ANMELDENChapter 103Dominic didn't move.A small hand was wrapped around his.The fingers were cold.Far too cold for a living child.Rei dropped beside him, reaching for the little girl's wrist.“Don't pull her!”Dominic looked at her.“I wasn't going to.”The ground cracked again.A child's face appeared beneath the roots.Dark hair.Silver eyes.A small scar above her eyebrow.Dominic stopped breathing.“Seren?”The girl looked up at him.Her eyes filled with tears.“You remember me.”Dominic's expression broke.“Of course I remember you.”“No, you don't.”Her grip tightened.“You remember the other one.”Rei felt Dominic go still.The little girl looked past him, straight at Rei.“You got to keep her.”Rei swallowed.“Sweetheart, I don't know who you are.”The girl shook her head.“You do.”Her voice trembled.“You just don't remember.”The silver roots began twisting around Dominic's wrist.Rei grabbed his forearm.“Let go of him.”The girl looked at her.“I don't want him to leave.”“I
Chapter 102“DON'T LET HER WAKE UP!”Benjamin's scream ripped through the garden.Dominic instinctively pulled the baby against his chest, turning his body to shield him from the hospital room.But the woman on the bed was already awake.Her silver eyes moved slowly across the garden, studying the children, the broken branches, and the faces gathered around the staircase.Then her gaze settled on Rei.A faint smile touched her lips.“There you are.”Rei felt Dominic's hand tighten around her arm.“Who are you?” he demanded.The woman ignored him.She looked at Benjamin.“My goodness,” she whispered. “They brought the little one back.”Benjamin began trembling.Rei stepped closer to Dominic.“Ben, sweetheart, look at me.”The baby's eyes remained fixed on the woman.“She knows,” he whispered.Rei froze.Dominic looked down.“Ben?”“She knows what happened.”The woman on the bed slowly sat up.The white-haired entity stumbled backward.“Don't,” she whispered.The woman smiled.“You've m
Chapter Fourteen The black wolf stepped through the seventh door.Its paws struck the stone, and the entire Blood Chamber shuddered beneath its weight. Its fur was darker than the tunnels surrounding it, and a golden crown rested between its ears.But it was the eyes that made Gianna's blood run cold.They were her father's eyes.“Dad?” she whispered.The wolf lowered its head.For a moment, something almost human crossed its expression.“Gianna.”Elizabeth moved in front of her daughters.“Stay back!”The wolf looked at Elizabeth.“You always did know how to ruin a reunion.”“Don't come near them.”He laughed.The sound was deep and terrifying.“You think you can protect them now? After everything you've done?”Gianna looked between her mother and the enormous creature.“Is that really my father?”Elizabeth didn't answer.The wolf took another step.“Your mother has told you many stories, sweetheart. Most of them are lies.”Benjamin raised his weapon.“Take another step and I'll sho
Chapter Thirteen The First Queen screamed.It was not the scream of a woman afraid to die.It was the scream of a mother who had just recognized the monster wearing her son's face.“Ryder,” Gianna whispered.The enormous silver wolf stood motionless in the center of the Blood Chamber. His golden crescent had turned black, and dark veins crawled beneath his fur. The shadows around him twisted like living things, stretching toward the First Queen.His eyes were crimson.But for one brief moment, Gianna saw something familiar behind them.A flicker.A desperate plea.“Ryder, it's me.”His head turned toward her.The shadow behind him smiled.“Of course it's you, little queen.”Gianna took a step forward.Elizabeth grabbed her arm.“Don't!”“That's Ryder!”“No,” Elizabeth whispered. “That's what wants to become Ryder.”The creature wearing Ryder's body lowered its head.“Your mother always was afraid of the truth.”The First Queen stepped between them.“Enough.”Her silver hair floated a
Chapter Twelve The silver chain tightened around Gianna’s throat.She gasped, clawing at the cold metal as it burned against her skin. It wasn’t ordinary silver. Tiny symbols had been carved into every link, glowing faintly red as they pressed into her flesh.Behind her, Seraphina held the chain with one hand and a narrow black knife with the other.“It's time we finished what your mother started.”Across the chamber, Ryder growled.The sound shook dust from the ceiling.His enormous silver wolf stood between Gianna and the altar, golden crescent blazing across his chest. His lips curled back, revealing teeth long enough to tear through bone.“Don't,” Seraphina warned.Ryder took one step forward.The chain tightened.Gianna choked.“Ryder!” she managed.He stopped immediately.Seraphina smiled.“Good. The king still knows how to obey when his queen is in danger.”Ryder's golden eyes narrowed.Benjamin moved toward them, his hand hovering near the silver mark on his forearm.“Let her
Chapter Eleven The mountain had gone silent.Not the peaceful kind of silence that came after a storm.This was the silence of something waiting.Gianna stood frozen, staring at Thomas Hale as the golden crown hovered above his head. The silver ring on his finger glowed brighter with every passing second.His body began to change.The wrinkles disappeared from his face. His shoulders straightened. His dark hair turned silver, and the crimson in his eyes faded into a brilliant gold.For one impossible moment, he looked nothing like the grandfather Gianna remembered from childhood photographs.He looked ancient.Powerful.And terrified.Thomas slowly lowered his head.“Your Majesty.”Gianna backed away.“Get up.”He didn't move.“Please, get up.”Thomas lifted his eyes.“You don't understand.”“Then explain it!”His gaze shifted toward Elizabeth.“Your mother should have told you.”Elizabeth stepped forward.“Don't you dare put this on me.”Thomas sighed.“You have always blamed me.”“







