Episode 5 — The World Breaks Open
1259 Words
The silence after the crown’s destruction feels wrong.
Too still.
Too final.
Crimson dust floats slowly through the air where the Crown of the Throne once hovered, its ancient power collapsing into nothingness. The altar no longer glows. The runes at my feet crack and fade like dying embers.
The throne is gone.
The destiny it demanded of me is gone.
But the consequences of that defiance have only just begun.
Zane’s arms remain locked around me as if he’s afraid the moment he lets go, the world will rip me away again. His chest rises and falls in ragged breaths, every muscle in his body coiled and ready to strike.
Across the ruined chamber, Garrick straightens from his mocking bow, slow applause echoing off the stone.
“Remarkable,” he says lightly. “You shattered a throne older than every pack combined. History will curse your name for that.”
Zane bares his fangs. “You sold us to the vampire clans.”
Garrick smiles wider. “Sold? No. I negotiated. There’s a difference.”
Jason steps forward, blades sliding free from his sleeves. “You fed them our defenses. Our borders. Our timing.”
“And in exchange?” I whisper.
Garrick’s eyes slide back to me. “A throne of my own. When the vampires wiped out your inconvenient Alpha line, I was meant to rule the Blood Moon pack under their protection.”
Zane’s growl shakes the cavern. “You murdered our warriors.”
Garrick shrugs. “Necessary casualties.”
Something inside me fractures.
“These were wolves who trusted you,” I say hoarsely. “They followed you. They called you brother.”
His expression finally hardens. “I followed a world that no longer needed weak ideals.”
Zane moves so fast I barely see it.
The impact of his fist sends Garrick crashing into a pillar, stone exploding outward in a storm of rock and dust. Garrick staggers upright, blood streaking from his mouth—then laughs.
“Alpha rage won’t save you,” he spits. “The clans are already on the move. Your queen destroyed their sacred throne. They will burn your pack from existence.”
My knees weaken.
“How many?” I whisper.
“All of them.”
The truth settles like ice in my soul.
Jason steps closer to Zane. “He’s not lying. The throne’s destruction will be taken as a declaration of war.”
Zane tightens his grip on Garrick’s throat. “Then he dies for treason.”
Garrick only smirks. “Kill me and the treaty dies with me. I was their inside gatekeeper.”
Zane’s claws draw blood.
And I finally understand the trap.
“We need him,” I whisper.
Zane turns sharply. “No.”
“He’s our leverage,” I say, forcing the words through my throat. “If the clans want war because of me… then they also negotiate because of me.”
Jason’s eyes flicker with grim approval.
Zane trembles with barely contained fury. “You’re not bargaining with your life.”
“I already did when the crown tried to claim me.”
Silence crashes between us.
Finally, Zane releases Garrick with a violent shove. Garrick collapses to the stone floor, coughing.
“You live,” Zane tells him coldly, “only because she commands it.”
Garrick wipes blood from his lips, eyes shining with twisted triumph. “Your Queen is wiser than your Alpha.”
Zane’s claws hover at his throat again.
Above ground, the pack counts its dead.
Wolves move through the ruins in shocked silence as sunrise bleeds across the battlefield. The scent of blood clings to the forest. Bodies lie beneath torn banners. Fire scars the earth.
Zane stands before the pack in full Alpha form, blood still streaking his arms. I stand beside him, wrapped in his jacket, the weight of the crown’s destruction still crushing my chest.
Jason drags Garrick forward in chains.
Gasps tear through the crowd.
“Traitor,” someone snarls.
Garrick lifts his chin. “Visionary.”
Zane’s voice cracks like thunder. “This wolf sold your lives to the vampire clans. He opened our borders. He orchestrated last night’s attack.”
Rage detonates through the pack.
Wolves surge forward.
Zane’s Alpha command halts them instantly.
“He will stand trial,” I say softly.
Every gaze swings to me.
“My blood started this war,” I continue. “I will not end it with murder. He will face judgment when the clans face us openly.”
Zane turns to me sharply. “Kali—”
“I cannot claim a throne built on slaughter,” I whisper. “Not here. Not ever.”
A slow realization spreads through the pack.
The Queen of Darkness did not rise.
But a Queen of Balance did.
The war council convenes before sunset.
Maps are spread across shattered stone tables. Pack leaders argue in furious tones. Jason reports troop movements. Liora sketches ward networks across the borders.
“The Crimson, Nightborne, and Ashveil clans have mobilized,” Jason reports. “They march under one banner now.”
“They were enemies for centuries,” Liora mutters. “What united them?”
Jason’s gaze settles on me.
“The destruction of the Crimson Throne.”
A bitter laugh escapes my lips. “So in trying to stop a war… I began one.”
“You ended their justification for internal conflict,” Jason corrects. “Now they turn outward.”
Zane slams his fist into the table. “Then we give them nowhere to march.”
“And if they breach the walls?” Elder Bram asks softly.
Zane looks at me.
Every eye follows his.
My magic stirs uneasily.
“I will not slaughter innocents,” I say. “But I will not allow my family to be erased.”
The truth forms painfully in my chest.
“I will meet them.”
Zane stiffens violently. “Absolutely not.”
“They want the Queen,” I whisper. “Let them face her.”
Jason exhales slowly. “If you step onto the battlefield, the clans will either bend… or unleash everything they have.”
Zane grips my shoulders in desperation. “You are not a weapon.”
“I am a bridge,” I say softly. “Or a barrier.”
His forehead presses against mine as his voice breaks. “I just got you back.”
“And you will not lose me,” I promise. “Not to destiny. Not to fear.”
He doesn’t answer.
But I feel his terror through the bond.
That night, the bond between us burns hotter than ever.
Zane holds me as if he might brand my soul with his arms just to keep me here. His lips brush my hair with trembling restraint.
“When this war ends,” he murmurs into the darkness, “I will mark you. In front of every surviving kingdom if I must.”
I rest my head against his chest. “And I will stay.”
Sleep comes fitfully.
Dreams of fire.
Dreams of crowns.
Dreams of blood.
And far beyond our borders…
Three vampire armies kneel before a single obsidian banner.
“The Queen has rejected the throne,” a messenger kneels, trembling. “The crown is destroyed.”
A figure steps from the shadows, eyes burning red.
“Then we take her instead.”
Fangs gleam in the dark.
“She will rule through us…
or die beneath our heel.”
- Writer
