LOGINMy child was alive.The words refused to make sense.They struck my mind again and again, but each time they reached the same place, everything inside me stopped.Your child didn’t die that night.I stared at Cassian.He stood between the trees, his chest rising heavily, his eyes fixed on mine.Damon was beside him.The stranger had disappeared.No footsteps.No warning.Just gone.“Say it again.”Cassian’s expression tightened.“Seraphine…”“Say it.”He took one step forward.“Your child survived.”My knees weakened.I caught myself against a tree.“No.”Damon lowered his head.“He’s telling the truth.”I looked at him.“You.”My voice shook.“You knew?”Damon didn’t answer.“Damon!”He flinched.“Yes.”My heart shattered.“You knew?”“Yes.”“How long?”He swallowed.“Since before the night you died.”I couldn’t breathe.“You knew I had a child?”“Yes.”“Where is he?”Damon looked at Cassian.Cassian’s face was filled with pain.“I don’t know.”I laughed.It was a broken sound.“You
My mother’s voice was still echoing in my head.Seraphine!I stood beneath the fading Blood Moon, staring toward the mountains.She was alive.After everything I had believed, everything I had lost, every lie I had uncovered, that single truth should have filled me with happiness.Instead, it filled me with fear.Because the first Blood Moon Queen had said my mother had one final truth to tell me.And then she had mentioned a child.A child I was never supposed to remember.A child connected to my first life.I looked at Cassian.He was staring at the same mountains.“Did you hear her?”“Yes.”“My mother.”“Yes.”“She called my name.”“I heard her.”“Then we have to find her.”Cassian nodded.“We will.”“Now.”He looked at me.“Seraphine—”“Now.”“There are things we need to prepare.”“No.”My voice came out sharper than I intended.“I’ve spent my entire life waiting for answers.”“I know.”“My mother is alive.”“I know.”“She is somewhere beyond those mountains.”“I know.”“Then I’m
The woman stepped out of the Gate.And the entire world seemed to stop.Silver hair flowed around her like moonlight.A black crown rested against her forehead, each stone glowing faintly red beneath the Blood Moon.Her eyes were the color of fresh blood.But it wasn’t her appearance that frightened me.It was the way she looked at me.Not like a stranger.Not like an enemy.Like someone looking at a daughter who had finally come home.“Seraphine.”My name left her lips softly.I tightened my grip around Cassian’s hand.The woman smiled.“You have your mother’s eyes.”My heart pounded.“You know my mother.”“I knew her better than anyone.”“Where is she?”The woman’s smile faded.“She is safe.”“Where?”“Somewhere the Shadow King cannot reach.”“Tell me.”“Not yet.”Anger flashed through me.“You don’t get to decide that.”Her eyes moved to Cassian.“And this is the King.”Cassian stepped forward.“Stay away from her.”The woman laughed softly.“You sound exactly like the first King.”
The page was burning.Not with fire.With magic.The words written across it were fading before my eyes, one letter at a time.THE KING WHO PROTECTS THE BLOOD MOON QUEEN WILL BE THE ONE WHO OPENS THE GATE.I stared at the sentence until my vision blurred.Then I looked at Cassian.He hadn’t moved.His face had lost all color.“Cassian?”He didn’t answer.“Cassian, what does it mean?”His eyes remained fixed on the royal seal at the bottom of the page.Finally, he whispered, “I know that seal.”“I know. You said it belonged to your grandfather.”“It does.”“Then why are you looking at it like you’ve seen a ghost?”His jaw tightened.“Because that seal shouldn’t exist.”I stepped closer.“Why?”“Because my grandfather destroyed it.”“What?”“He burned every document connected to the first blood oath.”I looked at the page.“Then how is this here?”“I don’t know.”“You’re lying.”His eyes lifted to mine.“No.”“You’ve been doing that since we met.”His expression hardened with pain.“I k
I didn’t sleep that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Cassian standing in front of me.Not the man who had kissed me.Not the husband who had taken a blade for me.Not the Alpha King who had promised to protect me.I saw the man who had admitted that he had been watching me before our marriage.He had been assigned to observe me.He had been reporting unusual things about me.And the worst part was that I still didn’t know how much he had known.Did he know about my blood?Did he know about the Blood Moon Queen?Did he know my identity before I knew it myself?Or had he simply been another piece on the board?At dawn, I finally left my room.The palace was strangely quiet.Too quiet.I walked toward the eastern balcony and found Cassian standing there.He had changed his clothes, but the black scar on his wrist was still visible.He was staring at the mountains.He heard me approach.“I knew you would come.”I stopped several feet behind him.“How?”He turned.“Because you don
For several seconds, I couldn’t hear anything.Not the wolves outside.Not the crackling flames.Not the frightened breathing of the warriors around me.Nothing.Only one sentence repeated inside my head.The first Blood Moon Queen ordered your death.My ancestor.The woman whose blood ran through my veins.The woman whose power had created the Blood Moon legacy.The woman who had apparently been waiting for me beyond the Gate.She had ordered Damon to kill me.My hands began to shake.Cassian noticed immediately.“Seraphine.”I stepped away from him.His expression changed.“What’s wrong?”I looked at him.For the first time since I had met him in my second life, I didn’t know what to say.He had just discovered that his family had been involved in my past.His father had made a pact with the Shadow King.His grandfather had helped create the weapon that killed me.His blood had been used to control the Gate.And now I was learning that my own ancestor had ordered my death.Everythin







