Chapter 6

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The imperial envoy remained bowed before me, one hand pressed over his heart, while the last traces of golden fire drifted from my fingertips.

I couldn’t hear the screams anymore. I couldn’t hear the crackling flames that I had created few seconds ago. I couldn’t even hear my own breathing.

All I could hear was that one word — Your Majesty.

My knees weakened. I looked down at the crest burning beneath my skin.

There were twin wolves. An eclipse. Gold and silver intertwined in a symbol I had never seen in my life and somehow I recognized it as intimately as my own reflection.

“No.” The word barely left my lips.

The envoy slowly lifted his head. “My Queen—”

“No.” I backed away instantly.

His expression tightened. “I don’t know who you think I am.”

Every eye in the ruined place remained fixed on me.

Students lowered behind the destroyed and broken benches. Instructors stood frozen with weapons still drawn. Guards surrounded the courtyard. Even the surviving attackers had stopped fighting.

Nobody looked at me like Nora anymore. They looked at me like something else. They all looked at me like I was something dangerous, something sacred…..Something that could change the world simply by breathing.

I hated it.

“I don’t know what any of you are talking about.”

The envoy’s gaze softened. “You were hidden for eighteen years.”

“My entire life?” I muttered in disbelief.

“Yes.” He answered.

I swallowed. “Why?”

He hesitated. That tiny hesitation frightened me more than the answer could have.

“Because your parents knew the kingdoms would come for you.”

“My parents are dead.” I shouted, my eyes red and cloudy with tears.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The title made something inside me twist. I turned away. My eyes found Sebastian.

He stood several feet away. His shirt was torn with blood streaking his chest and shoulders. His wolf was still visible beneath his skin, his pupils flickering gold as he stared at me.

But there was something different in his expression now. It wasn’t the fear or rejection from days before. It was wonder. He wondered why and how I was so involved in all of these. I hated that too.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

His brow furrowed. “Like what?”

“Like I’m someone else.” I barked.

He took a step toward me. I immediately stepped back. He stopped.

The hurt that flashed across his face was so brief I almost convinced myself I hadn’t seen it.

“Nora.”

“I need space.” I shut him.

His jaw tightened, “Okay.” But he nodded.

One word. No argument. For once, Sebastian listened to me.

I looked toward Zane. He hadn’t moved.

The vampire prince stood among the bodies with his sword hanging loosely at his side. His crimson eyes were fixed on the imperial envoy.

His eyes weren’t on me. It was totally on the envoy. And whatever he saw in that man’s face terrified him.

“You know him.” I said.

Zane’s gaze shifted to mine. “I know of him.”

“That’s not what I asked.” My anger rose.

“You’ve spent days telling me that you were protecting me. That you knew my parents. That you knew what happened the night they died.”

I pointed at the envoy. “Now this man walks into my school, calls me his queen, and suddenly you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You have no idea what you’re asking.” Zane’s expression hardened.

“Then tell me!” I yelled. “Explain it to me!” I hated him so much. What was he hiding? Why was it so difficult to tell me?

“I can’t.”

I laughed bitterly. “Of course you can’t.”

I turned away from him. 

He was another person who knew the truth. He was another person who had decided I wasn’t allowed to have it.

The academy doors suddenly thundered shut. Heavy iron locks slammed into place one after another. The sound rolled through the silent courtyard.

A senior instructor raised his hand.

“By order of the Ravenholm Council, the academy is under emergency lockdown.”

The students erupted.

“What?”

“Why are we being locked in?”

“Are the vampires attacking?”

“Is she really the Moon Queen?”

“Was the royal bloodline supposed to be extinct?”

“Where is the headmaster?”

“Can anyone leave?”

I stood in the middle of the chaos, staring at faces that had once been familiar.

People I’d eaten lunch beside. People I’d trained with. People who had laughed when Roland humiliated me. People who hated me because of Sebastian. 

Now they were whispering my name.

Nora. Moon Queen. Last royal. Hybrid.

The word spread through the courtyard faster than fire.

Someone dropped to their knees. Then another before another. Within seconds, a line of terrified students had begun kneeling.

“Stop.” I stared at them in shock.

Nobody moved. They didn’t listen.

“I said stop.” The command came out sharper than I intended.

A strange pressure rolled through the courtyard. Every person who had lowered themselves suddenly bowed their head further.

My stomach dropped as so many emotions ran through me at once. I hadn’t meant to do that. The power inside me had simply answered.

“Get up.” I clenched my fists.

This time, everyone obeyed. I stared at my hands.

“How am I doing that?” I whispered.

Nobody answered. Then the academy bells rang. It did so three times. A deep metallic warning that seemed to shake the entire mountain.

The main gates opened. A procession of black carriages entered the courtyard.

Behind them came armored wolves, vampires in ceremonial coats, witches carrying silver staffs, and representatives wearing the colors of supernatural clans I’d only ever read about in history books.

Ravenholm had become a fortress overnight. And apparently, everyone had come to see me.

They moved me to the council chamber before sunset. Not because anyone asked whether I wanted to go but because royalty didn’t get asked anymore.

The room was enormous, circular, and lined with ancient portraits. Kings, Queens, Alphas, Vampire lords. I recognized none of them.

At the center stood a long obsidian table surrounded by supernatural leaders. I remained standing.

A chair had been placed at the head of the table. I refused to sit in it.

The headmaster cleared his throat. “Princess—”

“Don’t.” I signaled for him to stop.

He swallowed. “Your Majesty.”

“Still no.”

He looked helpless. I almost felt sorry for him.

“My name is Nora Sterling!.”