Bound by the Moon

Chapter 13

The door to the chamber groaned open, the cold air of the Bloodmoon Pack's fortress seeping into Astrid's bones. She hesitated at the threshold, her breath catching as the towering shelves of books and ancient tomes greeted her, an overwhelming sea of knowledge. The chamber was vast, dimly lit by candles set in sconces on the walls, their flickering light casting elongated shadows. The weight of the moment settled on her shoulders like a leaden cloak.

Astrid had expected her first trial to be a test of strength, a fight she could survive with sheer willpower. But this was different. The oppressive quiet and the musty scent of parchment only added to the foreboding atmosphere, and her heart pounded in her chest as she stepped forward, her eyes darting between the shelves and the dark corners of the room.

The iron door clanged shut behind her, the echo reverberating off the stone walls. She flinched but forced herself to keep moving toward the solitary table in the center of the room. A stack of scrolls and a quill rested on it, ominously waiting. Her eyes flicked to the small candles along the walls. She had less than an hour, the overseer had said. The flickering flames were the only measure of time she had.

"Knowledge is power, but it can also be a burden."

The overseer's words rattled in her mind as she sat down in front of the scrolls, trying to calm the storm of anxiety brewing inside her. What kind of intellectual challenge could this be? She had always relied on her instincts, her physical strength, but now, her mind was being tested in a way she wasn't prepared for. A test of intellect in a room of books and scrolls that stretched into endless shadows.

Her hand hovered over the first scroll before she unfurled it with a trembling breath.

"To those who seek entry, know this: The answer lies within, but only when the mind sees what the heart does not. The more you think, the less you know."

Astrid frowned. A riddle. Her pulse quickened, and she felt a sharp pang of panic rise in her chest. The candles burned slowly, but she had no sense of time in this windowless room. The silence was deafening, and the stakes could not have been higher—her life depended on solving this.

"The more you think, the less you know..."

Her mind raced, trying to find meaning in the cryptic words. She repeated the phrase, over and over, her eyes tracing the letters as if staring at them long enough would unlock the answer.

Frustration mounted quickly. This wasn't like any of the simple riddles she had encountered growing up—games to test her wits with the other wolves in Silverclaw. This was something else. Her life hung in the balance, and the Bloodmoon Pack didn't seem to believe in making things easy.

The more she thought about it, the less clear the meaning became. Was that the point? Her brow furrowed deeper, her hands gripping the edge of the table as she tried to focus. Her breathing became ragged, and she shook her head.

"The more you think, the less you know... What does that mean?"

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and panic clawed at her mind. There was no way out but to solve this riddle, and every second wasted brought her closer to failure—closer to death.

With a growl of frustration, she shoved the scroll away from her and stood up, pacing in the small space between the table and the endless shelves. She could feel the sweat prickling at the back of her neck, her hands trembling slightly as they balled into fists.

"Dammit," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper in the oppressive quiet. "This doesn't make any sense."

Astrid glanced at the candles again. The flames danced mockingly, their light steady but shrinking. Time was running out, and the weight of her own desperation began to crush her. She clenched her fists tighter, forcing herself to breathe. She could feel her chest tightening, her lungs straining for air.