Novel & Cerita A Deep Blue Stone Atop A Dais

Since he isn’t around, I try to press my ear to the wall to hear the song better but instead fall through the door. Looking around, I notice the statues are gone. All that’s in the room is the golden dragon that once held the stone. The music gets louder as I approach the dragon. Suddenly the eyes of the golden dragon glow red, and after a flash, a glowing stone materializes in its claws. The appearance of the stone reminds me of a salt rock lamp, but there is no cord, and the stone seems dull. “Taran! Taran, that stone is back!” I yell.

He took a tentative step forward, his heart pounding in his chest, and Kaida followed closely behind. The source of the light was a pedestal, atop which rested a crown – the Sapphire Crown. It was both beautiful and powerful, its sapphire encrusted design reflecting the faint light that filled the chamber. Aric reached out a trembling hand, hardly daring to believe that the object they had sought for so long was within his grasp.

Sofia whispered, her voice echoing in the small, circular space. In the center of the room sat a pedestal made of translucent quartz. Resting atop it was an ornate, silver vessel—a chalice of such intricate design that it seemed to be woven from frozen moonlight. Its surface was etched with scenes of three races standing in a circle, their hands joined over a central point. It was clearly designed to hold the Heartstone, the anchor of the Fae realm. But the chalice was hollow. The Stone was gone.

The room was pleasantly cool, no doubt alleviated by the fact that the ceilings were indeed very far up, with high beams, and slowly rotating fans adding to the feeling of hypnosis. I scanned the faces before me, forcing my lips to curl into a slight smile. At the very end of the carpet, was a raised dias, three majestic thrones on it. The middle throne was the largest, and I assumed it was the Alpha King's. Lucas's mother, the former Luna Queen stood on the dais, slightly to the side of the thrones. She was dressed in a similar coloured silver A-line dress that was both simple and elegant. An elaborate diamond tiara glittered on her carefully arranged hair. I wondered if I looked half as ma

It never had but I also didn’t deny it. Damon’s jaw tightened beside me. “We are here for the Geira Stone,” he said instead, voice controlled but firm. “We’ve been told your coven has interest in it.” A flicker passed through her expression at that. Interest. She rose slowly from the throne and the movement alone changed the air. Every witch in the hall straightened as she descended the steps with calm precision, like the entire room had been waiting for her to decide it was worth moving. When she reached the lower platform, she stopped a few paces in front of us.

And at the far end, raised on a dais-- The Obsidian Throne. Black as midnight. Carved with wolves and moons and symbols I didn't recognize. Ancient. Powerful. Radiating authority. And surrounding it, filling the hall-- Hundreds of lycans. All of them staring at us. At me. Judging. Calculating. Waiting to see if I'd break. Fuck. "Steady," Caspian murmured. I forced myself to breathe. To walk forward with my head high. A woman stepped forward from the crowd. Older. Beautiful in a harsh way. Silver hair. Ice-blue eyes.

The lights dimmed further and the auctioneer’s tone changed immediately. “And now… tonight’s featured gemstone.” A velvet cloth was slowly lifted. The moment the blue opal appeared, the hall went silent completely. Blue flames danced under the crystal like living water trapped inside glass. Silver streaks shook through the stone whenever the light shifted across it. It was indeed a beautiful stone. Then I looked toward Carmen and immediately noticed the change in her expression, I noticed the spark in her eyes and her fingers tightened around the bidding paddle unconsciously while her gaze remained locked completely on the gemstone.

With Leo walking proudly between us, clutching his father’s hand on one side and mine on the other, we stepped through the balcony archway and down toward the grand dais of the courtyard. The moment we stepped onto the grand marble terrace overlooking the courtyard, the roaring sea of voices below completely cut off, dropping into a breathless, expectant silence. Thousands of eyes—warriors, omegas, elders, and families—looked up at us. Five hundred obsidian-armored wolves of the vanguard stood in perfect, rigid columns at the base of the dais, their silver-tipped spears reflecting the brilliant morning sun.

We were deep beneath the foundations of the estate, in a place that felt older than the pack itself. The staircase ended abruptly, opening into a vast, circular chamber. I raised the lantern high, its light skittering across the space, failing to reach the domed ceiling lost in shadow. And then, the light caught on something in the center. A massive, dormant crystal, taller than a man, stood on a stone dais. It was opaque, dark, and lifeless, like a shard of frozen night. It was ringed by nine smaller, identical stones, all equally dark. Etched into the floor around them was the same sigil from the study— the crescent moon flanked by twin wolves.

Maya's POV The air inside the sanctuary carried no stench of stale pitch or battle smoke. It smelled of ancient myrrh, molten metal, and a mystical presence so overwhelming the white marble floor seemed to thrum beneath my boots. The figure on the dais wore the imperial robes of the old dynasty, woven with gold threads that caught the violet torchlight. The weight of his aura settled over the nave like a slab of granite, forcing the vanguard betas to grit their teeth against the divine pressure.