All Chapters of THE ROGUE QUEEN : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

One Hour Before the Beast Arrives "She's gone." Zara's hands were shaking. "I've checked everywhere—the library, her room, the healing wing. Selene, she just... she's just gone." My stomach dropped. "What do you mean gone?" “I mean she’s nowhere. Like she just vanished.” Zara’s voice broke. “What if someone took her? What if—” “Who would take her?” Damon asked sharply. Nobody answered. We all suspect who it could be, but saying Morgana's name out loud felt like admitting we'd been stupid enough to trust her. Mark cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, that creature will be at our walls in less than an hour. We need every able body on the defenses. The healer—" “Don’t,” I warned, stepping forward. "Don't you dare finish that sentence." "I'm just saying we can't afford to—" "She's pack!" The words came out louder than I meant them to. “We don’t leave our own behind.” Mark had the sense to look ashamed. But he pointed toward the window anyway. "Then what do you suggest? Because tha

Back in the Courtyard The pain was unbearable.. I felt my mother's pain, her terror, her desperate love for me as they drained her blood. Felt the moment they killed her and twisted what remained into this monstrosity. And underneath all that, I felt something else. A trap. The Beast wasn't just made from her blood. It was designed to drain mine. Every second I stayed connected, I felt my power flowing out, being pulled into some kind of reservoir. ‘Morgana lied,’ I realized. ‘This isn't about destroying the Beast. It's about draining me.’ I tried to pull back, but the connection had barbs—magical hooks that dug deeper the more I struggled. "SELENE!" Damon's voice, Rex's form appearing beside me. "What's wrong?" "It's a trap! The Beast is—" Pain cut off my words as more power drained away. Through the bond, Damon felt everything. Felt the trap closing around me. Rex lunged at the Beast, not trying to kill it but to break the physical contact between us. His massive jaws clo

Inside the Inner WallsWe barely made it inside before the gates closed behind us.The inner courtyard was full of people—civilians, injured warriors, anyone who had escaped the retreat.Outside the walls, the Council army had completely surrounded us.And the Shadow Beast was still out there, moving along the walls, waiting.“Give me a report,” Damon said. He was back in human form, covered in blood—some of it his, most of it not.“Three hundred are dead. Four hundred are injured. We have about two thousand fighters left,” General Mark said quietly. “The Council still has at least four thousand fresh soldiers.”"And the Beast?"“It’s still alive. And it’s still hunting the Queen.”Damon reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly. Through our bond, I felt how scared he really was.‘We can’t win this,’ I told him in my thoughts.‘We don't have to win. We just have to survive until dawn. Then we can—’‘Until dawn? Damon, They’ll break through the walls in a few hours.’‘Then we make ev

The world was ending, and I couldn't stop it. The Shadow Beast rushed through the courtyard like a powerful force. Its claws broke through stone, and dark shadows swallowed everything around it. It didn’t care who it hurt or killed—soldiers, our fighters, anyone. Anyone who stood in its way ended up lying on the ground. Morgana stood on the palace steps, laughing like this was all some grand joke, blood still dripping from her mouth where the ritual backlash had clearly damaged something inside her. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” she shouted over the noise. "True chaos. No sides. No loyalty. Just pure, beautiful destruction." "She's lost her mind," Lyra whispered beside me. Maybe. Or maybe this had been her plan all along—if she couldn't control the power, she'd make sure no one else could either. Damon's hand gripped mine so tight. "The tunnels," he said again. "Selene, we have to—" “Your Majesty!” General Mark rushed toward us. His armor was damaged, and blood was running down from

~Damon’s Pov~ She stopped moving in my arms. Her silver eyes stared blankly. Her chest wasn’t rising anymore. Her heart wasn’t beating. And the bond… it was gone. Completely gone, as if it had never been there at all. “No,” I said, my voice breaking. “No, no, no!” I shook her gently, then pressed my hands against the wound in her chest, trying to stop the bleeding even though I already knew it was too late. “LYRA!” I screamed. “LYRA, HELP HER!” Lyra stumbled over, Zara supporting her, and she pressed her hands to Selene's chest. Green light flickered for a moment, then weakened and went out. “I’m sorry,” Lyra whispered, tears on her face. “There’s nothing left. She’s… she’s gone.” “TRY AGAIN!” “Damon, she’s gone,” Lyra said softly, clearly heartbroken. “The Beast drained everything—her wolf, her magic, her life. I’m so sorry.” I looked down at Selene’s body—because that was all she was now—and something inside me broke completely. Rex howled in my mind, full of grief so