Chapter 10 - THE QUEEN'S CHOICEThe mountain was dying.
Stone fell from the ceiling.
Towers collapsed.
The ancient tunnels filled with dust.
Wolves raced through the streets.
Soldiers abandoned their weapons.
The High Priest disappeared into the chaos.
And the Moon Gate kept opening.
Kael dragged Alora toward the surface.
“Faster!”
“I can hear it.”
“What?”
“The wolves.”
He stopped.
“From where?”
She closed her eyes.
“Everywhere.”
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Millions.
Their voices were inside her head.
The First Wolf was calling them.
Kael looked at the sky.
The red moon had turned black.
“The gate is spreading.”
“What happens if it opens completely?”
“The barrier between worlds disappears.”
“And then?”
He looked at her.
“The old wolves return.”
“And they kill everyone?”
“Maybe.”
“You don't sound certain.”
“Because no one has survived to know.”
Alora stopped.
Kael turned.
“We're almost out.”
“No.”
“Alora.”
“I am not running.”
He stared at her.
“The First Wolf wants the gate open.”
“Yes.”
“And the High Priest wanted it open.”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe the answer isn't to close it.”
Kael's eyes widened.
“What are you thinking?”
Alora looked at the silver mark on her wrist.
“I think the gate responds to blood.”
“The royal blood.”
“Yes.”
“And you are the last heir.”
“Yes.”
Kael shook his head.
“You don't know what it will cost.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“But I know what happens if I do nothing.”
A massive roar shook the sky.
The First Wolf's head emerged over the mountain.
Its voice rolled across the land.
“QUEEN.”
Alora looked up.
“I hear you.”
Kael stepped beside her.
The wolf stared.
“OPEN.”
Alora raised her chin.
“No.”
The creature snarled.
“YOU DO NOT COMMAND ME.”
She lifted her hand.
The silver mark became brighter.
“Then why can I hear your thoughts?”
The wolf froze.
Kael looked at her.
“What?”
Alora smiled slightly.
“I think the bond has changed.”
The wolves around them knelt.
All at once.
Thousands.
The First Wolf stared.
“You carry the original blood.”
Alora's voice remained steady.
“And you answer to it.”
The First Wolf lowered its head.
Not in anger.
In recognition.
The gate trembled.
Then slowly began closing.
The giant creature roared.
“No!”
Alora felt agony rip through her chest.
Kael grabbed her.
“You're killing yourself.”
“I know.”
“Stop!”
“I can't.”
He held her tighter.
“There has to be another way.”
“There is.”
She looked into his eyes.
“You.”
He froze.
“What?”
“The Moon Bond.”
His face changed.
Alora understood now.
The prophecy wasn't about one queen.
It wasn't about one king.
It was about two people connected strongly enough to close the gate.
“The bond shares pain.”
Kael realized it.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“If I take half the power…”
“We close it together.”
“It could kill us both.”
Alora smiled through tears.
“You said kings don't get to choose for queens.”
He looked at her.
“You're using my own words against me.”
“Learning quickly.”
Kael laughed once.
Then he placed both hands on her face.
“I bought nothing when you saved me.”
“You were the one who got sold.”
“No.”
His forehead rested against hers.
“I think I was waiting for you.”
The bond ignited.
Silver light exploded from their bodies.
The Moon Gate began collapsing.
The First Wolf screamed.
The ancient wolves vanished one by one.
The mountain shook.
Alora felt herself fading.
Kael held her.
“Stay with me.”
She could barely hear him.
“I'm trying.”
“You promised.”
“I never promised.”
“You did when you spent the coin.”
She smiled weakly.
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything.”
The gate closed.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then darkness.
Alora opened her eyes.
She was lying beneath a tree.
Morning sunlight touched her face.
Kael was beside her.
Alive.
Barely.
The silver mark was gone.
The wolves were gone.
The mountain stood in the distance.
Broken.
But still standing.
Alora slowly sat up.
“What happened?”
Kael opened his eyes.
“We survived.”
She touched his face.
“So the bond is gone?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
He took her wrist.
The silver mark had returned.
But it was different now.
It formed a crown around a wolf.
“The bond evolved.”
“What does that mean?”
Kael looked toward the mountain.
“I don't know.”
A horse approached.
A messenger jumped down.
He knelt before Alora.
“Your Majesty.”
She stared.
“No.”
The messenger bowed lower.
“The capital has fallen.”
Kael stood.
“What?”
“The Emperor is dead.”
Alora's blood turned cold.
“Who killed him?”
The messenger looked at her.
“The man everyone believed was dead.”
Kael's face changed.
“Darius.”
The messenger shook his head.
“No.”
Silence.
“The Emperor was killed by the High Priest.”
Kael frowned.
“I thought he fled.”
“He did.”
The messenger handed Alora a black envelope.
Her name was written across it.
ALORA VALE.
She opened it.
Inside was one sentence.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
Or almost unfamiliar.
You closed the gate too soon.
Her blood ran cold.
Below the sentence was another.
The first wolf was never the real threat.
Then one final line.
Ask your grandmother why she lied about the night you were born.
Alora stared at the page.
Kael stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
She slowly raised her eyes.
“My grandmother.”
“What about her?”
Alora's voice trembled.
“She wasn't there to save me when I was born.”
Kael looked confused.
“Then where was she?”
Alora turned the letter over.
There was another message on the back.
A symbol.
A black crown.
And beneath it, a date.
The date of her birth.
Kael went pale.
“That is impossible.”
“What?”
He pointed to the date.
“Your grandmother died…”
He swallowed.
“…seven years before you were born.”
Alora stared at him.
The letter slipped from her fingers.
Then, from deep inside the forest, a woman's voice whispered:
“Alora.”
She turned.
A familiar old figure stepped between the trees.
Her grandmother.
Alive.
Smiling.
And beside her stood the High Priest.
“Come home, little star.”
The world went silent.
Because Alora finally understood.
Her entire life had been a lie.
May you like
And the woman who had sent her to buy medicine…
had just offered her to the enemy.
