Della’s hands trembled the longer he held it. She stared at him in silence for a few seconds, ready to flinch back at any second, "What do you mean... Beatrice is in grave danger?"
Jaime released her arm and dragged his fingers anxiously through his wavy dark hair, "It’s the Claw fang Pack. I’ve just been told that one of them had snuck in here during the wedding preparations and had planted Moonfire in the Grand Hall,"
"Moonfire?" Della gasped.
Claw fang has been the enemy rival of the Iron ridge pack, and Della knew that they’ve always wanted to rip each other apart. The marriage between Beatrice and Leopold today was for both sides to form an alliance, so Claw Fang would be strengthened by the Eclipse Crown.
"Yes, that is why I need your help. We need to move it out of the Hall without getting noticed, and you know how Moonfire is... It’ll go off the moment a wolf touches it,"
Della looked up at Jaime, her eyes trembling, "You’re saying.. you want me to...,"
"You’re the only one who can save the wedding, Della. If that bomb goes off, every wolf sitting there would evaporate. We need you, Della,"
Della noted how he hadn’t snuck in a cruel comment about her. She felt torn and confused at everything, but then again, she was scared.
Moonfire is something Clawfang are very much capable of doing, and what better way and time to eliminate all threats that stand in their way? If that bomb goes off, Eclipse Crown and Iron ridge would fall.
"What if it goes off before I get it out?" Della whispered.
Jaime stepped closer immediately, "It won’t."
"But you just said—
"It reacts to wolves," He cut in quickly. "Not to you."
Della’s throat tightened. ’Not to you’. They always made her sound like she was something outside the laws of their world again.
"Where is it?" She asked softly.
"Beneath the Moon Altar Platform," Jaime answered, "One of the servants discovered traces of Moonfire dust near the altar preparations and reported it to us quietly before panic could spread."
Della’s stomach dropped.
The altar. Beatrice would have been standing there.
She glanced instinctively toward the direction of the hall where the distant sound of celebration still echoed through the estate.
They were all completely unaware.
"What if someone sees me?" she asked weakly.
"They won’t," Jaime said, "The ceremony is reaching the binding rites, and no one would be close to the altar, then. I would stand close and keep guard so no one notices you, then you can sneak out the back,"
Della shook her head slightly and stepped back, "No... no, I can’t do this."
"Della—" Jaime’s jaw tightened, and she saw his fingers twitch with subtle anger.
"I’m serious!" Her voice cracked softly as she took a step back, "What if something happens? What if I drop it? What if—"
"You won’t."
"How do you know?!"
"Because if you don’t do this," Jaime snapped suddenly, "then Beatrice dies."
Della stared at him, her breathing fast.
Jaime exhaled harshly and lowered his voice again, "I’m sorry," He muttered quickly. "I just..." He dragged a hand down his face, "You know what this alliance means for our pack,"
She did.
Everyone did.
Ironridge had been weakening for years. Failed harvests, border attacks, and even winter sickness. Things that everyone always referred back to her as the cause of the rot.
And worse? the Clawfang Pack had circled them like starving beasts through it all. This marriage was survival.
If tonight failed, war would come.
And this pack would get wiped out.
"She’s your sister," Jaime pressed quietly, "And whether this pack deserves it or not... Beatrice has always cared about you."
Della looked down immediately.
That wasn’t fair.
He knew exactly where to strike.
Beatrice has always been the only person in the family who smiled at her, spoke gently to her, and never called her Rotblood to her face. She couldn’t just let her...die.
"What if I can’t do it?" She whispered, her fingers curling around her dress, "What if...make things worse?"
"You won’t," A new, but familiar voice sliced smoothly into the corridor, and Della turned sharply.
Evangeline approached them quickly, her expression pale with alarm, "Jaime told me everything," She breathed.
Della immediately straightened, "Luna, I—"
"Oh, Della..." Evangeline rushed forward and took both her hands suddenly, gripping them tightly, "Thank the Moon you’re here."
Della froze in shock.
The woman’s eyes looked almost frantic as she continued, her voice trembling, "They’re saying if that Moonfire ignites inside the hall...The entire bloodline gathering will be wiped out."
Della swallowed hard.
"That includes Beatrice," Jaime added quietly.
"You know how fragile peace between the packs already is," She whispered desperately, her grip tightening, "If something happens tonight, Clawfang will tear Ironridge apart before the next moonrise."
"But...I’m scared," Della admitted softly, and immediately braced herself for a slap.
For a split second, something unreadable flickered through Evangeline’s eyes, then she reached up and cupped her face gently, "You think I’m not?" she whispered. "Beatrice is upstairs surrounded by hundreds of wolves while death sits hidden beneath her feet. Forget about the Moonfire for a second, Eclipse Crown is as far as we all know, the most powerful wolf Pack out there and we are all deathly scared of them. Your father did everything to make this marriage happen to secure our futures and our fates. Please, Della. Don’t let Beatrice and your father’s sacrifice go up in ashes. You need to be brave!"
Della’s chest constricted painfully.
