The Monster and His Queen

Chapter 30

Elaria and Draven moved as one. Their shadows combined, creating a barrier that blocked the creatures from reaching the civilians.

"Get everyone out!" Elaria commanded. "We'll hold them!"

"You can't fight all three!" Amariel protested.

"Watch us."

Through their bond, Elaria and Draven fought in perfect synchronization. His shadows struck while hers defended. Her void commands confused the creatures while his raw power destroyed them. Together, they were devastating.

But Marek was escaping through one of the portals.

"I'll get him!" Elaria broke away from the fight, running toward the closing portal.

"Elaria, no!" Draven tried to follow, but two creatures blocked his path.

She dove through the portal just before it sealed.

And found herself in the void realm.

Not the organized, controlled part where the Void King resided. This was raw chaos, fragments of reality floating in endless darkness, voices screaming from every direction, entities moving just beyond sight.

And Marek, standing on a platform of solidified shadow, laughing.

"You shouldn't have followed me, Princess. Here, in our territory, you have no power."

"Wrong," Elaria said, her voice echoing strangely in the void. "Here, I have all the power. This is where I belong now."

She reached out with her consciousness, feeling the void respond to her. The fragments of reality bent to her will. The screaming voices quieted to listen.

"I am the priestess daughter," she declared. "I am bonded to void-born. I am the bridge between worlds. And you, Marek Darian, are nothing but a parasite feeding on power you don't understand."

Marek's smile faded. "You can't hurt me here. The Void Seekers protect me."

"Then let them try."

Elaria called on every ounce of power she'd gained. The void answered, shadows rising from nowhere, wrapping around Marek like chains.

"How?" he gasped. "You're not strong enough!"

"I'm stronger than you can imagine. Because unlike you, I don't fear what I am." She moved closer, the void parting before her like water. "Now. You're going to tell me everything about the Void Seekers. Who they are. Where they are. What they're planning."

"I'll tell you nothing!"

"Wrong answer."

She pressed her consciousness into his mind, using the void connection to tear through his mental barriers. It wasn't gentle. It wasn't kind. But she needed information, and she needed it now.

Images flooded through—meetings in dark places, rituals performed by cloaked figures, a plan spanning decades. The Void Seekers had members in every kingdom, all working toward one goal: opening permanent gates that would merge the void with the physical world completely.

And at the center of it all, a name that made Elaria's blood run cold.

King Tavian.

Draven's father was the leader of the Void Seekers.

"No," Elaria whispered. "That can't be right."

But the memories didn't lie. Tavian had been using Draven his entire life, not just as a weapon, but as a key. The bond between Draven and Elaria was the final piece of their plan.

She had to get back. Had to warn him.

But the void around her was collapsing. Marek's extraction from this place had destabilized it. She needed to open a portal back to the physical world, and she needed to do it now.

Through the bond, she felt Draven's panic. He couldn't sense her clearly, couldn't reach her through the void. He thought she was lost.

I'm coming back, she sent with all her strength. I'm coming back, and I have information. Terrible, crucial information.

She tore open a portal through sheer will, stumbling through it back into the Council Hall.

Draven caught her as she collapsed, holding her tight. "Don't ever do that again. I thought I'd lost you."

"We have bigger problems." Elaria looked up at him, her heart breaking for what she had to tell him. "Draven, your father—"

"Is standing right behind you," a cold voice said.

They spun around.

King Tavian stood in the doorway of the Council Hall, his sons flanking him. But his eyes, they were black. Completely black.

"Hello, children," he said, and it wasn't his voice. It was layered, ancient, terrible. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you interfering with my plans?"

Through the bond, Elaria felt Draven's world shatter. His father, the man who'd created him, who'd made the deal with the Void King—he'd been possessed. Probably for years.

"Father?" Draven's voice was barely a whisper.

"Your father is gone. Has been gone for a very long time." The entity wearing Tavian's face smiled. "I am the First Seeker. The one who began this cult millennia ago. And you, my dear boy, are my greatest creation."

"You're not the Void King," Elaria said, understanding dawning. "You're something else. Something older."

"Much older. I existed before the Void King, before the separation of worlds. I remember when everything was one." The First Seeker spread Tavian's arms wide. "And I've spent eons working to return things to that state. The void and physical world merged into one glorious chaos."

"That would destroy everything," Amariel said in horror.

"Destroy? No. Transform. Evolve. Transcend." The First Seeker looked at Draven with something like affection. "And you, child, will help me do it. You and your lovely bride. Your bond is the key. All I need to do is push you both to your limits, break your control, and let your combined power tear reality apart."

"We'll never help you," Draven said, his shadows rising.

"You won't have a choice. Because I hold something you both value very highly."

The First Seeker gestured, and more figures entered the hall.

Saphira, bound and gagged. Queen Lyra, her eyes wide with fear. Martha, struggling against shadow chains. King Zarek, bloodied but defiant.

"Your families," the First Seeker said pleasantly. "Everyone you love. And if you don't cooperate, if you don't do exactly as I say, I'll kill them. Slowly. Painfully. While you watch."

Elaria felt her heart stop.

This was it. The real trap. Not the murder, not the portals, not any of the previous attacks. This.

"So," the First Seeker said, his smile widening. "Shall we begin?"