Blue flames shot toward Lyra's face. She ducked, feeling the heat rush over her head. Her father yanked her arm, pulling her away from the fire.
"Run!" he shouted again, pushing her into the dark woods.
Lyra's feet moved before her brain could catch up. She raced through the trees, branches whipping her face. Behind her, angry yells and growls filled the night air. Was Narek chasing her? Or worse—was Elara?
A root caught her foot. Lyra fell down a steep hill, rolling and bouncing off rocks and fallen logs. Pain shot through her body as she finally crashed to a stop at the bottom.
Everything went black.
Then suddenly, Lyra was ten years old again, standing by the river's edge.
"Come on, Elara!" young Lyra called to her sister. "I found something cool!"
Eight-year-old Elara followed unwillingly, her silver-blonde hair shining in the summer sun. "We're not supposed to be this far from home," she whispered.
"Don't be such a baby," Lyra said, rolling her eyes. "Look what I found!"
She pointed to a small wooden boat caught in some reeds. It was beautifully made, with tiny sails and a little cabin.
"Where did it come from?" Elara asked, eyes wide with wonder.
"I don't know. Let's push it back into the water and watch it sail!"
The girls waded into the shallow water near the shore. Lyra reached for the boat, but it was just out of reach.
"I can get it," Elara said, stepping deeper into the river.
"Be careful," Lyra warned. "Dad says the current is strong in the middle."
Elara stretched her arm out, fingers almost touching the boat. "Almost got it..."
What happened next played out in slow motion, just as it always did in Lyra's dreams.
Elara's foot slipped on a wet rock. She stumbled forward, arms flapping. The current caught her quickly, pulling her toward the middle of the river.
"Lyra!" she screamed, fear in her voice.
Lyra grabbed for her sister's hand, their fingers brushing for just a moment before the water tore Elara away.
"Help!" Lyra screamed, running along the shore as the river carried her sister downstream. "Somebody help!"
But there was no one to hear her cries.
Elara's head bobbed up and down in the rushing water. Then suddenly, she disappeared beneath the surface.
Lyra dove into the river without thinking. The cold water shocked her system as the powerful current grabbed her too. She fought against it, trying to spot her sister in the swirling water.
There! A flash of silver-blonde hair!
Lyra swam harder than she ever had, reaching desperately for Elara. Their hands joined. Lyra pulled with all her might, pulling them both toward the shore.
They fell on the muddy bank, gasping for air.
"You saved me," Elara whispered, coughing up water.
But something was wrong. This wasn't how it happened. This wasn't real.
The sky darkened suddenly. Young Elara's eyes turned from blue to black, and her mouth twisted into a cruel smile.
"You didn't save me," she hissed. "You killed me."
Her small hands wrapped around Lyra's throat, squeezing tightly.
"You wanted me gone," Elara's voice thickened, becoming monstrous. "You pushed me in!"
"No!" Lyra tried to scream, but no sound came out. "It was an accident!"
The river water began rising around them, but Elara's grip only tightened.
"Murderer," she whispered. "Killer Luna."
Elara's face changed, melting like wax until it was Selene's face sneering down at her.
"The pack will never accept you," Selene growled. "Narek will never love you."
The water rose higher, hiding Lyra's mouth and nose. She couldn't breathe. She was sinking, just like Elara had.
Blue flames appeared on the top of the water, dancing closer and closer to her face.
"Time to pay for what you did," Elara's voice rang all around her.
Lyra jerked awake with a scream tearing from her throat. She sat bolt upright, gasping for air and scratching at her neck. Her body was drenched in cold sweat, her heart pounding against her ribs.
It took several moments for her to understand she was in her bedroom at the pack house. Moonlight streamed through the window, sending long shadows across the floor.
The nightmare had felt so real. She could still taste river water in her mouth and feel the burn of Elara's hands around her throat.
"It was just a dream," she whispered to herself. "Just a dream."
But was it? Parts of it had happened exactly as she remembered—Elara slipping into the river, Lyra jumping in after her. But in fact, Lyra had never reached her sister. The current had been too strong, pulling Elara away forever.
Or so she'd thought.
Elara was living. Somehow, she had survived the river. And now she had powers—blue fire that danced across her fingers. What else could she do?
A floorboard creaked near the door. Lyra's head snapped up, her senses instantly alert.
A shadow stood in her doorway—the shape of a person watching her.
"Who's there?" Lyra asked, trying to keep the fear from her voice.
The figure didn't move or talk.
"Narek?" she asked, though she knew it wasn't him. The shadow was too small to be the Alpha.
"Elara?" Her voice trembled slightly at the thought of her sister coming to finish what she'd started in the bush.
Still no answer.
Lyra slid out of bed, her muscles tense and ready for a fight. "Show yourself."
The shadow shifted, taking a step back into the hallway.
"Wait!" Lyra called, lunging toward the door.
But the figure turned and disappeared down the dark hallway. Lyra ran after it, bare feet silent on the wooden floor. At the end of the hall, she caught a glimpse of someone turning the corner—someone small with long dark hair.
Not Elara. Not Narek. Not even Selene.
It was a child.
Lyra followed, running down the stairs and through the empty great hall. The front door of the pack house stood open, cold night air rushing in.
Outside, the pack grounds were silent and still under the watchful eye of the moon. Lyra scanned the area, looking for any sign of the child.
There—a small figure darting between cabins at the edge of the field.
Lyra ran after it, ignoring the sharp stones cutting into her bare feet. She rounded the last cabin just in time to see the child disappear into the bush.
She paused at the tree line. After what had happened earlier with Elara's blue fire, was it safe to follow?
But something about the child pulled at her heart. Why would a child be watching her sleep? Why run away?
Taking a deep breath, Lyra dashed into the dark forest, following a narrow path that wound between ancient trees. After several minutes of running, she emerged in a small area.
In the middle stood a tiny cabin, old and weathered but clearly inhabited. Smoke rose from the chimney, and warm light spilled from the windows.
The child stood on the porch, watching her. Now Lyra could see it was a girl, no more than eight years old, with long dark hair and familiar green eyes.
Eyes like Lyra's own.
"Who are you?" Lyra asked, taking a careful step forward.
The girl didn't answer, but she didn't run either. She simply pointed behind Lyra.
Lyra turned to see her father stepping out from the woods, his face grim.
"I see you've met your sister," he said quietly.
"My sister?" Lyra's mind reeled. "But Elara—"
"Not Elara," her father interrupted. "This is Luna. Your twin sister."
The little girl—Luna—smiled at Lyra, but there was something off about her smile. Something not quite right.
"That's impossible," Lyra whispered. "She's just a child. I'm eighteen."
Her father's eyes filled with tears. "There's so much you don't know, Lyra. So much I need to tell you."
He reached out his hand to her, but before Lyra could take it, a howl split the night—Narek's call, demanding her return.
"We don't have much time," her father said quickly. "They'll find us soon."
"Who?" Lyra asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Elara," her father whispered. "She's not what you think. She's not who you think."
Luna, the child who couldn't possibly be Lyra's twin, stepped forward and took Lyra's hand in her small, cold one.
"Big sister," Luna said, her voice unnaturally deep for a kid. "We've been waiting for you to remember."
"Remember what?" Lyra asked, a chill running down her spine.
Luna's eyes suddenly glowed blue—the same blue as Elara's fire.
"That you killed us both."