Their Lost Queen

“Run!” The scream tore through the palace like a blade. Evelyn stumbled backward as smoke filled the golden hallway around her. Heat burned against her skin while flames swallowed velvet curtains and climbed marble pillars like living monsters. People were screaming. Guards rushed past her in silver armor stained with blood. Somebody crashed into a table nearby, sending glass exploding across the floor. “Protect the princess!” The words echoed again. Princess. Evelyn’s chest tightened painfully. She turned in confusion, her bare feet slipping against marble floors as panic erupted around her. The palace shook violently beneath her. Somewhere nearby, a woman was crying. Not softly. Desperately. Like her entire world was ending. Evelyn tried moving toward the sound, but smoke swallowed everything around her. The air smelled like ash, blood, and seawater. Then suddenly—strong hands grabbed her shoulders. Evelyn gasped and looked up. A man knelt before her, his fiery red hair damp with sweat and blood. His green eyes locked onto hers with such fierce desperation that her heart physically ached. And somehow— She knew him. Not from memory. Something deeper. Something impossible. “You must survive,” he whispered shakily. His voice broke on the last word. Behind him stood a breathtaking woman dressed in silver silk. Her icy blue eyes shimmered with tears while her hands trembled violently. The woman stepped forward and pressed a silver necklace into Evelyn’s hands. The exact necklace Evelyn had worn her entire life. “No matter what happens,” the woman whispered, voice cracking, “you must live.” The necklace glowed. The palace trembled. A deafening roar split the sky outside. Then... Everything exploded into flames. Evelyn woke with a gasp. Rain hammered against the car windows as darkness swallowed the world outside.Her chest rose and fell rapidly while panic clung to her skin. For a moment she couldn’t breathe. The dream. Again. Her fingers instinctively moved toward the silver necklace resting against her chest. Cold now. Normal. But her pulse still thundered painfully. “Evie?” Her father’s voice cut gently through the silence. Evelyn blinked and realized everyone in the car was staring at her. John Foster watched her through the rear view mirror, concern hidden beneath his calm expression. “You okay?” “Yeah,” Evelyn said softly. But the lie weighed on her. Beside him, Adeline turned slightly in her seat. “You were crying again.” Evelyn quickly wiped beneath her eyes. Wet. Great. “I’m fine.” Another lie. The truth was Evelyn Foster hadn’t felt fine in a very long time. Beside her, Jake groaned dramatically from where he’d been half asleep. “If we die on this mountain road, I just want everyone to know this move was your fault.” Evelyn rolled her eyes weakly. “You’ve said that six times already.” “And I’ll say it seven.” “You’ve literally slept the entire drive.” “Exactly. I suffered emotionally.” A quiet laugh escaped her before she could stop it. Jake grinned slightly at the sound like he’d accomplished his mission. That was Jake. Always trying to make things lighter whenever Evelyn started drifting too far into her own head. Outside, lightning flashed across the mountains. Evelyn looked out the window silently. Italy. Their new home. Ancient villages rested between cliffs and forests like forgotten secrets while fog curled around distant rooftops. The deeper they drove into the mountains, the stranger the atmosphere became. Beautiful. But unsettling. Like the town itself was watching her arrival. “You’re thinking too hard again,” Jake muttered beside her. “I’m literally just looking outside.” “Yeah, with your existential crisis face.” “What does that even mean?” “It means you look like you’re questioning the meaning of life.” “Maybe I am.” “That’s depressing.” Evelyn smiled faintly before resting her forehead against the cold window again. The truth was… she didn’t want to move here. Not really. London had never fully felt like home, but at least it had been familiar. Safe. Predictable. This place felt different. Too quiet. Too old. Too alive. And ever since they’d crossed into the town borders an hour ago, the strange pressure in her chest had only gotten worse. As if something inside her had suddenly awakened. Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the necklace. The silver crescent pendant had been with her since infancy. According to John and Adeline, it had been the only thing found with her eighteen years ago when she’d been left outside their doorstep during a storm in London. No note. No explanation. No parents. Just a baby wrapped in blankets and a necklace nobody could identify. Evelyn used to ask questions when she was younger. Where did I come from? Who left me there? Did they love me? But eventually the questions stopped. Not because she stopped wondering. Because the answers never came. Lightning flashed again outside. For one brief second, Evelyn thought she saw movement deep within the forest beside the road. A pair of glowing eyes. Watching the car. She jerked upright instantly. The figure vanished. Her heartbeat quickened. You’re imagining things. Probably. Hopefully. Up front, Adeline lowered the radio volume softly. “You’ll like the town once you settle in,” she said gently. Evelyn nodded even though she wasn’t convinced. John glanced at her again through the mirror. “You nervous about school?” “A little.” “You’ll make friends fast.” Jake snorted beside her. “She literally attracts weird people everywhere we go.” “Thanks, Jake.” “I meant it affectionately.” Evelyn shook her head with a small smile, but the feeling didn’t last long. Because suddenly— heat spread across her chest. Her breath caught. The necklace. It was warm. No. hot. Evelyn grabbed it instinctively beneath her sweater.The silver pendant burned against her fingertips. “What the—” “Evie?” Jake frowned immediately. The necklace pulsed once beneath her hand. Then again. Like a heartbeat. Her stomach twisted.Fear crept slowly into her chest.She pulled the necklace out from beneath her sweater—and froze. The silver crescent glowed faintly blue. Nobody spoke. The inside of the car suddenly felt suffocatingly small.Adeline turned around sharply. For one terrifying second—she looked terrified. Not confused. Not shocked. Terrified. Then the expression disappeared so quickly Evelyn almost thought she imagined it. “What’s wrong?” John asked carefully. Evelyn stared at the necklace.The glow slowly faded. “I…” she whispered uncertainly. “I don’t know.” Silence filled the car afterward.Heavy silence.The kind that felt full of things nobody wanted to say out loud.Rain battered the windows harder while fog swallowed the road ahead. Then... Evelyn heard it. A whisper. Soft. Cold. Right beside her ear.Find her.She froze instantly. Her pulse spiked. Jake frowned beside her. “What?” “You didn’t hear that?” “Hear what?” Another flash of lightning illuminated the forest outside.And this time—Evelyn knew that she saw them. Multiple glowing eyes staring from the darkness between the trees. Watching. Waiting. Then somewhere deep in the mountains—something howled.Not like a wolf.Something far worse.And for reasons she couldn’t explain—the sound made her feel like she was finally coming home.