help Elias soothe his bad knees, when it happeried.

A traveler.

He arrived just before the midday sun, his boots covered in dust and his shoulders slumped from long roads. His cloak had been torn and hastily sewn, and a faded scar ran from jaw to corbone–an old wound from a battle he didn’t speak of. The vige, cautious but kind, offered him broth and bater /bwithout hesitation. In return, he brought stories.

I wasn’t paying close attention at first. I was helping Mara sort the herbs, my mind half–lost in the odd way my fingers moved on their own–bbraiding/bb” /bstems and bunching leaves like they’d done it all before.

Until I heard his voice shift.

“They say the Council has fallen.”

The words drew a quiet from those nearby.

He leaned in, his voice lower, conspiratorial. “A new King reigns now. A Lycan.”

That word. It brushed against something buried deep inside me.

“Thest of his kind. A monster, they say. Golden–eyed. His name is Francesco Totti Lycaon, thest Lycaon family.”

My hand froze mid–motion.

And my heart… It stuttered.

I stared at the dried mint in my palm, but it wasn’t what I saw. Not really.

I saw shes.

Golden light.

Eyes. Wolves. A balcony under moonlight.

A voice calling out–but the words were muffled. Garbled. As if underwater.

Mara noticed my stillness and touched my arm. “Edith?” she asked, her voice warm with concern.

The name she gave me when I woke with no memory. The name I’d answered to for nearly a year.

The traveler’s story continued.

“They say his mate vanished. Some say she’s dead. Others think she was taken. But I tell you…” he nced around, lowering his voice bagain/bb, /bb“/bbthey /bbsay /bbhe /bstill searches for her. Hasn’t smiled since. Some say he’s mad with grief.”

Mate.

Luna…

Chapter b106 /b

Words that bstirred /bsomething deep within me… and yet never rose to the surface.

I felt bpressure /bin my headb. /bbA /bcold tightness behind my eyes. Like I should remember. Like I was reaching toward something bI /bonce bknew/b.

But the harder I tried, the worse the pain grew.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

It was like pulling on a thread that snapped and vanished.

Mara helped me to a bench. I couldn’t exin what I was feeling. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t longing. It was emptiness… paired bwith /bba /bbstrange grief /bbthat /bmade no sense.

That name–Francesco–felt carved into my bones. And yet, when I tried to follow it, darkness met me.

Later that night, I sat by the river alone.

I watched the water curl around the stones and ripple beneath the wind.

I whispered the name to myself.

“Francesco.”

It tasted familiar.

But nothing came. No images. No memories. No answers.

Only pain….

Why? Why hearing the name put the pain in me?

I touched my chest as if that might quiet the ache there. But it never left.

Whoever he was, this Lycan King…

He mattered to me?

I knew that much.

But I didn’t know why.

Or how.

And I feared I never would.

Elias and I were going over the list Mara handed us–herbal roots, dried blossoms, and the peculiar moss bshe /bswears helps her sleep when I heard ba /b

familiar voice.

“Hi, Edith.”

I looked up and smiled. “Hi, Damon.”

Damon, the vige’s most energetic and often clumsy young courier, came bounding toward us. He always had a btask /bbin /bhand, ba /bbbag /bbslung /bbover /bbhis /bshoulder, and a sheepish grin that made it hard to stay annoyed with him for long.

He turned to Elias. “Elias, did you get the things I asked youb?/b”

17:17 Sun, 20 Jul bJ /b

Elias nodded and reached into therger bag strapped behind him, pulling it forward. “Here… everything you asked for

Damon sighed and made a tck sound with his tongue. “I don’t know which one is which, Elias. Why can’t you just join us and take it to the King?i” /i

I froze.

The King?

I swallowed and forced myself to speak casually. “Um… I heard the King?”

b42/bb% /b

b201 /b

Damon nodded without hesitation. “Yes. Lately his Beta has been requesting more deliveries–saying it’s for their magician, or something, I don’t know exactly. But now I have to deliver this personally because I messed up thest order. That’s why I asked Elias.”

Elias frowned, waving a hand. “I’m too old to travel, Damon. You know that. Why don’t you take a moment and learn what each herb looks like? it’s been months and you still can’t tellfrey from mugwort.”

Damon groaned in defeat. “You know I’m stupid.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Well… maybe I could help,” I offered.

Both of them blinked at me, stunned.

“You sure, Edith?” Elias asked quickly. “It’s a two–day itrip /ito the King’s territory.”

I nodded, already understanding the value. Elias and Mara had done so much for me. I couldn’t exin why I felt drawn to help this time–but the idea of going didn’t frighten me.

Besides, I knew the herbs better than most. Damon could carry the load, and I could make isure /inothing was mibeled.

Elias still looked unsure, but islowly /inodded. “You’re sharp with ntsi, /igirl. Might just keep him from getting into trouble again.”

Damon grinned, triumphant. “Finally! Maybe they’ll stop yelling at me now.”

We quickly made a n–I’d leave at dawn with other traders who were scheduled to travel toward the Lycan King’s territory. Damon and I would ride with them for safety and isplit /ioff near the castle gates.

I told myself I was doing it to help Elias.

iTo /irepay kindness.

But something stirred in me that I couldn’t name.

I didn’t iknow /ithat the path I chose would bring me face to face with a destiny couldn’t remember.