Adrian's POV
"What happened to her?"
The words came out harsher than I intended.
The moment I entered Elisa's office, my eyes locked onto Eira.
She lay motionless on the bed.
Too still.
Too quiet.
A knot formed in my chest.
I hated it.
Elisa rubbed her temples, exhaustion written all over her face.
"I've tried everything. I even took her to a doctor. Her pulse is normal. Her heartbeat is normal. There's no injury, no poison. Physically, she should be awake."
My jaw clenched.
"Then why isn't she waking up?"
"I don't know."
The answer did nothing to calm me.
If anything, it made the feeling in my chest worse.
I ran a hand through my hair.
"When I found her, she was unconscious."
Elisa looked up.
"Where?"
"In an ancient hidden chamber deep inside Silverpine."
A slight frown crossed her face.
Without a word, I pulled out my phone and showed her the pictures I'd taken before bringing Eira here.
The moment she saw them, her entire expression changed.
Confusion.
Shock.
Then pure disbelief.
She grabbed the phone from my hand.
"No."
My eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"That can't be possible."
I stepped closer.
"What are you talking about?"
Elisa zoomed in on one of the photographs.
A portrait.
A woman.
Beautiful.
Regal.
Ancient.
The kind of beauty that seemed untouched by time itself.
Her face had been frozen on that wall for centuries.
Yet somehow it felt alive.
"Do you know who this is?" Elisa asked quietly.
I glanced at the portrait.
"No."
Her eyes lifted to mine.
"That's Princess Lunaria ."
The name meant absolutely nothing to me.
"Who?"
For a moment, Elisa simply stared at me.
Then she whispered,
"The Princess."
Silence filled the room.
"I've never heard of her."
"I'm not surprised."
Her voice had gone strangely distant.
"Very few have."
A chill crept down my spine.
"What does that mean?"
Elisa looked back at the portrait.
"Among werewolves, Lunaria isn't just a legend."
"She's a secret."
My eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"The story of Princess Lunaria and Astraevor Palace is known only to a handful of Alphas and Elders."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because the entire history was buried."
The room suddenly felt colder.
"The records were destroyed."
"Her name was erased."
"And Astraevor Palace vanished."
I stared at the image.
"Vanished?"
Elisa nodded.
"The stories say it disappeared thousands of years ago."
"It wasn't destroyed."
"It simply ceased to exist."
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
"No one found it?"
"No one could."
Her voice dropped lower.
"The legends say Astraevor Palace was hidden from the world itself."
"A place no one was meant to find."
My gaze slowly shifted toward Eira.
Yet somehow...
She had.
The thought made my stomach twist.
Then my eyes landed on another photograph.
The symbol.
The strange mark carved into the walls.
The same symbol that had appeared throughout the palace.
"What about this?"
The moment Elisa saw it, all color drained from her face.
Her hand tightened around my phone.
"The Celestial Mark."
The name echoed through the room.
"What is it?"
Her eyes remained fixed on the image.
"A symbol tied to the oldest werewolf legends."
"A symbol that should have disappeared along with Astraevor Palace."
A silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Wrong.
Then Elisa looked at me.
"Why did you bring her here?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"Why did you think something was wrong?"
My gaze moved back to Eira.
"When I found her, I checked if she was alive."
Elisa waited.
"And?"
My jaw tightened.
For some reason, saying it out loud felt unreal.
"I opened her eyes."
The room fell silent.
"They were glowing red."
Elisa froze.
"What?"
I stepped forward and gently lifted Eira's eyelid.
The faint crimson glow shimmered beneath it.
Just as it had before.
Elisa's breath caught.
"No..."
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
"What is it?"
She slowly let Eira's eyelid close.
Then she took a step back.
As though seeing something she wished she hadn't.
"This shouldn't be happening."
"What shouldn't be happening?"
Elisa looked at me.
For the first time since I'd known her...
She looked genuinely afraid.
"I don't know."
The answer hit harder than it should have.
Because Elisa always knew.
And if she didn't...
Then whatever this was had gone far beyond normal.
"Can you wake her up?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"No."
My expression darkened.
"What do you mean no?"
"A Werewolf Prem can."
I frowned.
"What? Why? She's human."
"That's exactly why I'm worried."
Elisa's gaze returned to Eira.
"The condition she's showing shouldn't be possible in a human."
A chill swept through the room.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I've seen symptoms similar to this before."
My eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
"In old records."
She swallowed.
"Records connected to werewolf curses."
The room fell silent.
My gaze snapped back to Eira.
Impossible.
She was human.
Human.
So why did none of this feel impossible anymore?
Elisa looked at the pictures again.
At Princess Lunaria.
At the Celestial Mark.
At Astraevor Palace.
Then at Eira.
None of us spoke.
Because there was only one question left.
Why?
Why Eira?
Out of everyone in the world...
Why her?
Astraevor Palace wasn't a place people discovered.
It wasn't a place hidden behind a door waiting to be opened.
According to every legend, it was lost forever.
Buried beyond reach.
Beyond memory.
Beyond time.
Yet Eira had walked into it.
Seen its secrets.
Touched its walls.
And now she lay here with glowing crimson eyes.
As if the palace had left something behind.
Something no one understood.
A cold feeling settled deep inside me.
The kind that warned a predator to run.
The kind that whispered that some truths were better left buried.
But I couldn't walk away.
Not now.
Not when it involved her.
My eyes settled on Eira's face.
Soft.
Peaceful.
Unaware of the storm gathering around her.
"Eira..." I whispered.
The name felt strangely heavy.
As though it carried answers I couldn't yet see.
Who are you?
Who was Princess Lunaria?
Why did Astraevor Palace reveal itself to you?
And why do I have the feeling...
That this is only the beginning?