Chapter Five
The Oath That Split the Moon
The horns sounded at sunset.Their call rolled through the valley in slow, deliberate waves, echoing from stone to stone until the sound seemed to settle into the bones of the mountain itself. It was not a call of alarm. It was older than that. Formal. Commanding. A declaration that those who believed they ruled were coming to remind the world of it.
From the battlements of the Ashfang stronghold, I watched the procession emerge from the forest path below. Torches burned with controlled flames, their light steady despite the rising wind. The elders walked at the front, cloaked in layered furs stitched with symbols of lineage and conquest. Silver torque collars rested against their throats like marks of authority rather than protection. Behind them came guards and attendants, fewer than I expected, but that was the point. They had come assuming obedience, not resistance.
Rowan stood beside me, silent and solid, his presence grounding in a way I was beginning to recognise without thinking about it. He did not touch me, yet I could feel him there like an anchor driven deep into the stone beneath my feet. Below us, Ashfang warriors lined the walls, their posture alert but disciplined. No weapons were drawn. No claws revealed. This was not a battle. Not yet.
They will demand you, Rowan said quietly, his voice pitched low enough that only I could hear. And they will call it balance.
I kept my gaze on the approaching figures. They always do.
The gates opened with a heavy groan of stone and iron. The sound echoed through the stronghold, carrying into halls carved from ancient rock. The elders entered as if they had never been denied entry anywhere in their lives. Their steps were measured. Their expressions calm. Confidence wrapped around them like armor forged from centuries of unchecked power.
As they passed beneath the archway, memory surged sharp and unwanted. Greyfen's stone hall. My wrists bound. Voices discussing my fate without once looking at my face. I forced the past down, refusing to let it dictate the present.
The council hall filled quickly. Ashfang members took their places along the walls and near the pillars, silent and watchful. The elders positioned themselves at the center, claiming the space without asking. Several of them I recognised immediately. Faces etched into memory by fear and humiliation. The same men who had once looked at me and seen nothing but a solution to their problems.
The eldest among them stepped forward. His hair was iron grey, braided down his back in a style meant to signify longevity and wisdom. His eyes were sharp, calculating, and utterly unrepentant.
We are here to restore order, he said, his voice carrying easily through the hall. The Covenant's return disrupts the accords that have kept our world intact.
I felt heat stir beneath my skin. The moonfire answered emotion as easily as breath.
You mean the accords that kept you comfortable, I said.
A ripple moved through the hall. Not outrage. Surprise. Rowan shifted slightly beside me, his presence firm but not restraining.
You stand in Ashfang territory, Rowan said calmly. Choose your words carefully.
The elder's gaze slid to me, hard and appraising. The girl must be surrendered. The Covenant cannot belong to one pack. It invites imbalance.
I stepped forward before Rowan could respond. The stone beneath my boots felt solid, steady, as if the mountain itself acknowledged my stance.
I am not a possession, I said. My voice did not shake.
You are a threat, another elder snapped, his patience thinning. Demons move because of you.
They moved long before me, I replied. You just chose not to look.
The air thickened, pressure building as moonfire stirred beneath my skin. It did not lash out. It waited. Rowan glanced at me, his eyes warning without commanding restraint.
The Covenant answered once before, the first elder said. It nearly destroyed us all. We will not allow history to repeat itself.
History repeats when lessons are buried, Rowan said, his voice cutting cleanly through the tension.
Silence fell.
I took another step forward, moving fully into the center of the hall. Every gaze locked onto me. Fear. Resentment. Calculation. For the first time in my life, I did not lower my eyes beneath it.
You fear what you cannot control, I said. So you bind it. Silence it. Hide it behind ceremonies and politics. You call that balance.
That power does not belong to you alone, an elder hissed.
You are right, I said evenly. It does not belong to you either.
Moonlight filtered through the high windows as the moon rose higher, its presence heavy and undeniable. The hum beneath my skin deepened, resonating with something vast and ancient. I felt it clearly now. Not rage. Not vengeance. Purpose.
Rowan turned to me, his expression conflicted yet resolute. If you take this path, he said quietly, they will never stop coming.
I met his gaze. Then I will stop running.
The words settled into me, locking something into place. I raised my hand.
Moonfire bloomed across my palm. White. Radiant. Controlled. It did not burn. It illuminated. The hall filled with silver light, shadows stretching and twisting until the elders' faces reflected their fear rather than authority.
I will not be surrendered, I said. I will not be chained. I will not be hidden to preserve your comfort.
Several elders recoiled. Some shielded their eyes. Others stared as if witnessing a prophecy they had tried to erase.
I swear this oath, I continued, my voice carrying without effort. I stand as Covenant not for any pack but for balance. Demons who cross will be judged. Wolves who consort with them will be exposed. I will not serve politics. I will serve the boundary.
The moonfire flared once, bright and absolute, then settled back into my skin.
The hall was utterly silent.
Rowan went to one knee.
The sound echoed through the chamber like a crack of thunder.
One by one, Ashfang followed. Warriors. Elders. Sentinels. They knelt not in submission but recognition.
The visiting elders did not kneel. They backed away slowly, authority draining from their expressions.
This changes everything, one whispered.
Yes, I said. It does.
They left before night fully claimed the sky.
Later, as quiet settled uneasily over the stronghold, Rowan found me at the battlements. The moon hung high, serene and watchful.
You split the world tonight, he said.
I chose myself.
He studied me for a long moment. That may be the same thing.
Below us, the forest shifted. Somewhere beyond the wards, demons stirred. Alliances would fracture. Wars would follow.
But I was no longer alone.
I was no longer hidden.
I was Covenant.
And the moon had not chosen lightly.