Chapter 22
1345 Words
The Dark King's Offer
The kingdom did not sleep.
It was impossible.
After the first king's message, every corner of the palace became filled with whispers.
Guards stood at every entrance.
The council remained in constant meetings.
Ancient texts were removed from hidden archives.
And everywhere Isabella went...
People looked at her differently.
Not with fear.
Not exactly.
With uncertainty.
Because everyone now knew the truth.
The blood of the first king flowed through her veins.
The same blood that had created their kingdom.
The same blood that had nearly destroyed it.
And that was a dangerous thing.
Because people could forgive mistakes.
They could forgive enemies.
But they feared what they could not understand.
Isabella stood before the grand mirror in her chambers.
For several minutes, she simply stared at herself.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same person.
Yet somehow everything felt different.
A few months ago, she had been a rejected Luna.
A woman discarded by the person who promised to love her.
A woman who believed she wasn't enough.
Now she was apparently the descendant of kings.
A queen.
A seal.
The last hope of an entire world.
It was almost funny.
Almost.
Because if someone had told her this would become her life, she would have laughed.
"You're thinking too loudly."
She turned.
Lucian stood by the doorway.
Again.
She sighed.
"You really enjoy doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Appearing when I am trying to have a private moment."
A faint smile appeared.
"Perhaps you need better private moments."
She almost smiled back.
Almost.
Then she remembered the reason he was there.
"What happened?"
Lucian's expression changed.
Serious.
"The northern defenses are holding."
"That sounds like good news."
"It is."
A pause.
"But the creatures have stopped attacking."
Isabella frowned.
"Stopped?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Lucian looked toward the window.
"Because they were never trying to conquer the kingdom."
The realization slowly formed.
"They were distracting us."
He nodded.
"While we prepared for war, the first king was preparing something else."
Isabella felt cold.
"The Gate."
"Yes."
They traveled beneath the palace before sunrise.
Not with an army.
Not with guards.
Only Lucian, Isabella, Seraphina, and General Lyra.
The secret tunnels beneath the kingdom were older than the palace itself.
Older than the current royal family.
Older than almost every known record.
The walls were covered with ancient carvings.
Stories.
Warnings.
Prophecies.
Isabella ran her fingers along one symbol.
A woman holding a crescent moon.
"Who is she?"
Seraphina looked at the carving.
"The first daughter."
Isabella studied it.
The woman who rejected darkness.
The woman who saved the world.
Her ancestor.
"She looks like me."
Seraphina smiled sadly.
"Because she was the beginning of your line."
They continued deeper.
Until they reached a massive stone door.
Unlike the others, this one was not decorated.
It was covered in a single sentence.
Lucian stopped.
Isabella read the words.
"Only the blood of the first king may open what he sealed."
She looked at Lucian.
"That doesn't make sense."
"No."
His expression was troubled.
"Because the first king sealed the Gate using his own blood."
A pause.
"But only his descendants can unlock it."
Isabella understood.
"He created the prison."
She looked at the door.
"And created the key."
Lucian nodded.
A terrible design.
A dangerous one.
The moment Isabella stepped closer, the stone door reacted.
Light spread beneath her feet.
Ancient symbols awakened.
The entire tunnel shook.
General Lyra immediately reached for her sword.
"Isabella."
"I'm not doing anything."
She wasn't.
The door was responding to her.
Not her choice.
Her blood.
The stone began moving.
Slowly.
Painfully.
As if it had been waiting centuries for this moment.
Then—
A voice came from behind them.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Everyone turned.
Malakar stood at the entrance.
Alone.
No army.
No weapons.
Just a smile.
Lucian immediately moved in front of Isabella.
"You have courage returning here."
Malakar laughed softly.
"Or confidence."
The king's power filled the tunnel.
The Blood Hunter didn't move.
"I did not come to fight."
Nobody believed him.
"Then why are you here?"
Malakar looked at Isabella.
