Coming Back as Enemy's Luna

44. HISTORY

= Amara =

“A temple? No—we don’t have a temple here, Luna.”

Caryl’s response was immediate, almost dismissive, as if the idea itself was out of place. I let out a slow, weary sigh, rubbing my thumb along the edge of the map. I still hadn’t grown used to the way she addressed me.

Luna.

The title wasn’t unfamiliar—I’d carried it long enough to know its weight—but hearing it from someone I’d only known for a handful of days felt strange. Stranger still because she was Veyrath. The word sounded different on her tongue, like it didn’t quite belong there.

“Then what’s this?” I asked, lifting my hand and pointing to a small, carefully drawn symbol on the map.

It was easy to miss if you weren’t looking closely—a modest sketch tucked between marked territories. But above it, written in deliberate ink, was a name that refused to be ignored.

Moon Temple.

Caryl leaned in, her gaze following my finger. For a moment, her expression held nothing but curiosity. Then something flickered across her face—recognition, maybe. Understanding.

“Oh. That,” she said, straightening slightly. “That’s an abandoned temple, Luna. It’s been here for as long as anyone can remember.” She waved a hand casually, as if brushing away its importance. “It’s just an old structure. No one really goes there anymore. No one cares enough to.”

She paused, then added, almost as an afterthought, “Though there are stories about it. Some people say it’s haunted. That ghosts still linger there.”

My brows lifted on instinct.

“Ghosts?” I echoed, the word tasting strange in my mouth.

“Yeah. Telltales of some people, Luna,” Caryl said, his tone casual, almost dismissive.

The words lingered longer than I expected.

I hated to admit it, but a flicker of something close to awe stirred in my chest. Which was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. Ghosts? In this generation? The idea alone should’ve made me laugh. People were too busy chasing progress, drowning in technology and logic, to seriously believe in things that couldn’t be proven or dissected.

And yet.

It wasn’t like I believed in them either.

What unsettled me more was the fact that Veyrath still had its temple.

That alone felt unreal.

Long ago, every territory had one—sacred structures raised in devotion to Goddess Selene. They had once been the heart of our lands, places of worship, judgment, and whispered prayers offered beneath moonlight. But time had a way of erasing even the most sacred things. As generations passed, belief thinned, devotion dulled, and the temples slowly disappeared from existence.

Some were left to crumble, swallowed by nature and neglect. Others were stripped of their purpose and reshaped into something more useful—council halls, archives, residences. Practical replacements for faith.

I remembered an offhand remark from the elder of Gravemire once, spoken as if it were nothing more than trivia. The Gravemire council hall, he’d said, had originally been a temple. A place meant for reverence, not politics.

That knowledge had stayed with me longer than I’d expected.

There was something unsettling about it—about walking through halls layered with history, never knowing how much devotion had been carved into their foundations before it was paved over. These buildings weren’t just structures. They were remnants. Echoes of belief disguised as stone and wood.

Historical and intriguing.

“Do you know how to get here?” I asked, glancing up from the map and turning it slightly toward Caryl. My finger hovered over the marked location of the temple, a small symbol tucked deep within a stretch of green so dense it almost swallowed the page. The deeper I studied it, the more isolated it seemed—hidden in what appeared to be the widest and most untamed forest in the entire territory.

Caryl leaned in, her eyes lighting up with unmistakable excitement.

“Hmm? Of course, Luna,” she said without hesitation, her voice bright. “If you truly wanted to see it, I could take you there.”

I smiled at her enthusiasm, warmth blooming in my chest. “Thank you,” I said softly, before turning my attention back to the map.

Time slipped by as I traced the borders and pathways of Veyrath, committing its contours to memory. I found myself lingering over places I had never seen, imagining what lay beyond the safety of the walls—what parts of this land still waited for me.

When the curiosity finally settled into something calmer, I looked up again.

“When do you think would be the best time to leave?” I asked Caryl. “To explore… properly.”

She considered it for a moment before answering, her tone thoughtful but decisive. “As soon as you want, Luna,” she said. “Or, if you prefer, after your bonding ceremony with Alpha Mikael.”

The words lingered in the air.

After the bonding ceremony, huh?