Page 70 of The Moonborn's Curse
The next...
"How?" he whispered to no one. "How did this happen?"
And then—
A flare of presence through the tribelink.
Astrid.
She came running down from the Longhouse, skirt flapping around her legs, boots pounding the dirt. Her face was pale, her mind wide open with panic and fury.
She pushed through the crowd without hesitation.
"Move!"
She dropped to her knees beside Garrik, one hand on Seren's pale forehead, the other already pressing fabric to the bleeding limb.
Her voice trembled, though her hands didn't.
"She needs the healer now. Go, Garrik."
Garrik nodded and lifted Seren in his arms, cradling her like something precious and shattered.
Astrid turned toward her son—
And her expression was not kind.
"What is happening to you, Hagan?" she said in a voice like ice.
Hagan said nothing. He couldn't.
His throat was tight with something hot and wrong.
His mother's gaze lingered a moment longer—full of disappointment—before she followed after Garrik.
And Hagan just stood there, surrounded by silence, the coppery scent of blood still thick in the air, his hands stained. The blood had seeped through his shirt to stain his chest.
Lia stepped up to Hagan's side, touching his arm. "It's not your fault. She should've given in," she whispered.
But Hagan shrugged her off.
He didn't feel victorious. He felt sick.
Veyr stepped forward, his stare like ice.
"There is no honour in what you did," he said quietly.
Hagan didn't answer.
Veyr's gaze followed the path Garrik had taken. Without another word, he turned and followed.
Chapter 29
Seren
The first few days after the injury were filled with stillness and silence — but not peace.
Seren had been confined to the Oracle's cottage, her arm in a sling and a warning in her chest:
