Episode 4 — When the Queen Falls
853 Words
The world fractures into wind and darkness.
Stone rushes past me in a blur of moonlight and shadow as my body plummets into the abyss beneath the pack house. The air rips the scream from my lungs. My heart slams violently against my ribs as cold terror overtakes reason.
I am falling.
Too fast.
Too far.
KALI!
Zane’s howl shreds through the bond, a sound so full of agony it nearly breaks me in two.
I close my eyes.
And the power inside me answers.
Crimson light erupts from my body in a blinding shockwave. The wind reverses violently. My fall jerks hard—bone-snapping force slamming through my spine as I collide with something solid.
I don’t hit rock.
I crash through mist.
Through shadow.
Through magic.
And into darkness.
Pain drags me back to consciousness.
It’s everywhere—my ribs, my spine, my skull. My vision swims as I suck in a ragged breath that tastes like earth, blood, and cold stone. Dripping water echoes in the distance.
“Where… am I?” I whisper.
No answer.
I force my eyes open.
I’m lying in a cavern.
Massive stone pillars stretch upward into nothingness. Faint glowing moss paints the walls in ghostly blue light. Ancient runes are carved into the floor beneath me—old… far older than the pack.
Sanctuary magic.
I cough, pain tearing through my lungs. My hands shake as I push myself upright. Blood stains my palms.
The pit beneath the pack house isn’t just a foundation.
It’s an escape route.
A royal one.
My heartbeat stutters.
The throne has planned for this place… long before I was born.
Above me—
Chaos reigns.
Zane’s roar splits the sky as he tears through the attackers with mindless ferocity. Wolves and vampires clash in a storm of claws and fire. Jason fights back-to-back with Elder Bram, blades streaked in blood.
Then Zane feels it.
The bond snaps violently.
The moment my life slips beyond his reach.
“KALI!”
His scream is not a sound.
It is a disaster.
Zane’s wolf explodes free of restraint.
Not shifting.
Becoming the storm.
His claws shred through vampire flesh as if it were smoke. He doesn’t dodge. He doesn’t falter. He kills.
One.
After another.
After another.
The assassin who threw me is dragged from the shadows by Zane’s claws.
“What did you do with her?” Zane snarls, slamming him against the wall hard enough to shatter bone.
The vampire laughs through blood. “The throne claims its own.”
Zane tears his heart out.
Back in the cavern, I stagger forward through the glowing ruin. My magic pulses erratically beneath my skin—unstable, half-awake, furious.
A faint hum draws me deeper into the chamber.
At the center of the cavern sits a stone altar.
And upon it…
The Crown of the Crimson Throne.
Black metal. Blood-red gems. Power radiating in violent waves.
It waits for me.
The moment my foot crosses the rune circle, the crown flares to life. Visions slam into me with crushing force.
Vampire cities in flames.
Wolves kneeling in blood.
My parents standing before an army.
And me—
Seated on the throne.
Cold.
Unbreakable.
Ruling through destruction.
“No,” I sob, gripping my head. “That won’t be me!”
The crown hums louder.
You are born of war.
Tears stream down my face. “I am born of love.”
The altar trembles violently.
My magic fights back.
The crown’s glow flickers.
Zane finally finds the hidden passage.
Jason slides beside him, eyes blazing. “She fell into the royal vault.”
Zane’s face drains of color. “There is only one path out of that vault.”
Jason nods grimly. “The throne itself.”
“No,” Zane whispers.
“Yes,” Jason says. “If she claims it—or rejects it—it will define the war.”
Zane doesn’t hesitate.
He jumps into the abyss.
I kneel before the altar, shaking.
“I won’t rule with blood,” I whisper. “I won’t destroy to survive.”
The crown lifts from the stone on its own.
Floating.
Waiting.
My magic surges violently.
And then—
Zane crashes through the cavern ceiling in a storm of shattered rock and silver light.
“KALI!”
His arms are around me in an instant, crushing me to his chest as if he can fuse our bodies together through sheer force of will.
His heartbeat slams against mine.
“You’re alive,” he breathes, breaking. “You’re alive.”
I sob into his chest.
Behind him, Jason emerges from the shadows.
“The crown chose her,” he says quietly.
“No,” Zane growls. “She chose herself.”
The crown suddenly shatters.
Blood-red shards explode into dust.
Ancient magic screams and collapses inward.
The Crimson Throne…
Destroyed.
Silence follows.
Then—
A slow clap echoes from the cavern entrance.
“Well done, Your Majesty,” a familiar voice says.
Garrick steps from the shadows.
Alive.
Smiling.
The traitor bows.
“You just ended the old world.”
- Writer
