Runaway Wolf Queen

Her Fate Was Sealed

I stepped back into the corridor, pulling the chamber doors gently closed behind me.

“Double the guard,” I said. “No one enters without my permission. No one leaves without being seen.”

The two guardians straightened immediately, their spears hitting the floor in unison. “It will be done, Your Grace.”

I lingered there, just outside the doors, my hand still resting against the carved wood. Inside, Katya and Aurora slept peacefully.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, and they were approaching quickly. I didn’t turn, for I already knew who it was.

“Kristina,” Lukah voiced.

I turned to face him slowly. He stood flanked by two Elders and a handful of guards, all of them tense in a way that did not match his calm. His gaze swept over me, as if he were assessing my condition.

“You’re unharmed,” he announced. It wasn’t a question, more of a statement.

“I’m fine,” I replied flatly.

Behind him, one of the Elders stepped forward slightly, concern etched into his features. “Your Grace, we need to…”

“Quiet, please,” I cut in. “My daughters are sleeping.”

The corridor fell silent immediately, and even the guards moved more carefully.

I glanced briefly at the closed doors. “They are not to be disturbed.”

“Of course, Your Grace,” the Elder replied, nodding his head.

I turned back to Lukah. “What is happening?”

His expression didn’t change. “We’re handling it.”

“That’s not an answer,” I countered.

“It’s the only one you need tonight.” His dismissal was anything but subtle.

Of course. Dismissed again. As if my place was to just accept, not question.

He always brushed aside my questions, as if I were a child asking after matters beyond my understanding. But there was something else here, something they weren’t saying.

“They’re hiding something,” Amara growled softly.

To which I agreed.

A man had stepped through a portal inside the palace walls. He had threatened to take my children from me. And they expected me to stand by, to believe it was simply nothing to concern myself with?

“I’m not leaving them,” I said, gesturing toward the chamber doors. “I’ll stay here tonight.”

Lukah’s gaze flicked to the doors, then back to me. “That isn’t necessary.”

“It is to me,” I said, lifting my chin in quiet defiance.

A moment of silence stretched between us. Then, finally, he dipped his head. “As you wish.”

There was no argument, no push back, just… acceptance. And somehow, that unsettled me more than anything else.

The Elders lingered a moment longer, then, one by one, they withdrew, the guards following shortly after.

Lukah was the last to leave; he paused only briefly. “If you need anything, send word.”

I stared after him, unease settling deep in my chest. And I couldn’t ignore the image of my sister leaving his chambers… or the sounds that had followed her.

***

The hours passed slowly. Too slowly. I lay beside my daughters, listening to the soft rhythm of their breathing, staring up at the darkened ceiling as sleep refused to come.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again: the red portal, the darkness emanating from his hood.

The children are not yours to keep.

My fingers clenched in the blanket, the fabric bunching tight as resolve settled in my chest.

"Ours," Amara growled. "No one takes what’s ours."

No. We wouldn’t let that happen. We couldn’t. No one would take our precious girls from us.

Carefully, so as not to wake them, I slipped from the bed.

The chamber was quiet, and the lanterns were dimmed low. I took one last glance at Katya and Aurora before moving toward the door.

The guardians straightened immediately as I stepped out. “Your Grace.”

“I need some water,” I murmured. “I won’t be long.”

They hesitated, exchanging a glance. “The king won’t like you going unguarded.”

“The king won't know.” My tone sharpened. “I’ll be fine.”

Another pause. Then one inclined his head, the fight leaving him. “We’ll watch the princesses.”

“Good.” I smiled as I walked down the corridor.

As I made my way to the kitchen, the silence pressed in around me. It wasn’t the same. Lights burned where they shouldn’t, and guards stood in places that had once been empty.

As I neared the sitting room adjoining our private chambers, I slowed down. I heard voices through the door, they were hushed, strained… as if they were not meant to be heard.

I shouldn’t have stopped. I knew that. But something in Lukah’s tone sent alarm bells ringing in my head. I stepped even closer, just enough to hear.

“…you said the wards would hold,” an elder was saying.

“They did,” Lukah replied calmly. “Until they didn’t.”

“That was Dark Realm magic,” the Elder pressed. “If the Order has returned…”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“The queen must be informed.” He added.

“No.” Lukah snapped, leaving no room for debate. “She does not need to know.”

“But, your highness, this directly affects her!” The Elder protested.

An even longer pause ensued this time.

“And what of the princesses?” the elder countered.

“They will remain under guard,” he said.

“That isn’t what I meant, your highness; they are coming for them, they are not safe anywhere,” the elder said, his voice rising.

“We proceed as planned,” Lukah said, his tone flat, as if the discussion no longer interested him.

“She deserves to know what she’s facing!” the Elder snapped.

“She cannot change what must happen,” Lukah replied evenly. “We will protect the children where we can, but her fate is sealed. We will not antagonize the Order further. The kingdom comes first.”

Her fate was sealed.

And Lukah had already accepted it.

They would protect the children where they could.

That would not be enough. My gaze drifted down the corridor toward the nursery. We weren’t safe here. They had walked straight through it; the wards, the guards… nothing had stopped them.

My lungs burned, like the air had been pulled from them.

I would die for my daughters. Anything less than that wasn’t enough.