Aria couldn’t move.
Malakai stood in the doorway.
Alive.
Not a memory.
Not a ghost.
Alive.
His silver armor was gone.
He wore a long black coat, and his dark hair fell loosely around his face.
But his eyes were the same.
The same eyes she remembered from another life.
The little girl stood beside him.
She was holding his hand.
Aria stared at her.
“Malakai.”
He gave her a small smile.
“Hello, my Queen.”
Aria’s eyes immediately moved to the child.
“She’s…”
“Your daughter.”
The little girl smiled.
“Mother.”
Aria’s heart broke.
She dropped to her knees.
The child ran toward her.
Aria caught her.
For the first time in thousands of years, she held her daughter.
She felt warm.
Real.
Alive.
Aria buried her face in the child’s hair.
“I thought you were dead.”
The girl wrapped her tiny arms around her neck.
“I waited for you.”
Aria cried.
“I’m sorry.”
“You came back.”
“Yes.”
“I knew you would.”
Aria pulled away.
“How?”
The girl touched Aria’s cheek.
“You promised.”
Aria frowned.
“When?”
“Before you died.”
Aria looked at Malakai.
“What is she talking about?”
Malakai’s expression became serious.
“You promised her you’d return.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
Aria stood slowly.
“Tell me everything.”
Malakai nodded.
“Her name is Lyra.”
Aria froze.
“Lyra?”
The little girl smiled.
“That’s my name.”
Aria’s heart pounded.
“Why would you give her the same name as my wolf?”
Malakai looked at the child.
“Because it wasn’t a coincidence.”
Aria looked confused.
“What does that mean?”
Malakai stepped closer.
“Your wolf isn’t just your wolf.”
Aria stared at him.
“Then what is she?”
“She’s part of your daughter’s soul.”
Silence.
Aria looked down at the little girl.
The child’s silver eyes glowed.
Suddenly Lyra’s voice echoed inside Aria’s mind.
Mother.
Aria gasped.
“You can hear her?”
Malakai nodded.
“She’s been calling you for years.”
“Why couldn’t I hear her before?”
“Because your memories were sealed.”
Aria looked toward the silver crown on the floor.
“And now?”
“Now the seal is breaking.”
The little girl looked frightened.
“Mother?”
Aria knelt.
“What happened to you?”
The girl lowered her head.
“The Shadow King took me.”
Aria’s heart tightened.
“What did he do?”
“He wanted me to open the gate.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
The little girl smiled.
“Because you told me never to open it.”
Aria pulled her into another hug.
“I’m proud of you.”
Malakai watched silently.
Aria noticed.
“You knew she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where she was.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the Shadow King was watching.”
“You could have sent a message.”
“I tried.”
Aria frowned.
“When?”
“Every time you dreamed about your first life.”
Aria remembered.
The strange dreams.
The silver palace.
The baby.
Malakai.
“Those weren’t dreams.”
“No.”
“They were memories.”
“Yes.”
“Then why couldn’t I remember her?”
“Because someone was blocking your memories.”
“Who?”
Malakai looked toward the sky.
“The Queen.”
Aria’s expression changed.
“The original Queen?”
He nodded.
“By making me forget my daughter?”
“By making the Shadow King believe the child was dead.”
Aria looked at Lyra.
“Where was she?”
“Here.”
“In the human world?”
Malakai nodded.
“Hidden beneath the kingdom.”
Aria stared.
“Then how did she survive?”
Malakai smiled.
“Someone protected her.”
“Who?”
He pointed toward the doorway.
A familiar figure stood there.
Damon.
Aria’s eyes widened.
“Damon?”
He walked inside.
His clothes were torn.
Blood covered his shoulder.
But he was alive.
He looked at Aria.
Then at the child.
His expression softened.
“She finally found you.”
Aria stared.
“You knew?”
Damon nodded.
“I’ve known for years.”
“How?”
Malakai answered.
“He was her guardian.”
Aria looked at Damon.
“You protected my daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Damon looked at the little girl.
“Because she saved me first.”
Aria frowned.
“What happened?”
Damon smiled.
“That’s a long story.”
“Tell me.”
He looked at Malakai.
Malakai nodded.
Damon sighed.
“Three years ago, I found her in the forest.”
Lyra looked down.
“She was alone.”
“She was being hunted.”
“By who?”
“Shadow creatures.”
Aria’s hands clenched.
“I rescued her.”
“Why didn’t you bring her to the kingdom?”
“Because the Shadow King was searching for her.”
Damon looked at Aria.
“He believed the child could awaken the final gate.”
“What gate?”
“The gate between life and death.”
Aria froze.
“What?”
Damon continued.
“The Shadow King isn’t trying to rule the worlds.”
“Then what does he want?”
“He wants to bring someone back.”
Aria’s expression hardened.
