The Midnight Key

The fire had burned low, its glow barely illuminating the tense silence in the room.

Rene hadn't moved.

She held Rena tightly, feeling the child's slow, steady breaths against her. The whisper still echoed in her mind.

"She is awakening."

What did it mean?

Nyra was still near the window, grip tight around her blade. Adrian and Adriel sat in their usual cold stillness, their silver eyes reflecting the last flickers of firelight.

Lucien, for once, was not smiling.

Instead, he was watching Rena.

Not with curiosity.

Not with amusement.

But with something close to understanding.

Rene exhaled. "You know something."

Lucien's golden gaze flicked to her. "I suspect something."

Nyra turned. "Then say it."

Lucien stretched, as if debating how much to reveal. Then—

"She wasn't supposed to exist."

Rene stiffened. "I've heard that before."

Lucien nodded. "Because it's true." He motioned toward the pendant around Rene's neck. "That thing? It reacts to her. Because it recognizes something inside her."

Adriel's voice was quiet. "The hunter called her a key."

Lucien smirked. "Yes. But a key to what?"

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

Rene looked down at Rena. The baby was still. Peaceful. But something in her silver eyes seemed… distant.

As if she knew the answer but couldn't speak it.

Rene's voice was quiet. "Who would know the truth?"

Lucien tilted his head. "You already know the answer."

A name flickered in her mind.

Selene.

The woman who had appeared out of nowhere. Who had known more than she had let on. Who had left before she could give any real answers.

Adrian exhaled, his voice unreadable. "We need to find her."

Nyra nodded. "Before the next hunter comes."

Lucien sighed. "Good luck with that. She's not exactly the easiest person to track."

Rene's grip tightened around Rena. "Then we'd better start looking."

Because the next time they came…

She wasn't sure if they'd leave empty-handed.

To Be Continued…

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