Chapter One: The Silver Blood
The first time Elara saw silver in her blood, she thought it was the moon playing tricks.
She was behind the apothecary hut, grinding bark into powder, when the tool slipped and cut her finger. It hurt, just a little. She looked down and wiped the blood on her sleeve — then stopped.
It wasn’t red. It was silver. Elara stared, her heart beating fast. The silver moved like water, glowing softly. It didn’t look like normal blood at all. “Elara!” Mistress Bren shouted from across the yard. “Three children are sick in the east quarter.
Hurry!” Elara closed her hand quickly. “I’m coming!” she called. No one could see this. Not yet. By night, the silver glow was gone. But Elara couldn’t stop thinking about it. She always felt different. Not in a bad way — just not like everyone else. Animals followed her. Sick people got better when she touched them. But in her small village, being different could be dangerous. So she kept quiet. Until the dreams started. That night, she woke up breathing hard. She had the same dream again — a strange forest with silver trees and a purple sky. A woman with pale eyes spoke her name: Elara. The Moon Court is calling you. Then fire. So much fire. The next morning, a man came to the village. He was tall and serious, with golden hair and a sword on his side. His cloak was dark and heavy. “Elara Thorne,” he said at the healer’s gate. “You have to come with me.” Elara looked at him, confused. “Why?” He held out a scroll. On it was a strange symbol — a half-moon wrapped in fire. “The Moon Court has found their lost heir,” he said.
