جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 70

The Blood Moon hung above the mountains like a warning.I stood beneath it with the silver key in my hand, staring at the darkness where Cassian had disappeared.He was inside the Gate.My son was somewhere beyond it.My mother was somewhere beyond it.And Queen Selene was waiting.Yet, strangely, I wasn’t afraid.Not the way I had been before.Because for the first time, I understood something.I wasn’t being dragged toward the Gate.I wasn’t being forced into a prophecy.I wasn’t walking into darkness because the Shadow King demanded it.I was choosing my next step.And that made all the difference.Elara stood beside me.“You should rest.”“I can’t.”“You haven’t slept properly in days.”“I don’t need sleep.”“You need clarity.”I looked at her.“I have never been clearer.”She studied my face.“You’re going after him.”“Yes.”“After Cassian?”“Yes.”“And Elias.”“Yes.”“And your mother.”I nodded.“And you think you can save all three?”“I don’t know.”I looked down at the silver

The moon turned red.Not slowly.Not gradually.One moment, the sky above the northern forest was dark and silver.The next, crimson light flooded everything.The trees.The mountains.The wolves.Even the snow beneath my feet.I stood completely still.My hand pressed against the silver mark over my heart.It was burning.Not like pain.Like fire awakening beneath my skin.Elara stared at the sky.“The Blood Moon.”Her voice trembled.I had heard those words before.But never like this.Never with the entire forest trembling beneath my feet.The wolves began howling.One after another.Then hundreds of them answered.The sound rolled across the mountains until it felt as though the entire Northern Kingdom had awakened.I could feel Cassian through the mate bond.His heartbeat was beating against mine.Fast.Strong.Alive.Seraphine.“I’m here.”Can you see it?“The moon?”Yes.“I can.”His voice became quieter.It’s different this time.I looked at the crimson moon.“What do you mean

The Gate disappeared, but the words it had left behind refused to leave my mind.BRING HIM.I stared at the empty wall, feeling the last traces of silver magic fade from my fingertips.The Shadow King wanted Cassian.Not merely his blood. Not merely his royal inheritance.He wanted him brought into the Shadow Kingdom.And whatever waited beyond that vanished doorway had terrified even the first Blood Moon Queen.I turned toward Selene.“Tell me everything.”The ancient queen stood motionless beneath the red moonlight spilling through the chamber’s broken ceiling. Her silver hair had stopped floating around her face, but the sadness in her eyes had deepened.“Everything about what?” she asked.“The Shadow King. His prison. His connection to our bloodlines. All of it.”Selene looked at Cassian.For a moment, I thought she would refuse.Instead, she lowered her gaze.“There is a reason he has not walked freely in this world for centuries.”“Because you imprisoned him?”“No.”Her answer s

The first scream came from the eastern tower.The second came from directly above us.Then the palace bells began to ring.Not the measured toll that announced an approaching visitor. Not the warning bells used when a rogue wolf crossed the border.These were the bells of war.I felt the first explosion through the soles of my feet.The ancient chamber shook. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the black symbols beneath us flashed like dying stars.Cassian seized my hand.“Stay behind me.”I looked at him.“Not this time.”“Seraphine—”“I am your wife, not a fragile ornament you can hide behind your throne.”His jaw tightened.“And I am trying to keep you alive.”“So am I.”Another explosion rocked the palace.A crack tore through the stone wall, sending fragments scattering across the floor. Beyond it, I heard the terrible chorus of wolves howling in pain.Cassian’s expression changed.The king disappeared.The warrior emerged.“Rowan!” he shouted.The captain appeared at the chamber ent

The first order I gave as the kingdom’s acting ruler was to open the palace gates.The second was to remove the royal banners.The third was to prepare every available warrior for war.By dawn, the palace no longer looked like a king’s residence. Its grand halls had become shelters for displaced families, its gardens had been converted into temporary medical stations, and its council chamber was filled with maps marked by the names of burning settlements.Cassian’s throne stood empty.I refused to look at it.Every time my eyes drifted toward the black-and-silver chair, I felt the terrible emptiness where my husband should have been.Through our completed mate bond, I could still sense him.Faintly.Like a heartbeat heard from the other side of a mountain.Sometimes I felt pain. Sometimes I felt nothing at all.But I had not felt him disappear.That meant he was alive.I held on to that truth as if it were the only thing keeping me upright.“Your Majesty?”I turned.Rowan stood in the