đ Chapter 41 â The Fourth Bloodline
The battlefield went silent.
Not peaceful.
Silent in the way the world becomes silent before something enormous happens.
Ivy stared at Xander.
His eyes still carried that faint violet glow.
"Xander..." she whispered.
The boy looked frightened.
"Mommy, I don't know what's happening."
Ivy immediately rushed to him and pulled him into her arms.
"It's okay. I'm here."
Jayden crouched beside them.
"Whatever this is, we'll figure it out together."
Jake, however, wasn't looking at Xander.
He was staring at Malthor.
The ancient wolf had gone completely still.
For the first time since appearing, he looked genuinely unsettled.
Kael noticed.
"You know what he is."
Malthor's jaw tightened.
"The boy isn't supposed to exist."
Ivy's expression hardened.
"He's my son."
"That is exactly the problem."
Jayden stood.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Malthor ignored him.
"The First Seal was divided between three bloodlines. Your parents carried two of them. The third was lost."
Kael stepped forward.
"And the fourth?"
Malthor looked toward Xander.
"The fourth wasn't meant to be a bloodline at all."
Ivy held Xander closer.
"Then what is he?"
Malthor whispered:
"An heir."
---
The Hidden Prophecy
Jake suddenly remembered something.
"The book."
Ivy turned.
"What book?"
"The one from the hidden chamber."
Jake reached inside his coat and pulled out the ancient book they'd recovered earlier.
Several pages began turning by themselves.
Then they stopped.
A faded symbol appeared.
Three circles surrounding a fourth.
Jake's face went pale.
"This wasn't in the records."
Kael looked over his shoulder.
"What does it say?"
Jake read the ancient writing slowly.
"When the three Keepers reunite, the forgotten heir shall awaken."
Ivy's eyes widened.
"That's Xander."
Jake nodded.
"But there's more."
He continued reading.
"The heir shall possess no single element..."
A pause.
"...but the power to unite them all."
Jayden looked at Xander.
"So he's not supposed to control the elements."
Kael shook his head.
"He's supposed to connect them."
The ground trembled again.
Xander suddenly grabbed Ivy's hand.
"Mommy..."
She looked down.
"I can hear them."
"Hear who?"
"The trees."
Ivy's breath caught.
Xander pointed toward the forest.
"They're scared."
---
The Truth About Malthor
Malthor watched the family in silence.
Ivy turned toward him.
"You knew this would happen."
"I suspected."
"You brought us here because of Xander."
"No."
Malthor's eyes shifted toward the mountains.
"I brought you here because someone else is coming."
A cold wind swept across the battlefield.
Malthor's expression darkened.
"The thing beneath the Seal isn't awake because of you."
Jake stepped forward.
"Then why?"
"Because someone has been feeding it power."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Malthor looked toward Elias.
Everyone turned.
Elias stood near the ruined gates.
His face had gone pale.
"I..."
Malthor smiled.
"Tell them."
Elias shook his head.
"I didn't know what it would become."
Jake's voice turned cold.
"You betrayed our parents."
Elias looked at him.
"I thought I was saving the bloodline."
Ivy stepped forward.
"From what?"
Elias looked directly at Xander.
"From the prophecy."
Jayden moved protectively in front of his family.
Elias continued.
"Your parents discovered the prophecy twelve years ago. They knew that one day their children would reunite."
Jake clenched his fists.
"So they tried to protect us."
"Yes."
"And you helped separate us."
Elias lowered his head.
"I was ordered to."
"By whom?"
Elias didn't answer.
Malthor did.
"By the person who truly controls the shadows."
Ivy's stomach dropped.
"Who?"
Malthor looked toward the dark forest.
"Your parents' killer."
---
The Return
A sudden crack split the sky.
Lightning flashed.
The shadows surrounding the battlefield began moving backward.
Not attacking.
Retreating.
Every creature disappeared into the trees.
The warriors stared in confusion.
Jayden frowned.
"Why are they leaving?"
Malthor looked toward the horizon.
"Because their master has arrived."
A figure appeared at the edge of the forest.
Tall.
Motionless.
Wrapped in a dark cloak.
Ivy's breath caught.
She knew that silhouette.
The voice from her dreams.
The voice that had followed her for years.
"Ivora."
Her entire body went cold.
Jake stepped beside her.
"Stay behind me."
But Ivy shook her head.
"No."
She stared into the darkness.
"I've spent twelve years running from that voice."
Her eyes began glowing.
"I'm done running."
The figure stepped into the moonlight.
For one brief moment, Ivy saw his face.
And everything inside her stopped.
Because she recognized him.
Not from her memories.
Not from her dreams.
From the photograph.
He had been standing behind her parents.
He had been there the night they died.
Ivy whispered his name.
"Lucian."
Jake's face changed.
"Our father's Beta."
Lucian smiled.
"Hello, little Keeper."
Ivy's hands began glowing with all four elements.
"You were there."
"Yes."
"You knew my parents."
"I knew them better than anyone."
"And you betrayed them."
Lucian's smile faded.
"No, Ivora."
He looked toward Xander.
"I betrayed the world for them."
Xander suddenly cried out.
The ground beneath him glowed.
A massive symbol appeared beneath his feet.
Ivy grabbed him.
"What's happening?"
Malthor's eyes widened.
"The fourth seal."
Kael looked at him.
"What's happening to him?"
Malthor's voice dropped.
"The awakening has begun."
Xander's eyes flashed violet.
A wave of energy erupted from his body.
Every wolf in the territory dropped to one knee.
The sky turned purple.
And somewhere far beyond the mountains...
another ancient voice awakened.
"The heir has chosen his family."
Lucian looked toward the sky.
For the first time, his confidence disappeared.
"No..."
Ivy pulled Xander close.
"What does that mean?"
Malthor stared at her.
"It means the prophecy has changed."
Jake frowned.
"Changed how?"
Malthor looked at the four of them.
"Your parents believed the prophecy would end with the heir."
He paused.
"They were wrong."
The ground cracked beneath them.
"The heir isn't the ending."
Malthor looked toward Xander.
"He's the beginning."
TO BE CONTINUED... đ