Chapter 79: The Life that Ended Beneath The Red Moon

[The Land Between Mortal and Immortal — Continuation]

Kael stood frozen; the words Shamash had spoken seemed to remain suspended within the strange air of the realm.

My twin.

The revelation alone had been enough to unsettle him, but what Shamash said next struck somewhere deeper.

“I would ask the Queen of Shadows to step away from the Lord of Darkness as his mate.”

Kael’s fingers slowly curled into fists; his entire body had begun to tremble, but he refused to let Shamash see fear, and he drew in a slow breath.

“I…”

His voice faltered.

For a moment, Kael looked toward the endless horizon where light and darkness existed side by side without ever touching.

Then he looked back at Shamash; his fear remained, but something stronger rose above it: defiance.

“I never knew the gods interfered in the relationships of mortals.” Shamash’s brows lifted slightly. Kael continued. “Or have you simply forgotten the boundary between divine will and another mortal’s choice?”

For several heartbeats, Shamash said nothing, then a faint smile appeared upon his face.

“Lytharion is my twin brother.”

“That does not give you the right to interfere in our bond.” Kael cut him off, and he stepped forward. The sand shifted beneath his boots as his amber eyes hardened.

“I don’t care whether you are his brother, his creator, or the oldest god beneath the heavens.” His voice grew stronger. “You have no authority over what exists between us.”

Shamash’s smile slowly disappeared. Kael stopped only a few paces away as his jaw tightened.

“You said yourself that we were born from the same beginning, so you should understand better than anyone that light cannot command shadow.” He placed a hand against his own chest. “And neither can a god command another person’s heart.”

Shamash watched him silently. Kael’s voice softened, but the conviction within it did not. “My relationship with Lytharion may not have begun beautifully.”

A painful memory crossed his mind.

The fear, the forced bond, the uncertainty, and the days when he had believed Lytharion’s presence meant nothing but danger.

Kael swallowed.

“I may have once been forced to become his mate.” His eyes remained fixed upon Shamash. “But that is not what we are anymore.”

The wind moved around them. Kael took another step as his voice became quiet.

“What exists between us now was not forced. It was chosen.”

Shamash’s eyes narrowed. Kael continued as his hands slowly dropped to his side. “I chose him and he chose me. I belong to Lytharion.”

His eyes burned with determination.

“And Lytharion belongs to me. So don’t stand before me speaking of separation as though our bond were some thread you can simply cut because you dislike where fate has placed us.”

The silence that followed was enormous.

Shamash’s expression had completely changed; there was no amusement left, no teasing smile and no trace of the gentle deity who had entered the palace claiming that he only wished to speak.

He simply stared at Kael, then, quietly, he said,

“You are the same.”

Kael frowned.

“What?”

Shamash’s gaze seemed to travel through him, beyond his face, beyond his body, and beyond the Emperor’s crown that was no longer upon his head. As though he were looking at something buried beneath Kael’s soul.

“You are still the same.” His voice carried a strange weight. “The same fire, the same stubbornness, and the same way you look at him when you believe the entire world stands against you.”

Kael’s brows drew together.

“Do not speak as though you know me; this is the first time we have met.” His expression hardened as he turned slightly. “And I sincerely hope it will be the last. I have no reason to remain here listening to—”

“Queen of Shadows.”

Shamash interrupted him. Kael stopped; the Sun God’s voice was different now. There was no amusement in it and no warmth.

Something else had taken its place, something Kael could not understand.

Slowly, Kael turned around.

Shamash was staring directly at him; his golden eyes no longer looked like sunlight. They looked like fire beneath ancient ruins.

“Do you truly believe this is the first time we have met?”

Kael’s heart stumbled.

“What are you talking about?”

Shamash took a step forward. “You think this is the first time I have looked into your eyes?”

Kael said nothing.

“You think the first time I called you Queen of Shadows was today? You think I entered your dream merely to frighten you?”

Kael’s breathing became shallow. “You were the one who forced me into that dream?”

Shamash’s voice lowered.

“Yes, I entered that dream because I wanted you to remember.”

Kael’s face paled as he recalled the black dessert; his voice echoed through the strange realm and the red moon and the blood upon Lytharion’s robes.

Kael’s heart began pounding. Shamash’s eyes never left him. “The woman in Lytharion’s arms.”

Kael stopped breathing. Shamash continued. “You saw it because it happened; it was not a mere dream, I trapped you in.”

Kael’s lips parted. “What do you…”

“It was not a prophecy.” Shamash’s voice was almost a whisper now. “It was not a vision of what might come…It was a memory.”

Kael staggered backward as the world seemed to tilt beneath his feet.

“A memory…”

His voice barely existed.

Shamash nodded.

“Your memory.”

. . .

. . .

. . .

