All Chapters of The Rejected Queen: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Rayna POV The applause rippled through the hall, but I barely heard it. My heart was still hammering from the last note - and from that voice. A woman’s voice. Silken. Cold. The kind that could sound like a lullaby right before the knife slips in someones body.I straightened slowly, forcing my breathing steady, and let Damon lead me from the floor.He guided me to our table near the dais, all effortless poise and authority. Servants appeared instantly, refilling goblets, setting down trays of roasted meat and spiced wine. The smell should’ve made me hungry; it didn’t.Damon leaned closer, his words soft enough for only me. “You’re pale.”“I’m fine.”He arched a brow. "Liar" came the faint thread of his thought through the link."Maybe," I answered, picking up my goblet. "But we can’t afford for anyone to notice. Smile, Damon. They’re still watching."He huffed a silent laugh that didn’t quite reach his eyes and turned his attention to a pair of Betas offering polite toasts. I mirro

Damon POV The night bled slowly back into order - or something that pretended to be.The fires had been relit, the servants cleared away the shards of glass and overturned chairs, and the shaken guests had been gently herded back into the ballroom. The scent of fear still clung to the air, sharp and metallic.Rayna stood on the dais again, her expression calm - too calm. Only I could feel the storm moving beneath it, through our bond. Her gown still shimmered like midnight; her crown caught the torchlight as she lifted her chin.“There has been an… incident,” she said, voice steady and clear. “One we will investigate fully. You are safe here, within these walls. Our guards are already securing the grounds.”Her gaze swept the room - Alphas, Betas, and envoys who didn’t quite know whether to bow or bolt. “You came tonight to stand for unity. Do not let fear be the first test you fail.”And gods, she had them. Even after the lights had died and something had screamed through the walls,

Damon POVThe first light of dawn crawled across the palace floor like a reluctant confession.I hadn’t slept. Not even for a breath. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the flash of that sapphire - the way it had turned black, the way the blade had bounced off as if the stone itself had laughed.Rayna stirred as the sun reached her, the pale gold glow cutting across her face. She blinked, slow, drowsy, then sat up - eyes finding me where I stood by the window.“You didn’t sleep.”“Couldn’t.” I turned. “Neither did the guards. No one came close, but… I’d rather not take chances.”She rubbed her temple, pushing a strand of hair from her face. “Did something happen?”I hesitated. Then I glanced at the bedside table. The box lay open, the necklace coiled neatly inside like a sleeping serpent.“It did. This necklace... I tried to destroy it,” I said finally. “The sapphire. I used blessed silver. It didn’t even scratch the surface...”Her gaze sharpened instantly. “ Why?" She froze. “Damon-

Rayna POVThe room didn’t feel like the library anymore. The air was too thick, too heavy - as if it had swallowed the sound of our own breathing.The words still burned on the parchment.She wears my light.I couldn’t look away. It wasn’t the ink that scared me - it was how familiar the script felt. As if some part of me recognized the curve of each letter.Damon’s hand found my arm. “Rayna.”I blinked, forcing my eyes off the parchment and back to him. His face was set in stone, calm on the surface, but his pulse thrummed fast under his grip.“I’m fine,” I said, which was the worst lie I’d told all week.Lira was whispering to herself, tracing symbols into the air that burned faintly blue before fading. Kael muttered something about needing a drink. Garrick checked the wards again, as if brute force could stop a goddess.But I could still feel her. A faint hum beneath my ribs. Not from the necklace. I knew where that cursed thing was. No, this came from deeper. Like a thread wound

Rayna POVThe hum didn’t fade when I left the library. It followed me - beneath my skin, behind my ribs - a second pulse that wasn’t mine.By the time I reached the corridor, my head felt too full. Voices drifted in and out of the noise of the palace - servants, guards, Kael calling something after me - but they sounded distant, muffled, like I was hearing them through water.Only one voice was clear. Female. Low. Amused.“You shouldn’t have touched what’s mine.”I froze. The air went thin.“Rayna?” Damon’s voice cut through from somewhere behind, his hand finding my arm. “You’re pale. What’s wrong?”I opened my mouth, but the words weren’t mine.“Nothing you can fix.”Damon’s grip tightened. “What did you say?”I blinked, breath shaking. “I-I don’t know. I'm sorry.”The voice purred again, closer this time, curling around my thoughts like smoke.“He’ll keep trying to save you. He doesn’t understand what you are yet.”My pulse spiked. I pressed my palms to my temples, forcing the soun