Rejected, Then Crowned Queen

Chapter ten

The earth split open.

Lyra stumbled back as the ground shook violently beneath the palace courtyard.

Cracks tore through the stone, and columns of dust and debris shot up from the palace walls.

Then something beneath the palace shifted.

Something large.

Emma grabbed Lyra's arm.

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Lyra couldn't respond.

The two red eyes below the palace had stretched open, revealing slits of glowing amber.

A deep growl reverberated through the ground, and the Hollowborn warriors all froze in their tracks.

They were afraid.

That terrified Lyra more than anything.

Fenrir moved to block her path.

"Everyone back."

Kael raised his sword.

"What is it?"

Fenrir kept his gaze on the widening fissure.

"Something that should have stayed buried."

Darian's face had gone pale.

"You don't understand."

Fenrir turned to him.

"Then explain."

Darian swallowed hard.

"The creature beneath this palace is not one of the Hollowborn."

There was a pause.

"It is the reason they exist."

There was a long pause as everyone stared at him.

Lyra narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you mean?"

Darian met her gaze.

"Long ago, before the Lunar Kingdom was even founded, there was an ancient king."

"His name was Malakar."

"Your ancestors defeated him and imprisoned him beneath Luna."

Lyra frowned.

"Why?"

"Malakar wanted the power of the Moon for himself."

Fenrir's jaw tightened.

"He nearly destroyed the entire continent."

Darian nodded.

"And when your mother became queen, the seal began to fail."

Lyra's heart pounded in her chest.

"My mother knew?"

"She knew,"

Darian replied grimly.

"Then why didn't she tell me?"

"Because she thought you would have been hunted down before you could protect yourself."

There was a deep chuckle from the fissure in the ground.

The palace trembled.

Then a voice spoke.

"Still telling stories about me, Darian?"

Darian stiffened as the earth split open.

Massive hands broke through the stone, and strange markings seemed to twist and writhe across his arms like smoke.

Kael pushed himself forward.

"Everyone, get back."

Fenrir stopped him.

"No."

Kael turned to him.

"I can handle this."

"No,"

Fenrir's voice was unusually firm.

"Your sword won't help you."

Lyra stared at the enormous hands.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Fenrir turned to her.

"Remember what your mother taught you."

"I don't remember!"

"Then stop trying to remember."

Lyra shot him a strange look.

"What?"

"Listen,"

The moment the word left his lips, the pendant at Lyra's throat began to glow.

A warm sensation spread through her chest, and she closed her eyes.

The world around her faded away, and she heard her mother's voice.

"The Moon does not obey the strongest

It obeys the one who understands it."

Lyra inhaled deeply.

"Do not fight the darkness with anger

Give it nowhere to hide."

Her eyes snapped open, and the silver light around her hands flared to life.

Malakar's voice echoed from the fissure.

"Come closer, little queen."Let me see what remains of Selene's blood."

Lyra stepped forward, and Kael caught her wrist.

"Let me go."

She turned to him.

"Lyra, you don't know what you're doing."

"Neither do you."

Kael hesitated.

She gently pulled her arm from his grasp.

"I spent my whole life being told I was weak."

She met his eyes.

"I'm not running anymore."

Then she turned to the fissure in the palace floor.

The moment her feet reached the edge, a massive figure climbed up from the darkness.

His armor was black, and his horns stretched from his temples, curling back over his head.

His eyes were the same color as the slits in the palace doors, burning with ancient malice.

Malakar smiled.

"So this is the girl they hid from me."

Lyra met his gaze.

"My name is Lyra."

His smile widened.

"I know."

The ground beneath him shook.

"I've been waiting for you."

Lyra raised her hand, and silver light flared from her fingertips.

"You won't have me."

Malakar laughed.

"You still don't understand."

He pointed at her chest.

"You aren't the key to my prison."

Lyra's brow furrowed.

"Then what am I?"

Malakar's smile vanished.

"You're the key to something far worse."

The entire palace fell silent.

Fenrir's eyes widened.

"Malakar..."

The ancient king turned to Fenrir.

"You never told her, did you?"

Fenrir said nothing.

Lyra turned to him sharply.

"Told me what?"

Malakar laughed.

"Ask your guardian why your mother didn't simply hide you."

"Ask him why she sacrificed the entire Lunar Kingdom."

Lyra turned to Fenrir.

His silence told her everything.

There was something he wasn't telling her.

Something terrible.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Fenrir finally met her eyes.

"Your mother didn't only seal Malakar beneath Luna."

He hesitated.

"She used your blood to do it."

Lyra went pale.

Malakar's grin returned.

"And now that you've awakened..."

The markings on his skin began to glow.

"...the seal is dying."

Dark energy surged from the fissure, and cracks of black light raced up the palace walls.

The crowd screamed as Fenrir shouted for everyone to retreat.

But Lyra stood her ground.

Her mother's secret was out, and she finally understood why Malakar had waited so long to escape.

He wasn't after the throne.

He wasn't seeking revenge.

He wanted her blood.

Because without her,

Malakar could never be free.