"You’re the only one who can safely move it," Jaime said, "No wolf can touch Moonfire directly. It’ll detonate immediately if we come too close!"
"And if the guards from Eclipse Crown. discover it before it’s removed..." Evangeline’s voice broke carefully, "They could assume we planned it and your father and sister would be slaughtered immediately. You know how ruthless they can be. Our Pack could fall. This is the only choice!"
Della looked between them helplessly, then sighed, "I don’t know what to do."
"Yes, you do," Evangeline said warmly, like an actual mother for the first time, "You save your sister."
Della’s eyes stung.
"She asked about you earlier, you know," Evangeline continued gently, "She was worried you hadn’t returned yet."
That did it. Of course it did.
Della lowered her head sharply as fear and guilt twisted together inside her chest.
Beatrice was kind. Beatrice had always defended her. Beatrice would die if she refused.
Wouldn’t she?
"What... what exactly do I have to do?" Della whispered.
Jaime exhaled in relief, while Evangeline smiled instantly, squeezing her hands tighter, "Oh, sweet girl," She murmured, "I knew you wouldn’t abandon your family."
Evangeline released her face slowly, her eyes shimmering with pride.
"There’s a maintenance passage beneath the Moon Altar," Jaime explained quickly, "The Moonfire was hidden inside one of the ceremonial support chambers directly under the platform."
That was exactly under the altar, "That close?" She whispered, horrified.
Jaime nodded grimly, "If it detonates there...No one upstairs survives."
Howls and cheers came from the hall again, making Della’s heart ache even more. They all had no idea.
Evangeline then reached into the folds of her robes and pulled out a dark cloak, "Wear this." She said.
Della blinked as she stared at it. The cloak was heavy black fabric lined with strange silver threading along the inside.
"The Moonfire releases ash particles," Evangeline explained smoothly while draping it over Della’s shoulders herself, "This lining should lessen the exposure while you carry it."
The fear inside her worsened instantly, and she blurted, "But you said it wouldn’t react to me,"
"It won’t," Evangeline assured immediately, "Not the way it would with wolves."
Della noticed the wording Evangeline had used, but before she could think too deeply about it, Jaime pressed a small iron key into her trembling hand and said, "This unlocks the lower altar hatch, and once you retrieve the Moonfire, take the eastern passage like I said and drop it down the cliff,"
Della stared down at the key. This whole thing was extremely risky.
"Remember, this has to stay quiet, alright?" Evangeline reminded her urgently.
"I understand." Della nodded weakly.
Evangeline smiled softly then leaned down and pressed a kiss against Della’s forehead.
The gesture shocked her so deeply she froze. Never in a thousand years did Della ever think the woman who always despised her so could ever...
"I’m proud of you," Evangeline whispered.
But then, desperate situations make someone change. Evangeline was just relieved that someone could help, and a very pathetic part of Della wanted to believe that this moment was real.
Jaime opened the narrow servant door leading deeper beneath the estate, and Della swallowed once again as she saw the darkness that awaited.
"You need to hurry," He said quietly.
More cheers came from the Hall, and Della imagined Beatrice’s face. She was probably smiling right now beneath the Moon Altar while everyone admired her beauty.
Della tightened her grip on the cloak and descended into the shadows.
The lower corridors beneath the Grand Hall were cold and narrow, lit only by weak torchlight burning along damp stone walls.
The deeper she walked, the quieter the celebration above became.
It got to a point where only faint vibrations remained, and Della stopped. Her fingers trembled around the iron key, and she drew in a sharp breath.
This is for Beatrice, and Lian.
The thought repeated endlessly in her mind like prayer till she finally reached an enormous circular support pillar beneath the altar chamber.
Moon symbols had been carved into the stone generations ago, glowing faintly silver beneath the torchlight.
At the base of the pillar sat a small iron hatch. It was exactly where Jaime said it would be.
Della then knelt slowly, her pulse hammering like crazy as she inserted the key.
It unlocked immediately, and the clicking sound it made had her considering if she should run.
Run and pretend she never came here.
But then she imagined everyone that would go wrong once she did that.
Burning bodies.
Beatrice upstairs.
War consuming Iron ridge.
All because she was a coward and ran the one time the pack needed her.
Strength returned to her bones, and she pulled the compartment open. Cold silver light spilled from inside, and Della gasped softly as she saw it.
Nestled within the hidden chamber rested a black metal sphere threaded with glowing silver cracks.
Moonfire.
Della’s stomach twisted in fear. Carefully, she reached inside and placed her hands on either side of the metal, gently lifting it.
Suddenly, an iron jaw hidden behind the hatch clamped around her ankle so hard she wasn’t sure if it was the blinding pain or she actually heard her bone snap.
A scream tore violently from Della’s throat as the iron jaws clamped around her ankle hard enough to crush bone.
The Moonfire slipped from her hands, and she watched with a blurry, painful vision and leg as it hit the ground.
Silver flames erupted upward, and through the carved cracks of the altar like they were made of veins of lightning.
Screams followed the flames, and the music stopped midbeat.
"No...no no no!" Della tried to breathe through it but panic and pain were both crushing her.
Then,
BOOM!!!