Mag-log inThe first hand emerged from the darkness.It was pale.A thin silver bracelet circled its wrist, and a familiar ring rested on its smallest finger.Kael recognised the ring.His mother wore it every day.The woman standing across the chamber immediately covered her mouth."Don't let it come out."The hand gripped the edge of the opening.Then a second appeared.Slowly, a woman pulled herself out of the darkness.She had the Crimson Queen's face.The same eyes.The same lips.Even the small scar beneath her left eyebrow was identical.But there was something wrong with her.Her hair was completely white, and her gown looked as though it had been soaked in water for years. Around her neck hung a broken silver chain.She looked at Kael.And smiled."My baby."Kael couldn't move.The Crimson Queen backed away."No."The woman emerging from the floor tilted her head."Is that how you greet your mother?""You're not me."The newcomer laughed softly."Of course I am."She stepped onto the st
"Tell them which one of us you were supposed to kill."The child's words remained suspended in the chamber.Kael stared at him.He knew that face.Not because he remembered it clearly, but because every time he closed his eyes, it appeared somewhere in the darkness.A child crying beneath a crown.A child reaching for him.A child he had promised to bring home."Who are you?" Kael whispered.The boy smiled."You keep asking that.""Give me your name.""Which one?"Kael's expression tightened.The boy looked toward the nine cradles."They gave me so many."The first king stood completely still.The black crown on his head had stopped laughing."Come here," he ordered.The boy didn't move."Why?""Because I am your father."The child tilted his head."No."The word was gentle.Almost affectionate."You were only the man who wore his face."The first king's eyes turned silver."Careful."The boy laughed."You are frightened.""I am not.""Then why are you shaking?"Kael glanced at the ki
The floor continued to tremble.Kael stood between Lucien and the stranger, unable to decide which of them frightened him more.Beneath the nine cradles, something was moving.Not scratching.Not digging.Moving as though the entire chamber had been built over a sleeping creature that had finally opened its eyes."Explain yourself," Kael demanded.The stranger watched him."Which part?""All of it."A faint smile crossed the man's face."You still believe the truth is something that can be handed to you.""I am tired of riddles.""Then you should have been born into a simpler family."The remark struck harder than Kael expected.Behind him, Lucien struggled to stand."Kael..."Kael turned immediately."Don't move."Lucien looked down at his chest. The black symbol had changed again. Eight of its silver lines were glowing, while the ninth remained dark."Something is inside me."The stranger nodded."Yes.""Is it Asterion?""Partly."Lucien's expression hardened."What does that mean?"
The laughter of the black crown spread through the chamber.It was not the laughter of a man.It sounded like hundreds of voices trapped beneath the earth, laughing through broken throats, each one carrying a different memory.Kael couldn't move.Lucien lay before him, one hand pressed against the wound in his chest. The silver blade was still beside him, its surface stained with something darker than blood.Then Lucien's fingers twitched."Lucien?"His eyes opened.For one brief moment, they were silver.Then they turned black.A breath escaped his lips, but the voice that followed did not belong to him."My name is Asterion."The blackness spread from his wound, crawling beneath his skin like ink poured into water.Kael dropped beside him."Get out of his body."A faint smile touched Lucien's lips."Such an unkind greeting, Moon King."Kael froze.It was Lucien's face. His voice was almost identical. Even the familiar crease between his eyebrows appeared when he looked at Kael.But
“You were the one who put the crown on my head.”Kael stopped breathing.The little boy floated above Caelan's arms, his eyes completely black. The silver symbol on his chest pulsed like a living heart.“No,” Kael whispered.The child tilted his head.“You don't remember?”Kael shook his head.“I never put a crown on you.”The boy smiled.“Not in this life.”The first king stumbled backward.“Take him away!”Nobody moved.“TAKE HIM AWAY!”The boy turned toward him.“Why are you frightened, Father?”The first king's face twisted.“Because you should not exist!”The child laughed.“You said that before.”A black crack appeared across the floor.Then another.The seven thrones began sinking into the darkness.Evelyn rushed toward the child.“Please, don't do this.”He looked at her.“You promised you would come back.”“I know.”“You promised you wouldn't leave me.”“I know.”“You promised you would be my mother.”Evelyn fell to her knees.“I am sorry.”The child looked at Kael.“That's w
“You killed me before I became your father.”The voice emerged from beneath the seventh throne.The black hand gripping the edge of the opening was followed by another. Slowly, a man pulled himself out of the darkness.He wore the same royal robes as the first king.But his face was different.It was Lucien's.Not the face Lucien had now, but an older version, with silver hair and a scar running from his temple to his jaw.Kael felt Lucien stiffen beside him.“Who is that?”The man looked at Lucien.“You know me.”Lucien shook his head.“No.”The stranger smiled.“You have my eyes.”The first king stumbled backward.“Stay beneath the throne.”The stranger ignored him.He stepped into the chamber and examined the others.His gaze stopped at the Crimson Queen.“Isolde.”Aurelian moved immediately.“Don't speak to my mother.”The stranger laughed.“Your mother?”He looked at Aurelian.“You have always been so desperate to belong to someone.”Aurelian raised his blade.“Who are you?”The







