Nobody moved.
Hundreds of masked soldiers remained on their knees.
Facing me.
I couldn’t breathe.
“Your Highness.”
The words sounded wrong.
Impossible.
I looked at Isabella.
She wasn’t surprised.
That frightened me more than anything.
“You knew.”
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
My voice cracked.
“You knew I was their queen?”
“I knew what you were born to become.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
She looked at me.
“I knew.”
I stepped backward.
“And you never told me?”
“I was trying to give you a normal life.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Normal?”
I pointed around us.
“Look at me, Isabella.
Does any part of this look normal?”
She didn’t answer.
Damien stepped beside me.
“She’s not their queen.”
The masked man smiled.
“You’re mistaken, Damien Vale.”
Damien’s hand tightened around his weapon.
“She doesn’t belong to you.”
“No.”
The man looked at me.
“She belongs to herself.”
Then he bowed his head.
“We serve her because of what flows through her veins.”
I looked at my wrist.
The silver mark was glowing.
“What exactly am I?”
The masked man stood.
“You are the final descendant of the First Blood.”
I frowned.
“What’s the First Blood?”
Isabella answered.
“The beginning.”
“That explains nothing.”
She sighed.
“Centuries ago, before kingdoms were divided, before the Circle existed, there was one bloodline capable of commanding the ancient magic beneath this land.”
“Magic?”
“Yes.”
“And my family has it?”
“Your mother’s family.”
I looked at Adrian’s empty place.
“Then why did Evelyn want the key?”
“Because the key opens the vault.”
“And what’s inside?”
Isabella’s expression darkened.
“Your inheritance.”
A horn sounded in the distance.
Every masked soldier stood simultaneously.
Damien immediately raised his gun.
“What now?”
The masked man looked toward the forest.
“The Circle.”
Isabella’s face hardened.
“They followed us.”
A second horn sounded.
Then dozens of black vehicles emerged between the trees.
I recognized the symbol painted on their doors.
The Crimson Circle.
My stomach dropped.
Evelyn stepped out of the first vehicle.
She wasn’t smiling anymore.
Beside her stood Nadia.
And behind them—
Adrian.
Alive.
But his hands were chained.
“Let him go!”
Evelyn looked at me.
“You’re becoming quite demanding.”
I stepped forward.
“You wanted me.”
“Yes.”
“Then leave them alone.”
Evelyn glanced at the Blood Court soldiers.
“They’ve already chosen their side.”
She looked at me.
“Have you?”
I didn’t answer.
Her eyes moved toward Damien.
“That man is the reason your mother died.”
Damien’s face hardened.
“Don’t.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You still haven’t told her.”
I looked at Damien.
“Told me what?”
He said nothing.
Evelyn laughed.
“Of course.”
She looked almost amused.
“Let me tell you.”
Damien stepped forward.
“Evelyn.”
“Five years ago, Damien wasn’t merely ordered to kill Amara.”
My heart stopped.
“He was ordered to deliver her to me.”
I looked at Damien.
His face went pale.
“Is that true?”
He swallowed.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“You knew about the Crimson Circle.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was the heir.”
“I suspected.”
“And you brought me into your life anyway.”
“I tried to protect you.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He stepped toward me.
“I loved you.”
“But you were lying.”
“No.”
“Were you?”
He looked at me.
“No.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because every truth I uncovered put you in more danger.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to decide what truths I can handle.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
My voice broke.
“You keep saying you love me while hiding the things that could destroy me.”
Damien lowered his head.
“I was afraid.”
The admission stopped me.
“Of what?”
“Of losing you.”
Evelyn laughed.
“How beautiful.”
She raised her hand.
“Take them.”
The Blood Court soldiers moved.
Damien stepped in front of me.
“Stay behind me.”
I stared at his back.
For a moment, I remembered the first time he’d done that.
The first time he’d protected me.
The first time I’d thought he was simply a cold, arrogant man.
Now I understood.
He’d been protecting me long before I knew his name.
I reached for his hand.
He turned.
“Amara?”
I looked at him.
“I don’t trust you.”
Pain flashed across his face.
“But…”
I squeezed his hand.
“I still love you.”
His eyes softened.
“I love you too.”
The silver marks on our wrists suddenly burned.
Light erupted between us.
Every masked soldier dropped to their knees.
Evelyn stumbled backward.
“No.”
Isabella stared.
“It’s happening.”
“What?”
“The bond.”
The ground shook.
A crack opened beneath our feet.
Ancient symbols appeared across the earth.
Damien pulled me closer.
“Amara, don’t let go.”
“I won’t.”
The light grew brighter.
Then a voice echoed through the forest.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Female.
“The heir has chosen.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“The blood has awakened.”
Evelyn screamed.
“No!”
The ground split open.
A staircase appeared beneath us.
Leading downward.
Toward darkness.
Toward the vault.
I stared at it.
Isabella whispered:
“The door has chosen you.”
I looked at Damien.
Then at Adrian.
Then Nadia.
Finally, I looked at Evelyn.
“You wanted the key.”
I stepped toward the staircase.
“You should have asked for the queen.”
Evelyn’s face twisted with rage.
“You have no idea what you’re awakening.”
I smiled faintly.
“Neither did my mother.”
I took Damien’s hand.
And together, we descended into the darkness.
The moment we reached the bottom, the staircase vanished behind us.
Darkness surrounded us.
Then torches ignited along the walls.
I gasped.
The chamber was enormous.
Gold covered the walls.
Ancient symbols were carved into the floor.
At the center stood a stone throne.
Above it was a crown.
Not gold.
Not silver.
Black.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Damien stared at it.
“That’s yours.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
A voice whispered through the chamber.
“Yes.”
I stepped closer.
The crown began to glow.
Then something appeared on the wall.
A mural.
It showed a woman sitting on the throne.
Beside her stood a man.
I moved closer.
My breath caught.
The woman looked exactly like me.
And the man—
looked exactly like Damien.
Underneath them were ancient words.
Isabella had been wrong.
The prophecy wasn’t about destroying the Blood Court.
It wasn’t about awakening it.
It was about ruling it.
I translated the final line aloud:
“When the last queen chooses the last heir, the world shall belong to them.”
Damien stared at me.
“That can’t be right.”
I looked at him.
“Then why does the prophecy look like us?”
Before he could answer, footsteps echoed behind us.
Someone had entered the vault.
I turned.
Evelyn stood at the bottom of the staircase.
Blood covered her face.
She smiled.
“You finally understand.”
I backed away.
“Understand what?”
She looked at Damien.
Then at me.
“The prophecy was never meant to save the world.”
Her smile widened.
“It was meant to give the world two rulers.”
She looked at our joined hands.
“And unfortunately…”
Her eyes darkened.
“…you chose the wrong man.”