Chapter 20
1231 Words
The First King Awakens
For seven hundred years, the world believed the first king was dead.
History recorded his downfall.
Legends called him a fallen ruler.
Children were warned about his greed.
But no one knew the truth.
The first king had not died.
He had waited.
Hidden beneath the earth.
Beyond the Gate.
And now...
He was awake.
The palace had never felt so small.
Not because of its walls.
Because of the fear inside them.
Every warrior knew something had changed.
The creatures from beneath the earth were not the true enemy.
They were only the beginning.
The first king was returning.
And nobody knew what that meant.
Isabella stood in the royal library, staring at the ancient book that had revealed his existence.
The drawing remained open before her.
A man wearing a black crown.
Dark eyes.
A powerful presence.
A face she had seen before.
In her dreams.
The same face that appeared whenever memories of her past life surfaced.
She hated that.
She hated knowing pieces of herself existed that she couldn't understand.
She hated feeling like her own blood carried secrets from centuries ago.
Most of all...
She hated that everyone else seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself.
"You should be sleeping."
She didn't turn.
She already knew who it was.
"Do you ever say anything else?"
Lucian walked into the room.
A small hint of amusement appeared on his face.
"Occasionally."
She looked at him.
"Really? I haven't noticed."
A faint smile appeared.
A real one.
Small.
Rare.
But there.
For a moment, the tension disappeared.
Then Isabella remembered everything.
The tomb.
Malakar.
Elara.
The first king.
The Gate.
The smile faded.
"Tell me the truth."
Lucian became serious immediately.
"I always do."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Do you?"
The question hit harder than she intended.
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
Good.
Because she needed him to understand.
"I spent my entire life believing I knew who I was."
She looked at the book.
"Then suddenly I discover I'm connected to an ancient queen, an impossible prophecy, and a Gate that could destroy the world."
A pause.
"Do you understand how terrifying that is?"
Lucian didn't answer immediately.
Then he moved closer.
"I do."
The response surprised her.
Because he wasn't dismissing her feelings.
He wasn't telling her she was stronger than this.
He wasn't telling her not to be afraid.
He understood.
"I know what it feels like to have your entire life changed by a truth you weren't prepared for."
His voice lowered.
"I know what it feels like to carry a responsibility you never asked for."
The words were quiet.
But powerful.
Because he wasn't speaking as a king.
He was speaking as someone who had lived it.
Isabella looked at him.
Really looked at him.
And for the first time, she wondered...
How lonely had seven hundred years been?
A knock interrupted them.
General Lyra entered.
Her expression was serious.
"My King."
Lucian immediately turned.
"What happened?"
"We found something."
She placed a small object on the table.
A piece of black stone.
The same stone as the crown in the ancient drawing.
Isabella touched it.
Instantly, pain exploded through her mind.
She gasped.
The library disappeared.
The world disappeared.
And suddenly she was somewhere else.
Fire.
Everywhere.
A palace burning.
Screams.
War.
Death.
She was standing in a throne room.
But she wasn't Isabella.
She knew that immediately.
She felt different.
Older.
Stronger.
Powerful.
A woman stood before her.
Queen Elara.
Alive.
Beautiful.
Terrified.
Across from her stood the first king.
The man from her dreams.
His eyes were filled with madness.
"You don't understand, Elara."
His voice echoed.
"The world is weak because we are afraid."
Elara stepped back.
"You opened the Gate."
The king smiled.
"I opened the path to perfection."
"No."
Her voice shook.
"You opened a path to destruction."
The king's expression changed.
Anger.
Betrayal.
"You were supposed to stand beside me."
Elara looked heartbroken.
"You wanted me beside your throne."
A pause.
"But you never wanted me beside your heart."
The vision shook.
The king raised his hand.
Dark energy filled the room.
Then a voice came from somewhere else.
Lucian.
Young.
Different.
But unmistakably him.
"Run!"
The vision shifted.
A battle.
Orion fighting.
Lucian fighting.
Elara running.
Then—
A scream.
A betrayal.
A choice.
And before the vision disappeared, Isabella heard the first king whisper:
"Your bloodline will open what mine could not."
Isabella returned to reality.
She collapsed.
Lucian caught her before she hit the floor.
"Isabella."
She could barely breathe.
The memory faded.
But the words remained.
Your bloodline will open what mine could not.
She looked at Lucian.
"He knew."
Lucian frowned.
"Who?"
"The first king."
A chill crossed the room.
"He knew about me."
Nobody spoke.
Because that was impossible.
The first king lived seven hundred years ago.
Yet somehow...
He had been waiting for her.
That evening, the council gathered again.
But this time, there was a new problem.
The first king was not simply returning.
He was calling to Isabella.
The connection was undeniable.
"The Gate responds to her blood," Seraphina explained.
"Because she is the final descendant."
Isabella stared at the ancient symbols.
"But why me?"
Nobody answered.
Until Lucian did.
"Because fate chose you."
She looked at him.
"No."
The response was immediate.
Everyone turned.
"I don't believe that."
Silence.
Isabella stood.
"I spent my whole life having people decide my future for me."
Her voice grew stronger.
"My mate decided I wasn't enough."
Her eyes hardened.
"My pack decided I wasn't important."
A pause.
"I will not let destiny do the same."
Something changed in the room.
Respect.
Not fear.
Respect.
Lucian looked at her.
And Isabella saw something she had never seen before.
Pride.
"You are right."
The words surprised everyone.
Even her.
Lucian continued.
"You are not a weapon."
He looked around the council.
"She is not a seal."
Then his eyes returned to hers.
"She is a queen."
The words settled over the room.
And for the first time...
Isabella believed them.
Far beneath the mountain...
The Gate opened another inch.
Enough.
Just enough.
A man stepped forward from the darkness.
Ancient armor covered his body.
A black crown rested upon his head.
The first king.
The original ruler.
The creator of the kingdom.
He looked toward the surface.
Toward Isabella.
Toward his descendant.
And smiled.
"Finally."
The darkness moved behind him.
An army waited.
Millions of eyes opened.
Creatures that had slept for centuries.
Creatures that had waited for this moment.
The first king lifted his hand.
"The Queen has returned."
A pause.
"And now..."
His smile widened.
"The kingdom will return to its rightful ruler."
Above ground, Isabella suddenly felt a presence.
A connection.
A voice.
Not through her ears.
Through her blood.
"Little heir."
She froze.
Everyone noticed.
Lucian immediately moved closer.
"What happened?"
Isabella looked toward the mountain.
Her face turned pale.
"He knows I'm here."
Silence.
Then the voice came again.
"Come home."
A shiver ran through her.
Because the voice wasn't angry.
Wasn't threatening.
It was worse.
It sounded like someone who truly believed she belonged to him.
"Your throne is waiting."
The connection disappeared.
But the message remained.
The first king was awake.
And he was not coming for the kingdom.
He was coming for his Queen.
- Writer
