เข้าสู่ระบบAella POVThe door opened without a sound.Beyond it, another staircase disappeared into darkness.I adjusted Althea against my chest, half expecting Sol to suddenly appear behind me and demand an explanation for why our daughter had apparently decided to explore ancient ruins in the middle of the night.Unfortunately for him, he was probably still chasing Riot away from chandeliers."Ready, little Queen?"Althea answered by pointing downward.Of course she did.So down we went.At first, I counted the steps.A hundred.Five hundred.A thousand.Then I lost track.The air became colder the deeper we descended, but strangely, I never felt afraid. The castle's magic surrounded us like a silent guardian, lighting the walls with silver flames whenever the darkness became too thick.Hours seemed to pass.The staircase twisted and turned, spiraling beneath the Void itself.Until, finally, the tunnel opened.I stopped breathing.An enormous cavern stretched before us.The ceiling was so high
Aella POVAccording to the Bloodlines Book, my daughter possessed one of the rarest gifts ever recorded.Immediate Knowledge.The words themselves sounded harmless, almost beautiful.They weren't.The ancient records described it as the ability to know whatever the bearer wished to know.Lost histories.Forgotten languages.Hidden paths.Secrets buried beneath entire civilizations.The bearer could find books no one remembered existed and knowledge thought lost for eons.They simply... knew.The first time I had read those pages, I had felt pride.The second time, terror.Because knowledge was power, and power always painted a target on someone's back.Especially in times like these.Especially with Elias watching us.I looked down at Althea, comfortably settled in my arms as we descended the endless stone staircase beneath the Void castle.She wasn't scared.She wasn't confused.In fact, she looked mildly annoyed by how slowly I was walking.It was impossible to believe that this tin
Aella POVChaos had not opened his eyes in almost twelve hours.For someone who never stopped talking, joking, or making ridiculous comments at the worst possible moments, the silence felt wrong.Terribly wrong.He lay in one of the castle's ancient chambers, silver energy flowing around his body like a weak heartbeat.Pamela had examined him three times.The healers had exhausted every spell they knew.Nothing worked."He isn't injured," Pamela had explained, frustration clear in her voice. "At least, not physically."Hunter stood by the window, his arms crossed."Then why won't he wake up?"Pamela shook her head."I don't know."That answer terrified me more than any diagnosis could have.Because if the greatest healers in the Sanctuary didn't understand what had happened to Chaos, then we were dealing with something far older than medicine.Something tied to the Void itself.So I searched.The royal library contained thousands of books, some so ancient that even their titles had fa
Aella POVThe news of Elias's offer spread through the kingdoms before dawn.By the time the sun rose, every pack, every village, and every refugee camp knew the details.Three days.Meet Elias alone.The children return.I spent the entire morning preparing myself for what I thought would come next.I expected desperate parents to demand that I go.I expected accusations.I expected people to remind me that hundreds of children were trapped because of my refusal.After all, they were their sons and daughters.If our positions had been reversed, I didn't know how I would have reacted.So, with a heavy heart, Sol and I entered the Academy's central square, where hundreds of communication crystals projected messages from every corner of the world.And then...To my complete surprise...No one asked me to go.The first message came from an old Luna whose granddaughter had been taken."My Queen, please stay safe."I froze.The woman wiped tears from her face."My granddaughter would never
Aella POVIn the end, Sol's words had changed more minds than anyone expected.Several Alphas who had challenged him in the arena remained at the Academy.Some stayed out of pride, refusing to abandon the people who had chosen sanctuary.Others stayed because, for the first time in their lives, they understood that leadership did not mean standing above their pack.It meant standing beside them.Most of their members had already chosen to remain inside the Sanctuary and the Silver lands.Their children were there.Their mates were there.Their future was there.The Alphas had little choice but to accept reality.For the first time in centuries, pack members were not following titles.They were following safety.I was standing on one of the Sanctuary's balconies, watching the students settle into their new island home, when Marcus approached."The last dormitory is ready."I smiled."Already?"He shrugged."Half the students spent the afternoon helping. Apparently, carrying furniture i
Aella POVThe news of the attacks spread across the kingdoms before sunrise.Three packs destroyed.Hundreds dead.Every child gone.Fear swept through the shifter world faster than the mutants ever could.For the first time since Sol and I had begun offering sanctuary, dozens of Alphas who had previously rejected us flooded the communication network.But they weren't asking for refuge.They wanted power."We demand the protection wards.""Share the ritual.""If the Sanctuary can protect you, our lands deserve the same protection."Sol and I sat in the council chamber for hours, repeating the same explanation over and over again."It isn't a wall," I said, trying to keep my frustration hidden."The wards aren't simply magic symbols carved into the ground."One Alpha slammed his fist against his table, his image flickering in the communication crystal."Then tell us how to create them."I exchanged a glance with Sol."The strength of the ward depends on the blood used to create it," So