“Who?”
Damon looked toward Malakai.
“His first Queen.”
Aria stared.
“Me?”
“No.”
Malakai shook his head.
“Not you.”
“Then who?”
Damon’s eyes darkened.
“The woman who came before you.”
Aria remembered the original Queen.
The one who had appeared in the Shadow Realm.
“But why?”
“Because she was the only person who ever defeated him.”
Aria looked at Lyra.
“And my daughter can bring her back?”
Damon nodded.
“Her blood carries both realms.”
“Because of me.”
“And because of her father.”
Aria froze.
“Who is her father?”
Silence.
Malakai looked away.
Damon looked at the floor.
Lyra stared at Aria.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“I am.”
Aria turned.
Her heart stopped.
Kael stood in the doorway.
Blood covered his clothes.
His eyes were red.
He looked exhausted.
But alive.
Aria couldn’t speak.
Kael slowly walked toward them.
Lyra stared at him.
“Father.”
Kael stopped.
Aria’s heart pounded.
“Kael?”
He looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
Aria shook her head.
“No.”
Kael lowered his eyes.
“I didn’t know.”
“You knew.”
“I remembered.”
“When?”
“In the Shadow Realm.”
Aria’s breathing became shaky.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t certain.”
“You are her father.”
Kael looked at Lyra.
“I am.”
The little girl ran toward him. Get faster updates on g.com.
Kael dropped to his knees and caught her.
For the first time, Aria saw the terrifying Lycan King completely disappear.
He held his daughter like she was the most precious thing in the world.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
Lyra smiled.
“You were.”
Kael looked confused.
“How?”
“I saw you in Mother’s memories.”
His eyes filled with tears.
Aria watched them.
Something inside her hurt.
Not because she was angry.
Because everything suddenly made sense.
The visions.
The connection.
The way Kael had protected her.
The reason he had always looked at her as if he knew her.
“You remembered me.”
Kael looked at Aria.
“Before you remembered yourself.”
“How?”
“Your soul recognized mine.”
Aria swallowed.
“And our daughter?”
Kael looked at Lyra.
“I remembered her last.”
“Why?”
“Because the Shadow King erased that memory.”
Aria stepped closer.
“Why would he erase it?”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“Because he knew if I remembered my daughter…”
He looked toward the sky.
“…I’d stop him.”
A loud thunderclap shook the kingdom.
Everyone looked upward.
The silver moon had disappeared.
A black moon had taken its place.
Malakai stood.
“It’s beginning.”
Aria’s heart tightened.
“What?”
“The final gate.”
Damon drew his sword.
“The Shadow King found us.”
Kael stood with Lyra in his arms.
“Then we fight.”
Malakai shook his head.
“No.”
Kael frowned.
“What?”
“That’s what he wants.”
Aria looked at him.
“Then what do we do?”
Malakai pointed toward the mountains.
“We go to the First Temple.”
Aria’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because that’s where the original Queen was crowned.”
“And?”
“That’s where her final weapon is hidden.”
Aria stared.
“What weapon?”
Malakai’s expression became serious.
“The Crown of Eternity.”
Kael frowned.
“What does it do?”
“It can destroy the Shadow King’s soul.”
Aria’s heart pounded.
“Then let’s get it.”
Malakai shook his head.
“It has a price.”
“What price?”
He looked at Lyra.
“The crown can only be awakened by the blood of the Queen’s child.”
Aria immediately stepped in front of Lyra.
“No.”
Malakai’s expression softened.
“I knew you’d say that.”
“Then find another way.”
“There isn’t one.”
Kael stepped forward.
“Then we don’t use it.”
Damon nodded.
“We’ll find another weapon.”
Malakai looked at them.
“You don’t understand.”
The black moon grew darker.
“If you don’t destroy the Shadow King…”
A roar echoed across the kingdom.
“The Shadow Realm will permanently merge with your world.”
Aria looked toward the sky.
Dark clouds spread across the horizon.
Creatures began appearing in the distance.
Thousands.
Millions.
An army.
Lyra clutched Kael’s shirt.
“Mother.”
Aria knelt beside her.
“Yes?”
“I’m scared.”
Aria held her hand.
“Don’t be.”
“Are we going to die?”
Aria looked at Kael.
Then Damon.
Then Malakai.
Finally, she looked toward the army.
“No.”
She stood.
“We’re going to fight.”
The wolves gathered behind her.
Kael raised his sword.
Damon shifted.
Malakai drew his weapon.
Aria’s silver crown appeared above her head.
“Tonight, we end this.”
A horn sounded from the mountains.
The Shadow Army began marching.
And somewhere beyond the black moon…
the Shadow King smiled.
Because he had one final secret.
The little girl Aria believed was her daughter…
was not the only child born from the Queen’s blood.
There was another.
And that child belonged to him.