Kael’s fingers began trembling. “How is that…I do not understand anything. That isn’t possible.”

Shamash’s expression became grim. “You asked why Lytharion was crying. You asked why he called that woman beloved.”

The air seemed to disappear from Kael’s lungs.

“You asked why he looked at you and said…”

Shamash paused, then spoke the words softly.

“You’re alive.”

Kael’s heart thundered, the exact words from the dream, the same voice, the same grief and then his hand instinctively went to his chest.

Shamash watched him.

“That woman was not another woman.”

Kael stared at him; his lips trembled.

“Then who…”

Shamash answered.

“You.”

And just like that everything stopped—the wind, the shifting sand, even the strange boundary between light and darkness seemed to become utterly still.

Kael stared at him. Shamash’s voice remained steady as his eyes darkened.

“The woman you saw in Lytharion’s arms…was you.”

Kael’s pupils widened, “How’s that possible?”

“That was your previous life.” The words struck like thunder. “Where you died in his arms beneath that red moon.”

Kael could no longer move, and his breath caught painfully.

“And Lytharion…” Shamash paused. “…was the one who remained behind.”

Fragments began crashing through Kael’s mind, not memories, not yet. Only sensations, cold, and blood.

A hand gripping his, a voice breaking, and a terrible grief.

Beloved… Please wake up.

Kael pressed both hands against his temples.

“You were reborn.”

Kael looked at him through trembling eyes.

“And somehow, after a thousand years…” Shamash’s gaze became almost sorrowful. “…your soul found him again.”

Kael’s mouth opened; no words came.

The truth was too enormous, too terrible, and too intimate. The woman beneath the red moon had been him, the tears on Lytharion’s face had been shed for him, and the desperate voice calling someone back to life—had been calling Kael.

Shamash stepped closer; the strange light surrounding the desert seemed to dim around him, leaving only the golden radiance of his eyes.

“But that is not why I brought you here. I came to warn you.”

Kael swallowed as Shamash’s gaze dropped briefly toward Kael’s abdomen before returning to his face.

“About the child, the one you will bear in the future.”

The words fell heavily between them. Kael’s expression hardened.

“The moment you and Lytharion conceive that child, the ancient seal protecting the Wolf Clan will begin to break.”

Kael’s blood ran cold.

“The covenant of Vaethron.”

Shamash turned toward the distant horizon.

“For thousands of years, the Wolf Clan has survived beneath the protection of the Wolf God. Their bloodline, their temples, their sacred lands—all of it has been bound to an ancient divine covenant.”

He looked back at Kael.

“That covenant contains one condition: the blood of Shadow must never be joined with the soul of the Queen of Shadows.”

Kael’s heart thundered.

Shamash continued as his voice became darker.

“If you bear Lytharion’s child, the covenant will recognize the child as the heir of both bloodlines and the moment that child takes its first breath… Vaethron’s protection over the Wolf Clan will begin to die, and I have already seen the glimpse.”

Kael stared at him.

“The sacred wolves will lose the blessing of their god.” Shamash’s golden eyes burned.

“The temples will fall silent, the divine barriers surrounding their lands will disappear, and every Wolf Clan born beneath that broken covenant will carry the mark of the child’s blood.”

Kael’s face paled.

“What mark?”

Shamash answered without hesitation.

“A black crescent.”

Kael’s breathing stopped.

“Every child born into the Wolf Clan after the heir’s birth will carry it and they will slowly lose the divine power inherited from Vaethron.”

“You’re saying my child would curse an entire bloodline?”

“No.” Shamash’s expression hardened. “I am saying the gods believe your child will.”

Kael caught the distinction immediately.

“Believe?”

Shamash went silent. Kael’s amber eyes sharpened. “You said believe; you don’t know.”

Shamash’s expression became unreadable.

“I have seen the future.”

“A possibility.”

“A future.”

“You cannot call a vision a certainty.”

For a moment, neither moved, then Shamash spoke again.

“The child cannot be reached while it remains within you. Lytharion’s darkness will surround you. Vaethron’s protection has already begun shielding you.”

His expression darkened.

“So the gods will first remove the mother.”

Kael’s heart slammed against his ribs. “You intend to kill me.”

Shamash did not deny it.

“If you remain with Lytharion. If you conceive the child, then yes. We would prevent the prophecy before it becomes irreversible.”

“And if I refuse?”

Shamash’s expression hardened.

“Then the heavens will send more than one god.”

Kael’s breath caught; the wind suddenly swept violently across the desert. Kael stood against it, his robes whipping around him.

Shamash continued.

“You will be protected by Lytharion, but he cannot fight every god forever.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “You expect me to abandon him because you threaten me?”

“I am giving you a chance to survive.”

Silence, Kael stood frozen while Shamash’s eyes burned with a threat and prophecy which could be false.