Chapter5
1232 Words
The words fell like stones on still water.
Carlus barked a laugh that made all flinch. "The princess has been busy."
“This nullifies everything,” Theron said finally. "The treaty—"
"Silence." Carlus spared the king not even a wayward glance. His focus remained on Azrael. "Why reveal yourself? Your kind prefers shadows."
"Because humans panic." Theron swiveled to look at Azrael. "The child must live. It has a purpose."
“What could such an abomination possibly be used for?” Selene spat.
The objects in the room shuddered. Glass cracked. Something surged in Lyra’s belly. "Don't call my child that."
When Azrael placed his hand on her shoulder, visible energy rippled across her skin. "A demonstration."
He pointed at the ancient map up on the wall.
It erupted with light. They left glowing lines crisscrossing the kingdoms. Menacing shapes touched unseen edges.
“The worlds thin,” Azrael said flatly. “Odd creatures in your woods. Dreams that transform those who dream them. Haven't you noticed?"
Eldrin stepped forward. “The disturbances in the old haunts..."
"Exactly." Azrael traced the map from his side of the room. “It’s what’s to come that will raze your kingdoms to the ground, if you do not come together.” This child will master the convergence — shut the door or open it wide.”
"And if it opens?" Carlus’s voice had descended an octave.
"Chaos." Azrael's eyes glittered. Or opportunity, depending upon the preparation.
Carlus went around Lyra in slow circles, taking deep draughts of air. “Power burgeons in you, Princess. You're changing."
“Royal blood awakening,” Azrael said. “My presence acts as a catalyst for what was always there.
Theron lunged forward. "I refuse to—"
“The alliance can remain,” Carlus interjected, “with adjustments.”
The room stilled.
“The child will have my name,” he told her. “My successor—royal human blood mixed with werewolf power. Its… unconventional parentage remains a secret of our own.”
“You would claim another’s offspring?” Selene asked incredulously.
"I'd claim power." Carlus did not take his eyes off of Azrael. “What do you give in exchange?”
"Knowledge. Protection. Forgotten powers." At this Azrael's form appeared to swell. “Forces to ensure your dominance when the time comes.”
"And what do you gain?" Eldrin’s question pierced the room.
Azrael smiled. "My concerns are beyond your comprehension, Shadowkeeper.
"Don't I have a say?" Lyra’s voice cut them all off.
The men turned as if surprised by her interruption.
"My child. My body. My future." Her hands glowed blue-white. “I am not a vessel exchanged between powers.
Azrael moved in closer and whispered. "This protects you both. Would you prefer execution? Our child hunted from birth?"
“I’d rather have freedom,” she hissed back.
“Not a prisoner,” he murmured, his fingertips grazing her temple.
Visions filled her mind: herself full-fledged, terrifying, the world trembling; her child, nurtured and potent under two guardians; powers far beyond comprehension; dread stills pressing on the thinning border between lands.
“The princess is to have freedoms,” Carlus interjected. "I am not cruel."
“Whenever it pleases you,” Selene muttered.
Theron wrung his hands. "If rumors spread—"
“They’re not going to,” Carlus interrupted him. "The child will come early. A wedding night miracle."
“Why would you comply? Theron demanded.
"Mine." Azrael spoke, and the temperature dropped. “Betray Lyra, or harm the child, and your bloodlines end. Kingdoms fall. Souls find no rest."
There was no hiding from the threat that crystallized in the air.
“Accepted,” Carlus said, reaching out his arm. "The wedding proceeds. The child bears my name. I am given the promised knowledge and power.”
"Done." Azrael clasped his hand.
Green fire dawned between them, winding around their wrists, brushing against everyone else there. Lyra felt it dig into her skin, like burning ink.
Theron hesitantly stepped forward. "For the kingdom, I accept."
His hand joined theirs. The fire flared white-hot.
“Remember,” Azrael’s voice thudded in their bones, “this child alters everything. Salvation or destruction."
He looked back to Lyra, whose light was starting to dim. "Until we meet again."
His voice went on in her mind only: *Trust no one completely—not even me. You’re growing more than a child within you. It's the key. *
When he left, it was as if the pressure in the room released.
Carlus came closer, his eyes sparkling. “It appears that our union has unintended benefits.”
“I’m not yours yet,” she reminded him, power still simmering under her skin.
"But you will be. In name." He appeared to regard her with new respect in his amber eyes. “You’re more than I bargained for, Princess.”
Selene circled them, visibly upset. "Brother, the risks—"
“Are calculated,” he concluded. “This child guarantees our survival better than any treaty.”
King Theron sank into his throne, decades older in seconds. “The wedding takes place in three days. Not a word leaves this room."
While the others debated logistics, Lyra walked away, one hand pressed against her abdomen. The life inside throbbed, responding to her touch—growing too fast.
Eldrin approached silently. “Do you know what’s happening, Princess?”
"I've changed my fate."
“You’ve set off ancient gears.” His voice dropped. “There is more that Azrael knows than he lets on. There's more to your bloodline than you are aware.”
"What do you mean?"
“Your mother was not the first to draw to this world beings from beyond. The pattern continues, Princess. Each generation prices on top of each other.”
Before Eldrin could utter another word, Carlus beckoned her to his side.
She was halfway across the room when a stabbing pain bent her double. She wheezed, holding her stomach.
"Lyra?" Selene made it to her first, surprisingly gentle.
Blood trickled down her leg. Something shifted inside her skin — too quickly, too early.
“The kid speeds up,” Eldrin said in a whisper, his eyes wide. "It shouldn't be possible."
Another agony cut through her. Lyra screamed, and blue light exploded from her fingertips, breaking every window in the throne room.
Carlus caught her as she fainted. "What's happening?"
“The convergence begins,” Eldrin breathed, his arm sweeping across the map.
They had brightened, the lines pulsing as if in time with Lyra’s pain. In the corners of both rooms, shadows, a little darker, began to take shapes that would be lost if I looked directly at them.
“It’s too soon,” Theron stepped back. "The treaty isn't finalized."
“It is the child who gets to dictate timing now,” Eldrin said, “not us.”
Lyra convulsed again. This time, her scream was in a language none of them knew. Her eyes glowed silver.
“Brother, her temperature —” Selene began.
Carlus’s arms smoked suddenly where they came in contact with Lyra’s skin.
Outside, there was an unnatural darkening of sky. The castle trembled.
"She's becoming a conduit." Eldrin extracted thee ancient symbols from his robe. "We must contain—"
"No!" Lyra sucked in her breath, voice a cacophony of others. "Don't touch me!"
- Writer
