The werewolves carried Valtheris through a hidden pass in the mountains, where jagged rocks formed a natural gateway into Moon's Hollow—the sacred valley where no human or vampire had ever been permitted to walk.
Keth followed, their boots crunching on frost-rimed stone. The air grew colder with each step, their breath pluming white. Rhis walked beside them, her golden-marked throat glowing faintly in the twilight.
"You shouldn't be here," she muttered.
The golden-eyed woman materialized on Keth's other side, her steps leaving no prints in the snow. "And yet here we are."
Ahead, the alpha raised a tattooed arm. The procession halted at the edge of a vast frozen lake. Moonlight painted the ice blue-white, revealing shadowy shapes suspended beneath the surface—hundreds of armored figures frozen mid-battle, their faces contorted in silent screams.
Keth's scar throbbed. "What is this place?"
The alpha turned, his tattoos writhing like living things. "The first war." He pointed to a massive figure at the center of the frozen conflict—a warrior clad in black armor, his sword raised toward a woman with golden eyes.
The golden-eyed woman sighed. "Oh. That."
Valtheris stirred weakly on the stretcher. "Lies," he rasped.
The alpha bared his fangs. "Your ancestors rewrote history, bloodsucker. But ice remembers." He stomped twice.
The frozen lake groaned.
Then the ice directly beneath the armored warrior cracked—revealing not a frozen corpse, but a hollow cavity. Within it lay a single silver dagger, its blade carved with runes that matched Valtheris's spreading black veins exactly.
The alpha lifted the dagger. "The original sin."
Keth's vision swam. The scar on their chest burned white-hot as another memory surfaced—
_A younger version of the golden-eyed woman pressing the dagger into the armored warrior's hand. "Cut the thread," she urged. "Free us all."_
Valtheris made a choked noise. "No."
The alpha turned the dagger in the moonlight. "This is what's killing you. The blood vow your ancestor made—to keep her trapped forever." He pointed to the golden-eyed woman. "But she was never the prisoner."
The golden-eyed woman smiled sadly. "The Gate was never for me."
Keth's breath caught. "It was for you." They looked at Valtheris. "For your bloodline."
The alpha pressed the dagger into Keth's hand. The moment their fingers closed around the hilt, the frozen lake began to sing.
**Chapter 15 End.**
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The dagger's true purpose shatters everything Keth thought they knew.
Valtheris faces an impossible choice—die a king or live a traitor.
Rhis's golden mark begins spreading—and no one knows what happens when it reaches her heart.**Mark of Blood Chapter 15 Moon's Hollow Secret**
The werewolves carried Valtheris through a hidden pass in the mountains, where jagged rocks formed a natural gateway into Moon's Hollow—the sacred valley where no human or vampire had ever been permitted to walk.
Keth followed, their boots crunching on frost-rimed stone. The air grew colder with each step, their breath pluming white. Rhis walked beside them, her golden-marked throat glowing faintly in the twilight.
"You shouldn't be here," she muttered.
The golden-eyed woman materialized on Keth's other side, her steps leaving no prints in the snow. "And yet here we are."
Ahead, the alpha raised a tattooed arm. The procession halted at the edge of a vast frozen lake. Moonlight painted the ice blue-white, revealing shadowy shapes suspended beneath the surface—hundreds of armored figures frozen mid-battle, their faces contorted in silent screams.
Keth's scar throbbed. "What is this place?"
The alpha turned, his tattoos writhing like living things. "The first war." He pointed to a massive figure at the center of the frozen conflict—a warrior clad in black armor, his sword raised toward a woman with golden eyes.
The golden-eyed woman sighed. "Oh. That."
Valtheris stirred weakly on the stretcher. "Lies," he rasped.
The alpha bared his fangs. "Your ancestors rewrote history, bloodsucker. But ice remembers." He stomped twice.
The frozen lake groaned.
Then the ice directly beneath the armored warrior cracked—revealing not a frozen corpse, but a hollow cavity. Within it lay a single silver dagger, its blade carved with runes that matched Valtheris's spreading black veins exactly.
The alpha lifted the dagger. "The original sin."
Keth's vision swam. The scar on their chest burned white-hot as another memory surfaced—
_A younger version of the golden-eyed woman pressing the dagger into the armored warrior's hand. "Cut the thread," she urged. "Free us all."_
Valtheris made a choked noise. "No."
The alpha turned the dagger in the moonlight. "This is what's killing you. The blood vow your ancestor made—to keep her trapped forever." He pointed to the golden-eyed woman. "But she was never the prisoner."
The golden-eyed woman smiled sadly. "The Gate was never for me."
Keth's breath caught. "It was for you." They looked at Valtheris. "For your bloodline."
The alpha pressed the dagger into Keth's hand. The moment their fingers closed around the hilt, the frozen lake began to sing.