The hunt begins
1232 Words
The wolf did not move.
Neither did Luna.
Dust drifted through the shattered chamber as moonlight poured through the hole in the cathedral ceiling. The silver crown burned against her temples, its branches wrapped so tightly around her head that it felt like it had become part of her.
Her breathing came in shallow gasps.
The massive black wolf remained kneeling before her, its golden eyes never leaving hers.
Then the footsteps stopped.
Silence swallowed the chamber.
The dead queen’s smile disappeared.
“They’re here.”
A heartbeat later, the stone door exploded inward.
Fragments of ancient rock flew across the room.
Five figures rushed through the cloud of dust.
They wore long black coats lined with crimson thread. Their faces were hidden beneath silver masks engraved with unfamiliar symbols. Each carried a weapon unlike anything Luna had ever seen—swords forged from black steel that shimmered with crimson veins.
None of them looked human.
The tallest stepped forward.
His voice echoed through the chamber.
“By order of the Crimson Throne, surrender the Moon Crown.”
The black wolf answered with a growl so deep the floor vibrated.
The masked warriors froze.
One whispered in disbelief.
“…The Guardian.”
Their leader tightened his grip on his sword.
“So the legends were true.”
Luna looked between them, her heart pounding.
“What is happening?” she demanded.
No one answered.
The Guardian slowly rose to its full height.
The creature towered over every person in the chamber.
Silver mist curled around its paws.
Its fur rippled as muscles expanded beneath the black coat.
Then bones cracked.
Luna stumbled backward.
The wolf was changing.
Its body straightened.
Its front legs became arms.
Its massive frame narrowed, though it remained impossibly tall.
Dark fur withdrew beneath pale skin.
Within seconds, the beast was gone.
Standing where it had been was a man.
He was easily six-foot-six, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built. Long black hair reached past his shoulders, and faint silver markings glowed across his bare chest like living tattoos.
Golden eyes met Luna’s.
She forgot how to breathe.
He wasn’t merely handsome.
He was breathtaking in a way that felt dangerous.
Ancient.
His expression remained unreadable as he stepped in front of her.
“You will not touch my Queen.”
The words echoed through the chamber.
The masked warriors exchanged nervous glances.
“The Moon Guardian died centuries ago,” one said.
“I did.”
His voice remained calm.
“But death has never kept its promises.”
The first vampire attacked.
He crossed the room so quickly Luna barely saw him move.
The Guardian caught the black blade between two fingers.
Metal screamed.
Then shattered.
The broken sword clattered across the floor.
Before the vampire could react, the Guardian drove a single punch into his chest.
The man’s body flew backward.
He crashed through two stone pillars before disappearing into the darkness.
The remaining four attacked together.
Luna had never seen anyone move that fast.
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Steel flashed.
Stone cracked.
One vampire appeared behind the Guardian, swinging for his neck.
Without looking, the Guardian caught him by the throat.
With one hand.
He lifted the warrior off the ground.
“I warned you.”
The vampire’s red eyes widened.
The Guardian threw him into the ceiling.
Bones shattered.
The body crashed back to the floor without moving again.
Two more rushed from opposite sides.
This time silver chains shot from their wrists.
The glowing links wrapped around the Guardian’s arms.
For the first time, he grimaced.
The chains hissed against his skin.
Smoke rose where they touched.
“Luna!” the dead queen shouted from the broken sarcophagus.
“Run!”
Everything happened at once.
One remaining assassin ignored the Guardian entirely.
Instead, he sprinted straight toward Luna.
His crimson eyes locked onto hers.
“The Queen dies tonight.”
Luna froze.
She had no weapon.
No training.
Nothing.
The assassin raised a dagger carved from white bone.
A gunshot echoed through the chamber.
The assassin jerked sideways.
Blood sprayed across the white floor.
He stared at the bullet hole in his shoulder.
“What—”
Another shot.
The dagger exploded from his hand.
Luna looked toward the doorway.
Professor Marek stood there.
His hands trembled around an old revolver.
His face had gone completely white.
“Luna…”
His voice cracked.
“What have you found?”
The assassin smiled.
“An inconvenience.”
Before Luna could shout a warning, the vampire disappeared.
He reappeared behind the professor.
A sickening crack echoed through the chamber.
Professor Marek collapsed.
“No!”
Luna ran toward him.
The vampire grabbed her wrist before she reached the fallen archaeologist.
His fingers felt like ice.
“So this,” he whispered, studying her face, “is the last Moon Queen.”
His smile widened.
“You look disappointingly human.”
His fangs extended.
He leaned toward her throat.
Then everything stopped.
The temperature dropped so suddenly frost spread across the floor.
Every vampire turned toward the chamber entrance.
Even the Guardian became still.
A new presence had entered.
Elegant footsteps echoed through the ruined hall.
One…
Two…
Three…
A man emerged from the shadows wearing a perfectly tailored black suit beneath a long midnight coat.
He looked no older than thirty.
His dark hair was neatly combed.
A silver signet ring gleamed on one finger.
Unlike the others, he wore no mask.
His crimson eyes settled on Luna.
The entire room bowed.
Even the surviving assassins dropped to one knee.
“The Emperor,” one whispered.
The newcomer ignored them.
He looked only at Luna.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then his expression softened with something dangerously close to relief.
“So…”
His voice was smooth as velvet.
“You finally came back to me.”
Luna frowned.
“I’ve never seen you before.”
A flicker of pain crossed his face.
“No.”
“You don’t remember.”
He took one slow step toward her.
The Guardian immediately placed himself between them.
Golden eyes met crimson ones.
The air itself seemed to tremble.
The Emperor smiled.
“Still protecting her after all these centuries?”
“I swore an oath.”
“And I made a promise.”
The Emperor looked past him, directly at Luna.
“You have been lied to.”
The dead queen laughed from behind them.
“What an amusing thing for the greatest liar in history to say.”
The Emperor’s smile vanished.
“You should still be dead, Seraphina.”
“I’ve been trying.”
Silence.
Luna’s head throbbed.
Every instinct screamed that she should run.
Yet no exit remained open.
She looked from the Guardian…
…to the Vampire Emperor…
…to the dead queen.
None of them seemed surprised she was alive.
As though they had expected this night for centuries.
Finally, Luna asked the only question that mattered.
“Who am I?”
The Emperor answered first.
“You are my queen.”
The Guardian shook his head.
“You are our salvation.”
Seraphina’s black eyes filled with sorrow.
“No.”
She whispered.
“She is the beginning of the end.”
Outside, church bells across Prague rang at the exact same moment.
Not because someone pulled them.
Because something beneath the city had awakened.
And it was coming for its Queen.
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