All Chapters of The Rejected Queen: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

The silence after that broken howl pressed down like a weight.Another wind brushed the tower window, colder this time. The clouds thickened, swallowing what was left of the moonlight. I could still taste iron in the air - sharp, wrong.I turned to Garrick. He was already on alert, hand on his sword. “You heard it?”He nodded once, jaw tight. “That was no wolf.”“Then move,” I said, grabbing my own blade. “Wake the barracks. Every warrior, every able body. I want them armed and ready in two minutes. No horns. No panic.”He didn’t argue - just sprinted for the hall, barking orders before he was even out of sight. The sound of boots striking stone echoed after him, sharp and fast.I followed, my own steps heavy against the marble, heading straight for the main hall. Torches flickered in the draft as I passed, their light bending like it was afraid to touch the air. Something was off. The wards felt strained, humming too high, too thin.“Report,” I demanded as Garrick met me halfway down

Damon POVThe last crack of the ward faded like a dying scream. Silence followed. Not empty, but expectant, like the city itself was holding its breath.Then the panic began.Thane shot out of his chair so fast it scraped across the marble. “What was that? Is that the wards failing-? Did something breach the barrier?!”Three council members bolted to the windows, tripping over each other.“Someone check the north patrol-” “We can’t, there’s no signal-” “Is this an attack? Are we under attack?!”The noise hit like a wave. Chairs slammed. Papers scattered. A cup rolled across the floor.I felt Rayna stiffen beside me. I felt the shadows shift. And my wolf lifted its head in my chest, lips curled back.Then Rayna spoke calmly. “It’s here.” Her voice sliced clean through the chaos. Every councilor snapped toward her like puppets yanked by a single string.Thane swallowed hard. “W-what do you mean here?”Rayna’s eyes flickered silver. Unmistakably divine, terrifyingly calm. “Inside the

Damon POV The council’s panic hit like a swarm of buzzards, all flapping and shrieking over the same corpse.Shouts. Questions. Fingers pointing. Half the room begging for orders, the other half trying to hide under furniture.I’d had enough.“Quiet.” My voice cracked like a whip.No one listened.“Now,” I growled, low and edged.That did it. Silence hit in an uneven wave, broken only by the crackle of the remaining torches.Rayna swayed in my arms, still breathing too fast, eyes too bright, power flickering under her skin like trapped starlight.“We’re done in here,” I said, hauling her to her feet gently but firmly.Thane sputtered. “You can’t just- The wards are collapsing, Damon. We need strategy, a formation, a-”“We need to see what we’re dealing with,” I snapped. “We can’t fight blind.”Maren raised a shaky hand toward Rayna. “Your Majesty… are you well enough-”Rayna straightened, even though her knees clearly hated her for it. “I’m not sitting in a room while my people die.”

The blast hit like a hammer. My back slammed into the far wall, the impact stealing the breath from my lungs. Stone cracked behind me. Dust rained from the ceiling. Every nerve in my body barked at once.But I forced my eyes open.The creature stood in the center of the room, shrieking as Rayna’s light flayed through its twisted form. Its limbs stretched, contorted, smoldered. Its stolen faces melted one by one.And in the middle of all that blinding chaos… Rayna still knelt in the circle.Barely.Her shoulders shook. Her pulse skittered under her skin. The moonlight pulsing from her hands flickered like a dying star, threatening to collapse any second.“Rayna!” I staggered to my feet.She didn’t hear me. Or she couldn’t.Her voice was a low, breaking chant, words dripping with power too big for her mortal form. Light erupted again. The runes spiraled higher, rising around her like a cage of silver fire.Garrick crawled to the wall, coughing. “That thing… she’s burning it from the in

Rayna POVThe world burned with silver and black.I could feel it before I saw it, like the air itself had teeth. Each breath stung, cold and sharp, laced with smoke and ash. The mark beneath my skin pulsed in rhythm with the rumble of the ground. The city wasn’t just shaking - it was bleeding.When I looked up, the sky was alive with fire. Towers of smoke rose from the western wall, where the wards once shimmered bright. Now, the silver dome that protected our city was fracturing, bleeding darkness through its cracks. Threads of black fire curled through the air, twisting like veins under the skin of the heavens.And Nythera. was there.Not fully in flesh, but close enough. Too close. Her shadow unfurled across the moon, so vast it swallowed the stars. Her voice rolled through my skull like thunder:“Daughter of Light. You burned my servants. Now you’ll burn with them.”I staggered, clutching my head as the world tilted. Every streetlight flickered. Every flame turned blue. Every wh