Chapter 6 - Shadows over the Realm
While the festivities continued in the grand ballroom, dark forces were gathering in the shadowed corridors beneath the castle.
Lady Vanya stood in a secluded balcony overlooking the snowy abysses outside the Citadel walls. Standing in the shadows beside her was a tall, gaunt man wrapped in rags made of black leather and bone armor.
This was Lord Vane, leader of the Blood Moon Syndicate—a rogue faction of dark shifters who practiced forbidden blood magic.
"You guaranteed the girl would be easy to capture," Vanya spat in a furious whisper. "She isn't an Omega! She is a fully awakened Moon-Blessed! The King guards her day and night!"
"Calm yourself, Lady Vanya," Vane rasped, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "An awakened target is simply more valuable. Her blood is now concentrated. A single cup of her life-force will allow my warriors to shatter the King's barrier and take the Northern Citadel for ourselves."
"What about my reward?" Vanya demanded, her eyes glittering with jealousy. "I was promised the throne beside Kale once the girl was removed!"
"And you shall have it," Vane lied smoothly, a wicked grin showing behind his hood. "Tonight, during the midnight solstice ritual, the King will be tied to the high altar to anchor her spirit. That is when we strike. You will open the eastern gate for my vanguard."
"Fine," Vanya hissed. "Do not fail me."
She turned and vanished into the castle, unaware that Vane’s dark eyes flashed with cruel amusement.
Upper in the royal suites, Lena sat by the window, watching the snow fall.
Kale walked into the room, holding two wooden cups of warm cider. He handed one to her, taking a seat on the stone ledge across from her.
"You were incredible down there," Kale said gently. "Marcus looked as though he wished the earth would swallow him whole."
Lena smiled faintly, looking into her cup. "It felt surreal. For so long, I believed everything he said about me. I thought I was born broken."
"No one is born broken, Lena," Kale said, leaning over to gently trace his thumb along her cheekbone. "Some are simply meant for greater skies."
Suddenly, the candles in the room flickered and died.
The temperature inside the room plummeted to lethal levels within seconds. Frost spread across the glass windows in jagged, unnatural patterns.
The inner wolf inside Lena roared a desperate warning.
"Kale!" she gasped.
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Before Kale could react, a massive explosion rocked the lower levels of the Citadel. The sound of shouting, crashing steel, and agonizing screams echoed up the stairwells.
The siege of the Northern Crown had begun.
