VAMPIRE QUEEN SERAPHINA POV
The opening ripped open just as the mountain began to crack, and I stepped through into chaos.
"Duck!" I shouted at the werewolves below , throwing myself forward as a huge chunk of rock crashed where I’d been standing.
Three werewolf brothers stared at in shock. One of them had wings and scales—definitely not normal. A dragon hovered nearby, looking just as surprised as everyone else.
"Who are you?" the winged werewolf asked.
"Soone who’s here to save your lives," I said quickly. "I’m Queen Seraphina of the Vampire Realm, and you’re all in more danger than you know."
The mountain shook again, and sothing roared from deep underground. Sothing that made my thousand-year-old vampire instincts scream with fear.
"We need to get out of here," I said quickly. "Now."
"We’re not going anywhere with a vampire," the biggest werewolf said coldly. "Vampires can’t be trusted."
I wanted to argue, but there wasn’t ti. The thing in the mountain was waking up faster than I’d expected.
"Fine," I said. "Don’t trust . But trust this—the Shadow Lords aren’t just trying to take over your land. They’re planning to collapse all the realms into one giant prison reality with themselves as the rulers."
That got their attention.
"What are you talking about?" the dragon asked.
"The Shadow Lords have been playing a much bigger ga than anyone realized," I explained quickly. "They’ve been weakening the barriers between realms for ages. The werewolf realm, the vampire realm, the fae realm, the dragon realm—they want to smash them all together and rule the combined world."
Another roar echoed from below, closer this ti.
"How do you know this?" the scaled werewolf asked.
"Because they tried to recruit ," I said. "Three days ago, their leader—the Devourer—ca to my castle with an offer. Join them freely, or be destroyed when the realms rge."
"And you said no?" the middle brother asked, sounding shocked.
"Of course I said no," I snapped. "I’m a queen, not a worker. I’ve ruled my country for eight hundred years. I’m not about to bow down to so shadow creature with fantasies of godhood."
The ground cracked open near our feet, and I saw sothing moving in the darkness below. Sothing with too many eyes and teeth like broken glass.
"What is that thing?" I whispered.
"We don’t know," the dragon said grimly. "Our bonding ritual woke it up."
I felt my dead heart skip a beat. "Oh no. No, no, no. You did a dragon bonding ritual here? In these mountains?"
"Yes," the scaled monster said. "Why?"
"Because these aren’t just any mountains," I said, backing away from the growing crack. "This is where the First War finished. Where the original Shadow Lord was imprisoned after the ancient Earth Guardians beat him."
The dragon’s eyes went wide. "You an—" "Yes," I said. "That thing down there isn’t just so monster. It’s the Prisoner. The first Shadow Lord ever made. The one who taught the Devourer everything he knows."
A massive claw erged from the crack, followed by an arm covered in shadows that seed to eat light itself.
"How do we stop it?" the oldest werewolf asked.
"We don’t," I said honestly. "The Prisoner is older and more powerful than anything currently alive. The only reason it was stopped before was because there were hundreds of Earth Guardians working together."
"There’s only one Earth Guardian left," the middle brother said softly.
"Exactly," I said. "Which is why the Shadow Lords planned this perfectly. They knew if they could wake up the Prisoner, it would either destroy the last Earth Guardian for them, or weaken her enough that they could finish the job."
More of the thing was erging from the crack. It was enormous—bigger than the dragon, bigger than anything I’d ever seen. And it was looking right at us with eyes like black holes.
"Little mortals," it said in a voice like grinding stone. "You have woken from my long sleep. For that, I will make your deaths quick."
"We need to warn the others," the dragon said. "If this thing gets to the pack—"
"It won’t just destroy the pack," I interrupted. "It will use their life energy to break free totally. And once it’s fully awake, it will help the other Shadow Lords rge the worlds."
The Prisoner pulled itself fully out of the crack, standing at least fifty feet tall. Shadows poured off its body like smoke, and wherever they touched, the rock turned to dust.
"Eight hundred years I have slept," it rumbled. "Eight hundred years I have planned my punishnt. The Earth Guardians thought they had won, but they only delayed the inevitable."
"We have to get back to Aria," the scaled werewolf said. "She’s the only one who might be able to—"
"The Earth Guardian is already dead," the Prisoner said with a laugh that made the mountain shake. "My servants saw to that while you were playing with dragons."
My blood turned to ice. "What?"
"Did you think we would leave such an important task to chance?" the Prisoner asked. "While you were all here, distracted by your little mating ceremony, my Shadow Lords attacked your precious pack. By now, the last Earth Guardian has been eaten, and her power added to ours."
"You’re lying," the biggest werewolf snarled.
"Am I?" the Prisoner asked. "Look to the south, little wolf. See the green fire rising from your ho?"
We all turned to look, and my heart sank. In the distance, I could see an eerie green glow lighting up the sky above the trees. The sa sick green color as Shadow Lord power.
"Aria," the middle brother whispered.
"Now," the Prisoner said, flexing its massive claws, "let us talk your deaths. I am feeling giving, so I will give you a choice. Serve gladly, and I will kill you quickly. Resist, and I will make you suffer for decades before ending your unhappy lives."
The scaled werewolf stepped forward, dragon fire burning around his hands. "We choose option three."
"And what would that be?" the Prisoner asked with delight.
"We choose to fight," the werewolf said firmly.
The Prisoner laughed again. "Foolish children. You cannot fight what you cannot understand. But very well. Let us see how long you last."
It raised one massive hand, and shadows started swirling around us like a tornado.
But just as the darkness was about to swallow us, I heard a sound that made hope flare in my chest.
A howl. Not from the trees below, but from behind us. From higher in the mountains.
"That’s impossible," the Prisoner said, its confident face faltering. "She should be dead."
The howl ca again, closer this ti. And it wasn’t just any howl.
It was the scream of an Earth Guardian. Alive and very, very angry.
"Looks like your servants failed," I said with a smile.
But my smile faded when I realized what this ant.
If Aria was still alive, and if she was coming here, she was walking right into a trap.
The Prisoner had been counting on this. It wanted her to co.
Because the only way to fully break free from its ancient prison was to consu the life force of an Earth Guardian while standing on the exact spot where it had been beaten.
"Co to , little Guardian," the Prisoner whispered, its eyes glowing with eagerness. "Co and fulfill your destiny."
Reviews
All reviews (0)