The Monster and His Queen

Chapter 42

"You have nerve showing your face here."

Elaria stepped forward, her own void magic rising to meet Lady Margot's power. The air between them crackled with energy.

"I have information you need. Information about threats you haven't even imagined yet." Lady Margot's smile was cold. "So before you try to kill me, perhaps you should listen."

"Give me one reason not to end you right now," Draven said, his shadows forming blades.

"Because I'm not your enemy. I never was." Lady Margot raised her hands slowly, showing she held no weapons. "What I did twenty-three years ago was necessary. Cruel, but necessary. And now the consequences of that action are coming for all of us."

"Necessary?" Queen Lyra pushed through the crowd of guards. "You murdered my child! How dare you call that necessary!"

"Your child was already dying, Lyra. Her lungs were failing. She had hours at most. What I did was give her death meaning instead of letting her suffer." Lady Margot's expression remained unmoved. "I threw her into the void rift, yes. But I thought she would die quickly. Painlessly. I didn't know the Devourer would find her. Would consume her body and use it for decades."

"You're lying," Elaria said. "The physician's journal says you told him which babies were void-marked. You weren't just disposing of my sister. You were running a systematic murder operation."

"Because I was trying to prevent exactly what's about to happen!" Lady Margot's composure cracked. "Don't you understand? Every void-marked child born in this kingdom was a beacon. A signal to entities in the void that this realm was vulnerable. And I was trying to eliminate those signals before something worse than the Devourer noticed!"

"What could be worse than the Devourer?" Amariel asked.

"The Collector." Lady Margot's voice dropped to barely a whisper. "An entity so ancient, so powerful, that even the Void King fears it. And it's coming here. Has been traveling toward this realm for twenty-three years. Ever since it sensed the birth of twin priestess daughters, one kept and one cast into the void."

The room fell silent.

"You're insane," Captain Ryver said.

"I wish I were. But I've been tracking it through void rifts. Watching its progress." Lady Margot pulled out a small device made of crystal and shadow. "This shows void disturbances across multiple realms. Look."

She activated it, and a projection appeared in the air. Elaria saw what looked like a map of reality itself, showing dozens of parallel worlds. And moving between them, leaving a trail of consumed realms behind it, was something massive. Something that made the Devourer look like a child's toy.

"What is it?" Elaria breathed.

"An entity that feeds on potential. On what could have been." Lady Margot closed the device. "Twin births are rare in void-touched bloodlines. When they happen, they create a resonance that echoes across dimensions. The Collector heard that resonance. And it's been following the signal here ever since."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" King Zarek demanded. "Why keep this secret?"

"Because no one would have believed me! I was just a court advisor. A woman with no formal power. If I'd claimed an ancient void entity was coming, I'd have been declared insane and locked away." Lady Margot looked at Elaria. "So I did what I could. I tried to eliminate void-marked children before they could strengthen the signal. I thought if I removed enough beacons, the Collector might lose interest."

"But it didn't work," Draven said. "It's still coming."

"Yes. Because the signal was already sent the moment the twins were born. Killing one didn't erase it. Just made it... different. More interesting to the Collector." Lady Margot's shoulders slumped. "I failed. Everything I did was for nothing. And now we all pay the price."

"When will it arrive?" Amariel asked, her face pale.

"Soon. Days, maybe weeks. I can't predict exactly. But it's close. I can feel it pressing against the barriers." Lady Margot looked at Elaria. "And when it comes, it will want you specifically. The twin who survived. The one who carries the full resonance now that her sister is dead."

"What does it want with me?"

"To collect you. To add your potential to its hoard. Every choice you didn't make, every path you didn't take, every possible future you could have had. It will strip them all away and consume them." Lady Margot's voice was grim. "You'll still be alive, technically. But you'll be hollow. Empty. A shell with no possibilities left."

"That's horrifying," Saphira said.

"That's the Collector. It doesn't destroy worlds. It sterilizes them. Removes all potential for change or growth. Leaves them static and dying."

Elaria's mind raced. Another entity. Another threat. Would they never be free of this?

"Why should we trust you?" she asked. "You've admitted to murder. To conspiracy. Why should we believe anything you say?"

"Because I'm giving you my life." Lady Margot knelt slowly, placing her hands on the ground in a gesture of submission. "I know what I did was wrong. I know I deserve death. So I offer myself as payment. Execute me if you must. But please, please believe me about the Collector. Prepare for its arrival. Or everyone dies."

Through the bond, Elaria felt Draven's confusion matching her own. This was too convenient. Too theatrical. But also too specific to be completely fabricated.

"Amariel, can you verify what she's saying?" Elaria asked. "Is the Collector real?"

"I've heard legends. Stories passed down through priestess circles. But I always thought they were just stories. Warnings to scare novices." Amariel studied Lady Margot. "You said you've been tracking it. How?"

"My great-grandmother left journals. Instructions. She was one of the priestesses who first encountered the Collector centuries ago. She barely survived. And she left detailed notes about how to detect its approach." Lady Margot pulled out more papers. "Everything I know is here. Take it. Study it. Verify it independently. But do it quickly."

King Tavian stepped forward. "If what you're saying is true, why come here now? Why not stay in hiding?"

"Because hiding won't save me. Won't save any of us. The Collector doesn't care about borders or politics. It consumes entire worlds." Lady Margot looked up at Elaria. "And because I owe this girl the truth. I destroyed her sister. The least I can do is try to save her life."

"How touching," a new voice said from the shattered doorway.

Everyone spun around.