"To offer you a choice."
Isabella narrowed her eyes.
"I don't make deals with people who kidnap my friends."
A hint of amusement crossed his face.
"Good."
A pause.
"That means you still have Elara's heart."
The mention of Elara changed the atmosphere.
Malakar continued.
"The first king is not your enemy."
Lucian's expression hardened.
"Do not listen to him."
Malakar ignored him.
"He is your blood."
"And he destroyed thousands of lives."
Malakar's smile faded.
For the first time, he looked serious.
"Because he was trying to fix a broken world."
Isabella stared.
"That is your excuse?"
"No."
His voice became colder.
"It is his tragedy."
Silence.
Malakar stepped closer.
"The first king discovered something the Moon Goddess hid from everyone."
"What?"
"The supernatural world is dying."
The words settled heavily.
"What are you talking about?"
"The Gate is not simply a prison."
Malakar looked at the stone door.
"It is a source."
A chill moved through Isabella.
"A source of what?"
"Power."
The answer was immediate.
"Ancient power."
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
"Enough."
Malakar looked at him.
"You still refuse to understand."
A pause.
"You always were like that."
Lucian's expression changed.
A memory.
A painful one.
Malakar continued.
"The first king wanted to save his people."
"And how many did he kill trying?"
Isabella's voice cut through the argument.
Everyone looked at her.
She stepped forward.
"Enough."
The tunnel became silent.
She looked at Malakar.
"Why are you really here?"
For a moment, the hunter studied her.
Then he smiled.
"Because I know what happens if you choose Lucian."
Her heart stopped slightly.
"What?"
Malakar looked at the king.
"The prophecy."
Lucian's expression turned dangerous.
"Don't."
But Malakar continued.
"Tell her."
The words echoed.
Isabella looked at Lucian.
"What prophecy?"
Silence.
That silence told her everything.
Another secret.
Another hidden truth.
Her anger grew.
"Lucian."
He looked away.
And that hurt more than any answer.
Malakar smiled.
"There is a prophecy that says when the final heir awakens..."
A pause.
"The king who protects her will be the one who destroys her."
The tunnel became freezing cold.
Isabella stared at Lucian.
"No."
Malakar continued.
"The more powerful your bond becomes..."
His voice lowered.
"The closer you move toward the end."
Lucian finally spoke.
"Enough."
The command shook the tunnel.
But Isabella noticed something.
He wasn't denying it.
Not again.
Not this time.
Later, Isabella stood alone outside the palace.
Her mind was chaos.
The first king wanted to save her.
Malakar claimed he understood the truth.
Lucian was hiding another prophecy.
Everyone had answers except her.
Everyone knew her destiny except her.
She hated it.
She hated feeling powerless.
A presence appeared beside her.
Lucian.
But this time...
She didn't turn toward him.
"You knew."
His silence was confirmation.
"How long?"
"Since before I met you."
The pain that crossed her face was impossible to hide.
"Why?"
His voice was quiet.
"Because the prophecy said if I found you..."
A pause.
"You would either save the world..."
Another pause.
"Or destroy it."
She finally looked at him.
"And you still came for me?"
Lucian's eyes met hers.
"Yes."
"Why?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"Because I would rather face the end with you than live without trying."
Her breath caught.
The words were simple.
But they carried seven hundred years of loneliness.
Seven hundred years of regret.
Seven hundred years of believing he didn't deserve happiness.
Before she could respond—
The mountain exploded.
A wave of energy spread across the kingdom.
The sky turned black.
And every wolf and Lycan felt it.
The Gate had opened further.
A voice echoed across the world.
The first king.
"Choose, my daughter."
The ground cracked.
"Stand beside me..."
The darkness grew.
"Or watch this world fall."
The message ended.
But the choice remained.
And for the first time...
Isabella realized something terrifying.
The first king wasn't forcing her to join him.
He was giving her a choice.
Because he truly believed...
She would choose him.
- Writer
