THE THRONE DEMANDS BLOOD

Chapter 10

THE THRONE DEMANDS BLOOD

"THE FIRST LUNA'S HEIR HAS RETURNED. AND THE THRONE DEMANDS BLOOD."

The words echoed through the valley, shaking the air around them.

Lyra stared at Nightfall Castle.

Flames climbed its eastern towers, painting the night sky orange. Smoke poured from the windows, and the distant sounds of breaking stone mixed with the howls of wolves. The castle that had stood for generations as a symbol of Draven power was becoming a battlefield.

Kael was already moving.

"Everyone, follow me!"

He shifted halfway, his claws extending as he raced down the ridge.

"Wait!" Alaric called.

Kael stopped and turned impatiently.

"We don't have time."

"Running blindly into a castle overrun by cursed wolves is not a strategy."

"My pack is in there."

"And so is the blood oath," Alaric replied. "You may be walking straight into the source of the corruption."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"Then I'll destroy it."

Ronan gave a humorless laugh.

"You cannot destroy an oath you don't understand."

Kael turned on him.

"Do you have a better suggestion?"

"Yes. Stop behaving like a man who believes every problem can be solved with his claws."

The two men stared at each other.

Lyra stepped between them.

"Enough. We are going to the castle. But we are not charging through the front gates without knowing what is waiting for us."

Kael looked at her.

"Those are my people."

"And they are being hurt by something your family created."

His expression hardened, but he didn't argue.

Lyra turned to Alaric.

"How do we reach the throne room?"

The old guardian looked toward the distant castle.

"There is an old passage beneath the western wall. It was built during Queen Aurelia's reign. It leads beneath the original throne chamber."

Ronan's expression changed.

"You know that passage?"

"I helped seal it."

"Then you also know what lies beneath it."

Alaric lowered his eyes.

"I know what was buried there."

Lyra's crescent mark began to glow.

"What was buried?"

Alaric hesitated.

"The first blood oath."

A cold feeling moved through Lyra.

"Then that's where we go."

The journey down the ridge was brutal.

By the time they reached the outskirts of Nightfall territory, the smell of smoke had become overwhelming. Wolves ran through the streets in panic. Some were wounded. Others carried children toward the northern shelters.

A woman stumbled into their path, clutching a little boy against her chest.

"Please!" she cried. "Help us!"

Kael rushed forward.

"What happened?"

"Something came from beneath the castle. The guards tried to stop it, but the creatures attacked everyone. They aren't recognizing their own pack members!"

A black wolf burst from a nearby alley.

Its eyes glowed red.

The woman screamed and threw herself over the child.

Kael moved to attack, but Lyra raised her hand.

"Don't kill it!"

The creature lunged.

Silver light shot from Lyra's palm, striking the ground between them. The wolf crashed sideways, its claws scraping against the stones.

It immediately rose again.

A dark symbol pulsed beneath its chest.

Lyra narrowed her eyes.

Another thread.

She could see it stretching toward the castle, just as the threads had in the Moon Tree sanctuary.

"It's bound," she whispered.

The wolf charged again.

Lyra held her ground.

Find the bond.

She focused on the dark thread.

Pain rushed through her senses.

Fear. Hunger. Confusion.

Beneath it all, a familiar thought struggled to survive.

My family.

Lyra's chest tightened.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

The wolf's growl weakened.

Garrick.

"I hear you, Garrick."

The thread tightened, pulling at the creature's spirit.

Lyra reached toward it.

"I release you from the chain."

A silver flash burst across the street.

The dark thread snapped.

The wolf collapsed, its body shuddering before the red glow disappeared from its eyes.

Lyra dropped to one knee.

A wave of pain rolled through her chest.

Mira caught her.

"Lyra!"

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You're shaking."

Lyra looked at the freed wolf.

Garrick lifted his head and stared at her. Then he lowered it in recognition.

The woman with the child slowly approached.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Lyra nodded, unable to find the strength to answer.

Kael crouched beside her.

"You can't keep doing that."

She pulled her arm away when he tried to touch her.

"Then help me find another way."

He looked toward the castle.

"I will."

For once, he didn't ask her to trust him.

They reached the western wall shortly before midnight.

The old passage was hidden behind a collapsed stone arch, covered in vines and rubble. Alaric brushed the dust from a carving.

A crescent moon surrounded by seven wolves.

Lyra recognized it from the Bloodstone Chamber.

"This is First Luna territory."

"It was once the entrance to the royal chambers," Alaric explained. "Before House Draven claimed the castle."

Ronan examined the carving.

"Theron knew about this passage."

Kael looked at him sharply.

"How?"

"Because your father searched for it. He believed the original oath records were hidden below the throne."

"Did he find them?"

Ronan shook his head.

"Not all of them."

Alaric pressed his staff against the stone.

A narrow line of silver light appeared.

Then the entrance began to open.

A gust of cold air swept over them.

Lyra stepped forward.

The moment her foot crossed the threshold, the crescent on her wrist burned.

A whisper moved through the passage.

Little Luna.

She stopped.

"Did you hear that?"

Mira shook her head.

"What?"

Lyra looked into the darkness.

"Someone knows I'm here."

Kael moved beside her.

"Stay behind me."

Lyra turned toward him.

"Don't give me orders."

He lowered his gaze.

"Then stay close enough that I can reach you if something happens."

She didn't answer.

But she entered the passage.

The tunnel descended deep beneath the castle.

Ancient carvings covered its walls. Some showed a woman wearing a crescent crown, surrounded by wolves. Others depicted a battle between two royal families.

