Chapter 3

The laceration on my left ribs was still seeping blood.

Yet, I was forcibly summoned to the Council of Elders' circular chamber.

Rowan's face was stern, and Sloane sat closely by his right side.

The Grand Elder cleared his throat and pushed a rolled-up parchment to the center of the heavy long table. "Mara, since the Court has now formed an unbreakable alliance with the East Coast, hand over your military command for unified deployment. The generals appointed by Sloane's family will take over all border dispatching."

I stared coldly at the parchment. The intense pain from my wound actually made my mind incredibly clear.

Resting both hands on the cold table, I looked at these calculating power-holders. A sense of sorrow permeated my heart, but I voiced no objection.

After all, I was too tired.

"Fine. I hope they can protect everyone well."

The expressions of several Elders shifted, seemingly feeling that my words were mocking their inability to protect everyone without me.

The Grand Elder snorted angrily. "Mara, we don't need your reminders. Do you think you are the only one who can protect everyone? Everything you have done—which of it didn't rely on the King's glory and the protection of the Court's barrier? That is the power Rowan bestowed upon you. Do not attempt to force the King's achievements onto yourself!"

I had no desire to argue.

Sloane chimed in breezily.

She picked up a carved crystal glass, her eyes full of condescending pity and disdain. "You don't need to be so emotional, Mara. We all know in our hearts that you are nothing but a wild wolf the Court kindly took in. Vulgar, combative, and uneducated. You are only able to stand in this sacred chamber thanks to Rowan's nostalgic charity. Since you are injured now, you should learn some manners and obediently yield your position to a noble bloodline that truly understands management, instead of barking here like a mad dog guarding its food."

"A wild wolf?"

I looked straight at Rowan, my voice trembling slightly. "Rowan, tell them, who am I? Tell them, am I really just a wild wolf acting as a parasite in the Court, living at the mercy of others?"

The chamber was dead silent.

Rowan avoided my gaze.

He reached out and covered Sloane's hand. His brows furrowed in annoyance, and his tone was ruthless. "Sloane is right, Mara. You really are too tired, and you don't know your place. Do not attempt to challenge the Court's authority with your insignificant past efforts. Your power, your status—I granted all of it. I am merely taking it back according to the rules."

His eyes turned arrogant. "Stop being unreasonable. You'd better recognize reality. Without the Court's protection, without my army backing you up, someone like you wouldn't survive the next full moon."

I stared at this man—the man I had been willing to die for, the man I had pushed onto the throne with my own flesh and blood—and suddenly felt this ten-year farce was utterly absurd.

I didn't waste another word. I calmly stood up straight, turned around, and strode out of this center of power that made me sick to my stomach.

—

I returned to the tower where I had lived for a full ten years.

A biting draft blew through the room, rustling the crude furnishings.

There was no luxurious extravagance of the Court here, only herbs piled in the corner.

I walked to the cold fireplace and retrieved a yellowed parchment scroll from a hidden compartment under the floor tiles.

The handwriting on it was somewhat blurred by the erosion of time. It was the vow Rowan had written stroke by stroke many years ago.

Back then, he had nothing. Under a sky full of stars, he pointed to the heavens and swore to share his life and all his glory with me.

Expressionlessly, I tossed it into the fire. I watched it rapidly curl and blacken in the orange flames, ultimately turning into a pathetic pile of ash.

Next, I lifted a stone slab under the bed and took out a silver magic contract.

It was the one-way protection contract I had established with this mountain range ten years ago, forcibly suppressing my "Moon Goddess" mark despite the backlash, all to save Rowan's life.

I picked up a carving dagger and, without a shred of hesitation, carved today's date into the edge of the contract stroke by stroke.

—The day the contract is severed.

Afterward, I set down the black iron token representing military command, along with the only remaining item—a bloodstained old copper button from the Moon Oath Cloak I had once protected with my life.

I sealed them all inside a black wooden box.

The Moon Goddess mark at my collarbone burned and flashed violently at this moment.

That ancient, vast magic belonging to the Moon Goddess's Chosen was roaring and reveling in my veins, screaming madly to break out of its cage.

Gripping the dagger, I aimed the blade at the palm of my left hand and viciously slashed a deep, long bloody gash.

Scalding blood welled up and dripped onto the silver contract.

As the blood seeped into the patterns, the totem representing the "Barrier" began to shatter inch by inch at a visible speed.

The sound of cracking echoed in the silent tower.

"Without your protection?"

I looked at my bleeding palm, feeling the immense magic rapidly withdrawing from this mountain range that didn't deserve it, returning to my body. A bloodthirsty, cold smile slowly curled on my lips.

"Then let's see, Rowan. Without me, who exactly is it that won't survive the next full moon."