The Queen's Truth
1187 Words
CHAPTER TEN
The Queen's Truth
Darkness swallowed everything.
Aria stood frozen.
The battlefield stretched endlessly before her.
Smoke drifted through the air.
Broken weapons littered the ground.
Thousands of bodies lay scattered beneath a blood-red sky.
A chill crept through her bones.
This wasn't a dream.
It felt too real.
Too vivid.
Every breath carried the scent of ash and death.
And sitting upon the shattered silver throne was the woman.
The Moon Queen.
The same silver eyes.
The same silver hair.
The same face Aria had seen in every vision.
Only now she looked tired.
Ancient.
Heartbroken.
"I am you."
The words echoed across the battlefield.
Aria stared.
"What does that mean?"
The woman smiled sadly.
"It means our souls are connected."
Aria shook her head.
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"No, that's impossible."
The Queen slowly rose from the throne.
Moonlight seemed to follow her movements.
Power radiated from every step.
Not the violent power Aria had witnessed from Lucien.
Not the dark power used by the Shadow Council.
This felt different.
Older.
Softer.
Yet infinitely more dangerous.
"You were not born by accident."
The Queen stopped a few feet away.
"The Moon Throne chose you."
Aria's heart pounded.
"The Moon Throne?"
The Queen nodded.
"For a thousand years, the throne waited."
Her expression darkened.
"For someone strong enough to carry its burden."
A terrible feeling settled inside Aria's chest.
"What burden?"
The Queen looked toward the horizon.
Toward the endless battlefield.
"The burden of saving a dying world."
Silence followed.
The answer only created more questions.
Before Aria could ask another, the battlefield suddenly trembled.
The Queen's face changed.
Fear appeared.
Real fear.
"He's awake."
The words came out barely above a whisper.
Aria's stomach tightened.
"The Shadow King?"
The Queen nodded.
And for the first time, genuine terror entered her silver eyes.
---
Inside the council chamber, chaos erupted.
Aria's body remained standing.
Motionless.
Silver light surrounded her.
The black relic floated above the table.
Cracks spread across its surface.
Ancient symbols glowed along its sides.
Every Elder stared in shock.
"This shouldn't be happening."
Cassandra gripped her staff tightly.
Lucien stood beside Aria.
Ready.
Alert.
Dangerously tense.
His wolf growled continuously.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then the temperature dropped.
A sudden wave of cold swept through the chamber.
The candles extinguished simultaneously.
Darkness filled the room.
Warriors immediately drew their weapons.
The atmosphere became suffocating.
A low voice echoed from nowhere.
And everywhere.
"At last."
The room froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Lucien's eyes flashed gold.
"Show yourself."
Laughter answered him.
Cold.
Cruel.
Ancient.
The walls trembled.
The floor cracked.
Several warriors stumbled backward.
Then a shadow appeared.
Not a person.
Not a creature.
A living darkness.
Watching from the corner of the room.
The Elders immediately recognized it.
And their faces lost all color.
"The Shadow King."
Cassandra's voice trembled.
Something nobody thought possible.
Fear.
Pure fear.
---
Back within the vision, Aria noticed the Queen staring into the distance.
As if she could see something far away.
Something dangerous.
"The connection is weakening."
The Queen turned toward her.
"You don't have much time."
Aria's heart raced.
"Then tell me everything."
For a moment, the Queen smiled.
"You've always been stubborn."
The comment caught Aria off guard.
Always?
The Queen stepped closer.
"The Shadow King was once a king like any other."
Aria listened carefully.
"He ruled beside me."
Her breath caught.
"What?"
Pain flashed across the Queen's face.
"The world was united."
"The kingdoms were at peace."
"For a while."
The battlefield around them began changing.
Images appeared.
A magnificent silver kingdom.
Moonlit castles.
Laughing citizens.
Prosperity.
Hope.
Then darkness spread.
Corrupting everything.
Burning everything.
Destroying everything.
The Queen's expression hardened.
"He wanted immortality."
The images shifted.
A young king standing before a black altar.
Dark magic swirling around him.
"He chose power."
The darkness consumed him.
Transforming him.
Changing him.
Becoming something else.
Something monstrous.
"The man I loved disappeared."
Aria froze.
Loved?
The Queen lowered her gaze.
"I couldn't save him."
Silence followed.
The tragedy felt heavy.
Painful.
Human.
Even after a thousand years.
Then the Queen grabbed Aria's hands.
Her silver eyes locked onto hers.
"You must not make my mistake."
A strange sadness filled her voice.
"Lucien will need you."
Aria blinked.
"What?"
The Queen smiled faintly.
"The Alpha King."
Heat rushed to Aria's face.
"This isn't about that."
The Queen laughed softly.
It was the first genuine laugh Aria had heard from her.
"Of course it is."
Before Aria could argue, the world shook violently.
Cracks spread across the sky itself.
The Queen's expression darkened.
"No."
The single word carried fear.
The darkness was coming.
Fast.
---
Back in reality, the shadow within the council chamber grew larger.
More solid.
More powerful.
Warriors struggled to remain standing.
The pressure alone felt crushing.
Lucien stepped forward.
Placing himself between the darkness and Aria.
Protective.
Instinctive.
His wolf was ready to fight.
Even if victory was impossible.
The shadow laughed.
"Still protecting her."
Lucien froze.
The voice sounded familiar.
Not personally familiar.
Historically familiar.
Like hearing a story suddenly come alive.
The Shadow King.
A legend.
A nightmare.
A warning told to children.
Yet here he was.
Real.
Awake.
Watching.
"You've waited a long time."
Lucien's voice remained calm.
The shadow shifted.
Silver eyes appeared within the darkness.
Ancient.
Terrifying.
Beautiful.
And completely devoid of mercy.
"A thousand years."
The answer sent chills through the room.
Every Elder lowered their gaze.
Nobody dared challenge him.
Nobody except Lucien.
"And now?"
The Shadow King's smile appeared.
A cruel curve in the darkness.
"Now I take back what belongs to me."
His gaze shifted toward Aria.
The silver mark on her wrist suddenly blazed.
The entire chamber shook.
Power erupted.
The relic exploded.
Silver light collided with darkness.
The shockwave shattered windows.
Warriors were thrown backward.
Tables overturned.
The palace itself trembled.
And Aria opened her eyes.
---
She gasped.
Reality returned instantly.
The council chamber.
The warriors.
The Elders.
Lucien.
Everything rushed back.
Yet something felt different.
Stronger.
Inside her chest.
Inside her soul.
Knowledge she didn't possess before now existed.
Fragments of memories.
Ancient emotions.
Forgotten truths.
The Moon Queen had left something behind.
A warning.
A gift.
Or perhaps both.
Lucien immediately reached her.
"Are you alright?"
Aria looked at him.
Really looked at him.
And for a brief moment she saw something else.
A silver wolf standing behind him.
Protective.
Loyal.
Watching her carefully.
The vision vanished.
But the feeling remained.
Their connection had grown stronger.
Much stronger.
Then Cassandra spoke.
Her voice trembling.
"The Shadow King has awakened."
Silence filled the room.
Nobody argued.
Nobody questioned it.
Because everyone had felt his presence.
Everyone had heard his voice.
The war was no longer approaching.
It had begun.
And somewhere beyond the northern mountains...
A black fortress emerged from beneath the earth.
Ancient gates opened.
Millions of glowing red eyes appeared within the darkness.
An army.
Waiting.
The Shadow King stood upon the highest tower.
Watching the moon.
Watching the world.
Watching her.
And for the first time in a thousand years...
He smiled.
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