“She rejected the blessing,” Lyra said calmly. “I walked in just in time to see her tear apart the ritual circle.”
My heart shattered.
“That’s a lie,” I whispered. “She stole our heir. I felt it. She used blood-keys—”
Kael’s eyes hardened.
“You expect me to believe that?” he snapped. “Do you have any idea how dangerous those relics are? Only the Council Elders can—”
“—access them,” Lyra interrupted gently. “Which is why I came running the moment I sensed the distortion. I thought you deserved to know the truth before the pack does.”
His jaw tightened.
“Elira,” he said coldly, “you lost control. And now you’re inventing accusations to hide your failure.”
Failure.
The word lodged in my chest like a poisoned blade.
“I didn’t fail,” I whispered. “Our baby was taken.”
“You rejected the Moon,” he said, each word deliberate. “There is no heir without blessing. That is law.”
I laughed weakly, hysterically. “You think I chose this? You think I would throw away my own child?”
He didn’t answer.
That silence was my sentence.