Chapter 47: The Shadow’s Hunger

The victory at the High Tribunal should have been celebrated with a feast, but as the carriage crossed the threshold of the Forbidden Wing, the atmosphere inside was anything but festive.

Nyx was silent—not her usual observant silence, but a heavy, unnatural lethargy. Her skin, usually as pale as porcelain, was now flushed with a violent, bruised purple fever.

"She’s burning up," I whispered, pressing the back of my hand to her forehead. I pulled it back instantly. It felt like touching an oven.

"The backfire," Killian growled, his golden eyes filled with a frantic helplessness. "She used too much authority. She didn't just move shadows today; she commanded a soul. A five-year-old’s body can’t hold that much friction."

As soon as we reached the nursery, Killian bit his own wrist, letting the rich, golden Alpha blood drip into a silver chalice.

"Drink, Princess," he urged, lifting Nyx’s head. "My blood will stabilize the wolf inside you. It will anchor the shadows."

Nyx coughed, her small body convulsing as she took a sip.

HISS.

The moment the Alpha King’s blood touched her lips, it boiled. The golden liquid turned to steam before it could even be swallowed.

Killian froze, the chalice slipping from his fingers. "What? Why is she rejecting me?"

"Her shadows aren't wolf-magic anymore, Killian," a voice came from the doorway. Vance stood there, looking at the readings on his portable scanner with a grim expression. "They’ve evolved. She’s hungry for something older, something more primal than an Alpha’s strength."

Nyx’s eyes snapped open. They were entirely violet, with no iris or pupil. She looked past Killian, past the wealth and power of the King, and fixed her gaze on me.

"Hungry," she rasped, her voice echoing with the whispers of the Coven. "Mommy... the red song. I need the red song."

I felt the black rune on my chest throb in response. It wasn't pain this time; it was a resonance. My blood felt like it was humming, a dark, sweet melody that only Nyx could hear.

Without thinking, I took a small fruit knife from the tray nearby and sliced my palm—the same palm that bore the scar of the Coven’s pact.

"Elena, no!" Killian reached for me, but it was too late.

I pressed my hand to Nyx's lips.

The reaction was instantaneous. As she drank, the purple fever receded. The shadows that had been lashing out at the curtains and floorboards suddenly stilled, curling around her like a sleeping pet. My blood didn't boil; it merged with her.

Nyx let out a long, shuddering breath and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Silence descended on the nursery. Killian stood there, staring at his own useless, bleeding wrist, then at me.

"Why?" he whispered, his voice cracked with a vulnerability I had never heard. "I am the King. I am the Anchor. Why did my blood fail my own daughter, while yours..."

"Because I’m the Vessel, Killian," I said softly, bandaging my hand. "The Coven didn't just give me a curse. They unlocked something that was already there. I’m the only one who can feed her without burning."

Killian didn't look relieved. He looked terrified. He realized that the gap between us was no longer just about 'human' and 'wolf'. I was becoming something he couldn't protect.

Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from the heavy velvet curtains—not Nyx's shadow, but something thinner, more agile.

A man in a tattered gray cloak stepped into the moonlight. He didn't have a scent. He didn't have a heartbeat.

Killian’s claws were out in a heartbeat, pinning the man against the wall. "Give me one reason not to tear your throat out!"

The man didn't fight. He looked past Killian, his eyes landing on me with a shocking familiarity.

"The Source has returned," the man wheezed, ignored the claws at his neck. "Princess Elena... you have the eyes of your mother. And her scent of doom."

"Who are you?" I demanded, my hand instinctively going to the rune on my chest.

"My name is Silas's nightmare," the man smiled, revealing teeth made of iron. "And I am here to tell you that the trial today was a distraction. The Coven didn't lose. They just found the door they were looking for."

He looked at the sleeping Nyx.

"And you just opened it for them with your blood."