The Crownless Again Shall Be King Novels & Stories

I asked already having reached the conclusion of the difference between him and me. His eyes snapped open, and once more the crimson within them flared. My knees weakened beneath that molten fire. "Not men," he said, each syllable drawn like a blade. "Not as you understand them." He said and I wondered if he was habituated to having to explain things to another. "Some were once mortal. Some were never human at all. All are driven by hunger, by the lust of power. And they hunt what they cannot possess." So they hunt you, I thought as I unconsciously took a step back until the counter pressed into my spine. "Why?"

But she didn’t hesitate. She called an emergency council meeting that night and announced her verdict. Elias and Elara were banished from Blackstone territory forever. Any wolf who aided them would be put to death. A month later, the old Alpha passed away peacefully in his sleep. Kael was crowned the new Alpha of the Blackstone pack. And at his side, I wore the Luna’s Crown and the Moon-Blessed Robes that had always been mine. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the wolf pendant, holding it up between us.

Kael's smile disappeared. The Creator turned pale. The First Father looked upward. And somewhere among the newborn stars— a familiar crown appeared. The black crown. The one that should have been destroyed long ago. Kael slowly raised his weapon. The First Father whispered: “The cycle isn't over.” The crown began descending. And from within it— someone opened their eyes.

He can’t go against their choice. Slowly, Kael places the crown on his head, its seven points befitting of its owner. As the old man places the crown on his head, he whispers to only his hearing. "Redemption lies within. One human, imbued with pure love, can tame your heart's icy grip. Find them, and your destruction may cease." Kael finishes his words and moves away for their King to gaze upon his people. The underworld trembles, acknowledging its new ruler. Me..

“Then let her come. Let her see what’s left of the girl she thinks she can replace.” The horns sounded again but this time it was louder. The kingdom was on the brink once more. But this time, Evelyn wasn’t the same woman who rose from ruin. She was the storm that made the ruins burn bright. And the Crownless Queen would not fall twice.

The price was everything he had once loved about the man who had placed him there. He was the Crownless King. And his reign, stretching out before him into a limitless, empty horizon, had just begun. ----

Her crown fell to the marble floor with a clear clang, there seems also to be a clanging sound of someone's sword falling to the ground outside the palace gates. The deep red gem on the crown shattered and scattered. Warm blood down the steps on the cold ground, slowly spreading, reminiscent of the shallow creek she used to play in barefoot as a child. This golden hall of Avalon became her grave, swallowing her bones, burying her life. Outside, the sun shone on the snow, melting it bit by bit…

I stared at Alexander and slowly said, "From the moment you pressed your bloody fingerprint, you lost all right to call yourself my mate." The calm on his face finally cracked for good. I didn't give Alexander another chance to speak. "Today's succession ceremony is void. Three days from now, the royal family and Council of Elders will convene a public trial. Alexander, Sophia, whatever you owe me, I'll collect myself one by one." … Unexpectedly, Alexander didn't wait three days. That very night, he stormed into the White Wolf royalty's temporary residence, coughing blood. "I'm begging you, Ivy. Please see me."

That reaction alone told me everything I needed to know—she knew exactly what that title meant. “You know them,” I said, my voice quieter than intended. It was not a question. Mira lowered herself into the chair near my bed and exhaled slowly, the expression on her face turning grave in a way I had rarely seen. “Everyone in the supernatural world knows them,” she said at last. “The Four Crown Kings are not merely powerful students, Aurelia. They are the strongest beings Noctis Academy has produced in centuries.” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “Each one stands at the peak of their generation. Each commands power capable of shifting political balance across kingdoms. Nobles fear off

The third through the twentieth: Stories of queens who tried and failed, cities that rose and fell, loves that turned to coral and bone. I’m crying blood and starlight. My body in the real world is convulsing—I feel it distantly, like a dream. But I don’t stop. Twenty-first line: “The crown is a cage until the queen chooses the key.” I understand. The crown was never the power. The choice was. Twenty-second through fortieth: Every time a bearer chose wrong. Every time the sea won. Every time the world paid the price. I’m on my knees in the nothing, lungs full of salt that isn’t salt.