Amara screamed.
She felt herself falling.
Air rushed past her as darkness swallowed everything.
“DAMIEN!”
A hand caught hers.
“I’ve got you!”
His voice.
Damien.
Amara held onto him as they fell deeper.
Then—
CRASH!
They hit the ground.
Amara groaned.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Damien’s voice came through the darkness.
“Amara?”
“I’m here.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He reached for her.
Their hands found each other.
His fingers tightened around hers.
“Good.”
A light suddenly appeared.
Adrian had activated a small flashlight.
Seraphina was standing several feet away.
She looked up.
Her face had gone pale.
“This place…”
Damien looked around.
“What?”
Seraphina whispered,
“I’ve been here before.”
Amara stared at her.
“When?”
Seraphina didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked toward the enormous stone door in front of them.
Symbols covered it.
At the center was a familiar mark.
A silver crown.
Amara’s necklace suddenly began glowing.
The door trembled.
Damien stepped closer.
“Don’t.”
Amara looked at him.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“But something brought us here.”
“That doesn’t mean we should open it.”
Seraphina suddenly laughed.
“You really haven’t changed.”
Damien glared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“You were always afraid of this door.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
“Yes, you have.”
Damien’s face tightened.
“Stop saying that.”
Seraphina stepped closer.
“You were here when you were eight.”
Silence.
Amara looked at Damien.
“You remember?”
“No.”
Seraphina’s expression softened.
“Of course you don’t.”
She pointed at the door.
“Your memories were taken because of what you saw behind it.”
Amara stepped forward.
“What did he see?”
Seraphina looked at her.
“You.”
Amara froze.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward Damien.
“You saw Amara before you were supposed to know she existed.”
Damien’s breathing became uneven.
A flash entered his mind.
A little girl.
Dark hair.
Tears running down her face.
A red door.
And a woman whispering:
“Protect her.”
Damien staggered.
“Amara…”
She caught him.
“What did you see?”
“A girl.”
“What girl?”
He looked at her.
“You.”
Suddenly, the stone door began to open.
GRRRRRAAAAHHHH—
Dust fell from the ceiling.
A cold wind swept through the chamber.
Beyond the door was a massive underground hall.
Hundreds of candles ignited simultaneously.
At the end of the hall stood a throne.
Black.
Ancient.
Empty.
Except—
Someone was sitting on it.
A man.
He appeared impossibly young.
Pale skin.
Dark hair.
Golden eyes.
He wore a black coat embroidered with silver symbols.
Amara stopped breathing.
She knew that face.
Not personally.
But from the visions.
It was the same man who had appeared beside the Blood Court mural.
The last king.
Damien’s supposed biological father.
Damien stared at him.
“You.”
The man smiled.
“Welcome home, son.”
Damien raised his gun.
“Stay away from me.”
The man’s smile disappeared.
“You still carry the weapon they gave you.”
Damien’s grip tightened.
“I don’t know you.”
“You will.”
The man stood.
The entire hall seemed to react to him.
Every candle flame turned toward him.
Amara felt something pulling at her.
Her necklace burned against her chest.
The man looked at her.
“And you…”
His eyes softened.
“My queen.”
Amara shook her head.
“I’m not your queen.”
“You are.”
“I don’t know you.”
“You don’t need to.”
He descended the steps of the throne.
“You only need to remember.”
Damien stepped between them.
“Don’t go near her.”
The man’s eyes moved to Damien.
For a moment, something like pride appeared in his expression.
“You protect her just as you did when you were a child.”
Damien froze.
“You knew me?”
“I raised you.”
“No.”
Damien shook his head.
“Richard raised me.”
The man laughed.
“Richard?”
His voice carried through the hall.
“Richard Vale stole my son.”
Damien’s face hardened.
“Why?”
“Because the Blood Court needed an heir.”
He looked toward Amara.
“And the queen needed protection.”
Amara’s stomach tightened.
“Protection from what?”
The man’s expression became deadly serious.
“From the thing sleeping beneath this city.”
Adrian suddenly stepped forward.
“It’s awake.”
Everyone turned.
Adrian was staring at the floor.
“What?”
He pointed toward the throne.
“The prophecy wasn’t warning us about the king and queen.”
His voice trembled.
“It was warning us about what they would awaken.”
A deep rumble shook the chamber.
The man looked toward the ceiling.
“They know.”
Seraphina’s face changed.
“Who?”
The man answered quietly.
“The First Ones.”
Amara frowned.
“Who are the First Ones?”
Nobody answered.
Then a sound came from beneath the floor.
A heartbeat.
THUMP.
The candles flickered.
THUMP.
The walls trembled.
THUMP.
Something was waking.
The man turned toward Amara.
“You were never brought here to rule.”
He looked at Damien.
“And he was never brought here to be your enemy.”
Amara’s voice trembled.
“Then why were we brought together?”
The man’s golden eyes met hers.
“Because only your blood can open the prison.”
Amara’s heart stopped.
“What prison?”
The man pointed beneath the throne.
“The one holding the first creature ever created by the Blood Court.”
Damien stared at him.
“And what happens if it gets out?”
The man’s expression became grim.
“It won’t just destroy the Blood Court.”
A violent tremor shook the chamber.
“It will destroy the world above.”
Suddenly—
A scream echoed through the tunnels.
Everyone turned.
It came from the direction they had entered.
Adrian’s face went pale.
“No.”
Amara grabbed his arm.
“What?”
He stared into the darkness.
“They followed us.”
“Who?”
Adrian whispered:
“The Crimson Circle.”
Gunshots exploded in the distance.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Seraphina drew her weapon.
Damien pulled Amara behind him.
The last king looked toward the entrance.
Then he smiled.
“They’re too late.”
Amara frowned.
“Too late for what?”
The man looked at her necklace.
“It has already begun.”
The silver glow around Amara’s body intensified.
Damien’s hand began glowing too.
Their blood bonds connected.
Silver light surged between them.
And beneath their feet—
The prison door began to crack.
CRACK.
Everyone froze.
Another crack appeared.
CRACK.
Then something enormous moved beneath the stone.
A deep voice whispered from below.
“Queen…”
Amara’s eyes widened.
The voice came again.
“King…”
Damien stared at her.
The final crack split the floor.
And two enormous golden eyes opened beneath them.
“Come home.”