Chapter 4 -Monsters in the Street
1007 Words
Elara POV
The hunter was still screaming.
Shadow chains pinned him to the stone floor, wrapping tighter each time he struggled. Black smoke poured from the places they touched his armor.
I backed away from him so fast I nearly tripped over my own feet.
“Make it stop!”
Kael cut down the second hunter with one brutal strike before turning to me.
“Release the magic.”
“I don’t know how!”
“That answer is becoming a problem.”
The third hunter hurled his spear.
Kael caught it midair with one hand.
I stared.
He snapped the glowing weapon in half and threw both pieces aside like twigs.
Definitely not human.
The trapped hunter’s screams became ragged gasps.
The queen watched from the throne, calm as moonlight.
“Power listens to emotion,” she said. “You bound him through fear.”
“Wonderful,” I snapped. “How do I un-fear him?”
“Will it.”
I laughed once high and strained.
“I hate magical advice.”
Kael strode toward me through the chaos. “Focus on one thought.”
“I’m trying not to die.”
“Try harder.”
The chamber shook again. More cracks spread across the ceiling.
Dust rained over us.
The bound hunter reached for a knife hidden in his boot.
Kael saw it first.
Without even looking, he flicked his wrist. A black dagger flew from nowhere and buried itself in the man’s throat.
Silence.
I swallowed bile.
Kael reached me and gripped my jaw, forcing my gaze to his.
“Look at me.”
I froze.
His silver eyes were unnaturally bright.
“Breathe,” he said. “Think of ending it.”
“Ending him?”
“The spell.”
“Oh.”
My face heated despite everything.
I focused on the chains.
On them loosening.
On letting go.
The shadows twitched, then unraveled like smoke caught by wind. In seconds they vanished into the floor.
The dead hunter lay still.
I stumbled backward from Kael.
“I almost killed him.”
“He came to kill you.”
“That does not make me feel better.”
“It should.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. “What am I?”
The chamber went quiet.
Even the queen’s expression softened.
Kael answered first.
“Dangerous.”
“Not helpful.”
“Accurate.”
The queen rose from her throne, robes whispering over stone though she had no feet touching the ground.
“You are blood of House Vareth,” she said. “Last heir of the shadow throne.”
I laughed because it was either that or scream.
“There is no shadow throne.”
She tilted her head.
“You are standing beneath it.”
I looked around the chamber.
Broken statues. Ancient symbols. A throne of black crystal.
I hated that she had a point.
Kael sheathed his blade. “This place is compromised. We leave now.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Stop answering like that!”
A roar thundered above us.
Not one voice.
Many.
Kael’s face hardened.
“They’ve reached the street.”
My stomach dropped. “Who?”
“Monsters.”
“That is too broad!”
The queen pointed toward the staircase opening.
“Go. If you remain below, they will bury this chamber.”
I looked at her. “You’re coming too.”
A sad smile touched her lips.
“I cannot leave my grave.”
Something in my chest tightened unexpectedly.
I didn’t know this woman. She might be lying about everything.
But the loneliness in her voice felt real.
Kael seized my wrist before I could argue again.
This time when he touched me, the crown flared hot.
He released me instantly, jaw tightening.
Interesting.
“Try not to enjoy dragging me around,” I said.
“I assure you, I do not.”
“Liar.”
For the first time, his mouth almost twitched.
Then he pulled me toward the stairs.
We ran upward as stone groaned behind us. The staircase twisted through darkness until we burst into the remains of the café.
Or what had been the café.
Now it was rubble.
Rain poured through the shattered roof. Fire licked at broken beams. Cars outside were overturned.
And the street
The street was full of monsters.
Wolf-shaped creatures with glowing eyes tore through parked vehicles. Winged things circled above rooftops. A giant scaled beast smashed through a bus while people fled screaming.
Sirens wailed everywhere.
“This is because of me,” I whispered.
Kael stepped beside me.
“This is because they found you.”
“That is not better!”
One of the wolf creatures scented the air and turned.
Its red eyes locked on the crown.
Then it charged.
Kael moved first, blade flashing.
He cut it down in one strike.
Three more leaped from a wrecked taxi.
He killed one.
I ducked another.
The third tackled us both through broken glass.
I hit the pavement hard, pain exploding in my shoulder.
The creature snarled above me, jaws opening
Then black fire burst from my hands.
It screamed and flew backward into a streetlight.
I sat there panting, staring at my palms.
Kael offered me his hand.
I eyed it.
“You throw me around a lot for someone asking trust.”
“You are alive.”
“Barely.”
“Still an improvement.”
I took his hand.
The moment our skin touched, the crown blazed.
A shockwave burst from us.
Every monster in the street froze.
Then slowly
One by one
They bowed.
Rain hammered the city.
Cars burned.
Creatures knelt in the wreckage.
And everyone still alive on the street turned to stare at me.
Kael’s grip tightened.
His voice was low, dangerous.
“We need to leave. Now.”
“Why?”
His eyes swept the kneeling monsters.
“Because you just crowned yourself in public.”
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