Lyra stopped before one carving.

It showed Queen Aurelia standing beneath a silver moon.

At her feet knelt a man wearing the Draven crest.

But the man's hands were raised toward her throat.

Lyra traced the carving with her fingers.

"This is how it happened."

Alaric nodded.

"House Draven did not win the throne in a fair war. They betrayed the royal family during a peace gathering. The oath was created afterward to hide the truth and bind the stolen crown to their blood."

Kael stared at the carving.

"My ancestors murdered the Queen?"

"Some of them," Alaric replied. "But history is rarely carried by one generation alone."

Kael looked down.

"I inherited their name."

"You inherited a choice," Lyra said quietly. "What you do with it is yours."

He looked at her, but she continued walking.

At the end of the passage stood a massive stone door.

Seven symbols were carved into its surface.

Six were dark.

The seventh was shaped like a crescent.

Lyra stepped forward.

The symbol began to glow.

A voice rose from behind the door.

The heir approaches.

The stone trembled.

Then a second voice spoke.

The thief's blood follows.

Kael's mark ignited.

He doubled over with a strangled cry.

"Kael!" Mira shouted.

Black lines spread from his wrist toward his elbow.

Ronan grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't fight it!"

Kael shoved him away.

"Get off me!"

Lyra approached the door.

"What do I do?"

Alaric looked frightened.

"The door needs both bloodlines."

Lyra stared at him.

"Both?"

"The royal heir and the blood of the family that stole the throne."

Ronan's expression darkened.

"That's why Theron never opened it."

Kael looked at Lyra through clenched teeth.

"Do it."

Lyra hesitated.

"If this hurts you"

"It already hurts."

She pressed her palm against the crescent symbol.

Kael, breathing hard, placed his marked wrist against the Draven crest.

The door shuddered.

Silver light and black darkness twisted together across its surface.

For one terrifying moment, Lyra felt the oath reaching for her. It pulled at her blood, searching for something ancient.

Then the door opened.

A wave of cold air rushed out.

Beyond it lay a chamber filled with black stone pillars.

At the center stood a throne.

It was not the golden seat displayed in the castle's great hall. This throne was older, carved from pale stone and shaped like a crescent moon. Silver chains wrapped around its arms.

Beneath it lay a circular altar.

And across the altar were dozens of names.

Lyra moved closer.

She recognized none of them.

Until she saw one.

ELARA VEYNE.

Her breath caught.

"Mother."

A silver thread extended from the name toward the center of the altar.

Beside it was another name.

AURELIA VEYNE.

And beneath both names, written in black ink, was a single word.

SACRIFICE.

Alaric went pale.

"No…"

Lyra turned.

"What does this mean?"

The old guardian looked at the altar.

"The oath was never meant to be broken with blood."

Ronan stepped closer.

"Then what was it meant to require?"

Alaric's voice trembled.

"The rightful heir was supposed to reclaim the throne willingly. The Draven heir was supposed to surrender it willingly. The two bloodlines would then stand together and end the curse."

Kael stared at him.

"My family knew?"

"Your father knew enough to fear it."

Lyra looked at the silver chains around the throne.

"And my mother?"

Alaric's expression became grave.

"Elara must have discovered the same thing. But she couldn't complete the oath alone."

Lyra's fingers tightened around the pendant.

"She died trying to finish it."

"Perhaps."

A sudden crash shook the chamber.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Then came the sound of claws scraping against stone.

Ronan drew his blade.

"We have company."

From the tunnel emerged a massive black wolf.

Its body was larger than the others. Dark markings covered its shoulders, and its eyes burned like red coals.

But unlike the creatures they had encountered before, this one wore a silver collar.

A royal collar.

Alaric stared at it in disbelief.

"Impossible."

The wolf growled.

Its gaze fixed on Lyra.

Then it spoke inside her mind.

Little Queen.

Lyra stepped forward.

"Who are you?"

The creature lowered its head.

I was the guardian of your mother's last night.

Her heart stopped.

"You knew Elara?"

I watched her enter this chamber. I watched her beg the Draven king to end the oath.

Lyra's voice shook.

"What happened to her?"

The wolf lifted its head.

She was betrayed.

"By whom?"

The creature's red eyes shifted.

Not toward Kael.

Not toward Ronan.

But toward Alaric.

Lyra froze.

The old guardian stumbled backward.

"That's impossible."

The wolf snarled.

The hand that opened the royal door was not the hand that protected the heir.

Kael stepped between Alaric and Lyra.

"Explain yourself."

Alaric's face had lost all color.

"I protected Elara. I protected Lyra."

The wolf's claws scraped against the floor.

Then tell the Queen why her mother died believing you had betrayed her.

Silence swallowed the chamber.

Lyra stared at Alaric.

The man who had guided her, taught her about her bloodline, and bowed when she awakened as Queen.

The man who had promised to help her uncover the truth.

"Alaric," she whispered. "What is it talking about?"

He opened his mouth.

But before he could answer, the black wolf lunged.

And the ancient throne erupted in silver flames.

A voice thundered through the chamber.

THE FIRST LUNA'S HEIR MUST CHOOSE.

THE DRAVEN BLOOD MUST PAY.

AND THE GUARDIAN MUST CONFESS.

Lyra's crescent mark blazed.

Then a final voice whispered directly into her mind.

Your mother's killer is standing beside you.

Lyra slowly turned.

Everyone was looking at Alaric.

Including Alaric himself.

And for the first time, the old guardian looked afraid of her.