I woke up the next morning in a small room in Aravelle's cabin. She had let Rohan and me in without saying a word, like she already knew what had happened. I'm guessing she probably did.
When I stepped into the living room, I found her and Rohan talking. He had spent the night too.
"Rhea, did you sleep well?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Here you go." She handed me a slice of warm bread drizzled with honey. "Eat something."
"Thank you," I said. I was starving.
"Rohan and I were just talking about what happened yesterday."
"You know I didn't do it, right?" I asked. "I didn't kill that soldier."
"I know."
"Do you know who did?" Rohan asked her.
She nodded.
"Who?" I pressed, desperate for an answer to all this chaos.
"It's not who's doing it, but what's doing it," she said.
"It's not a person but something?" Rohan asked.
"Supernatural…but it has to use people to do its will."
"What is it?" I asked.
"A goddess," Aravelle said.
Rohan and I stared at her, confused.
"The moon goddess?" Rohan guessed.
Aravelle shook her head. "No, not the moon goddess."
"What goddess, then?"
"Do you know the myth of Solara and Lunara?" Aravelle asked, a faraway look in her eyes.
I knew the story, every werewolf did. It used to be my favorite bedtime story. I remembered my mom reciting it to Vira and me for the first time when we were children. I didn't remember much of it anymore, only that it was about a sibling rivalry. That was why I loved it.
"Solara and Lunara. Everybody knows the myth," Rohan said.
"What if I told you it's not a myth but a real story that happened a very long time ago?" Aravelle said.
"I don't remember much of it anymore," I admitted.
"Let me refresh your memory, child," she said. "A long time ago, in the first days, two sisters ruled the skies. Solara and Lunara."
"They were goddesses," Rohan said.
"Yes. Solara was the golden goddess of the sun, and Lunara, the goddess of the moon," Aravelle explained. "Solara was radiant and beloved. Her warmth fed the earth and her light guided the people, so her name was worshipped in every prayer."
"And Lunara?" I asked.
"But Lunara, the goddess of the moon, walked in the shadows. Her silver glow was quiet, her nights were cold, and no altar was ever built in her name."
"And she grew bitter, hating her sister Solara," I said, starting to remember.
"Yes. In her envy, Lunara stole Solara's worshippers beneath the cover of night. She twisted them with her power, making them into creatures of strength and loyalty yet bound to her will alone. They became the first werewolves, fierce hunters who bowed to the moon and turned their backs on the sun.
"This betrayal split the heavens. From that day, the sisters waged an endless war: Solara's light against Lunara's night."
"So if it's not a myth, that means the prophecy is true?" Rohan asked.
"What prophecy?" I asked.
"An old prophecy warns: When sun and moon embrace the sky, the sisters shall meet again. The world will bow to one, and burn for the other."
"And how do the sun and moon meet?" I asked.
"An eclipse."
"But that's never happened," Rohan said.
"But it will soon."
"When exactly?" I asked.
"The exact date is unknown, but Solara is attacking. It has to be soon."
"So she's the one behind all this?" I asked.
"Yes. The more followers a god has, the more powerful they are. A simple but effective technique, wipe out Lunara's children or enslave them to worship her. Either way, it weakens Lunara and gives Solara the advantage."
"So it's a sibling rivalry, and we're caught in between," Rohan said.
"Sadly, yes."
"But why didn't you—or even Lunara—warn us? We could have been preparing! Why tell us it was a myth?" he demanded, his voice rising. "We could have avoided all of this."
"If everyone knew the truth, what do you think would have happened? They certainly wouldn't have prepared," Aravelle said.
"You're right," I said quietly. "We wouldn't have prepared. We would have gone back to the 'better' sister, Solara."
"How do you know that?" Rohan asked.
"Because I understand how it is," I said. "The better sibling always gets everything."
Rohan studied me. I couldn't help but remember what he'd told me last night, that he only helped me because of Vira.
"Exactly. Everyone would have turned against the moon goddess," Aravelle said.
"But that wouldn't be wrong, since we were originally Solara's worshippers before Lunara stole us," Rohan argued.
I shot him a dirty look. "She only did that because Solara was collecting everybody for herself."
"And that is why Lunara changed her name to Eris, the moon goddess we worship today, so nobody would know what she did," Aravelle said.
"Shameful that she had to steal people to worship her rather than earn it," Rohan said.
"Maybe she never had the chance to show people how good she is," I snapped. "She was always in her sister's shadow. Nothing she ever did was good enough because Solara was always doing something better."
"Exactly, Rhea! You understand!" Aravelle grinned.
"Of course I do," I said.
"This is why she chose you," she said.
"What?" Rohan asked, one brow raised.
"Rhea is our hope," she told him.
He gaped at her. "Well, I guess we're all dying then."
I couldn't even be mad because he was right. How was I going to fight a goddess?
"You think she can't do it?" Aravelle asked.
"I'm her mentor, I know she can't do it."
"Well, you're wrong. Lunara wouldn't choose someone incapable of the situation."
"No offense, Aravelle, but Rohan is right. There's a reason I'm ranked omega," I said.
Aravelle shook her head. "You're not an omega, child."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not. You were meant to only appear as one."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"Like I said earlier, supernatural, but has to use people to do its will. Neither Lunara nor Solara can meet their objectives without using people."
"So…?"
"So they choose who to possess, whose body to take over. You're not an omega, Rhea. You were only supposed to look and act like one as a disguise. If you appeared powerful, you would have given yourself away and Solara would have killed you a long time ago."
"So she's not cursed?" Rohan asked.
"Wait, hold on a second," I said, trying to process what she said. "Whose body to take over? Are you saying—"
"Yes, Rhea," Aravelle said. "You're Lunara."