SERA'S POV
The silver-haired man is still kneeling in my broken room.
Get up, I snap, my heart racing from the attack. Glass from the shattered window covers the floor. The dead assassin lies in pieces near my bed.
Caspian rises smoothly. He's tall, muscular, and moves like a predator. His golden eyes study me with an intensity that makes me uncomfortable.
Who are you? I demand.
Caspian Silverfang. Your sworn protector.
I don't need a protector.
With respect, my Queen He gestures to the dead assassin. You clearly do.
Before I can respond, Ryker bursts through my door with guards behind him. He takes in the scene the broken window, the body, Caspian and his eyes narrow dangerously.
Who the hell are you? Ryker growls, alpha dominance rolling off him.
Caspian doesn't flinch. Caspian Silverfang. Sworn to protect the Lunar Heir.
I don't remember hiring you.
You didn't. The oath is ancient. Binding. Caspian looks at me. When you returned to life, the magic activated. I felt it across the realm. My family has protected Blackwoods for centuries.
Your family failed, I say coldly. All the Blackwoods are dead except me.
Pain flashes in his eyes. I know. My ancestors were murdered trying to save yours during the exile. I'm the last Silverfang, and you're the last Blackwood. The oath binds me to you now.
What oath? Ryker demands.
Caspian holds out his wrist. A silver mark glows there the same crown symbol that floats above my head. I'm magically bound to obey the Queen's direct commands. My life is tied to hers. If she dies, I die.
I didn't ask for this! I'm so tired of people making choices for me.
I know, Caspian says gently. But I've been searching for you my whole life. Let me serve you. Let me protect you.
The sincerity in his voice catches me off guard. He's not asking for power or position. Just... to help.
Ryker steps between us. Who sent the assassin?
Caspian picks up a ring from the dead man's finger. It bears a symbol crescent moon with a dagger through it.
The High Council, Ryker growls. Marcus Ashford's personal assassins.
I stare at the ring. Marcus tried to have me killed. Again.
Good, I say, my power flaring. Silver light fills the room. Let him know I'm coming for him.
Both males step back from the force of my rage.
We need to increase security, Ryker says. And accelerate your training. If Marcus is willing to send assassins, he's desperate.
Then let's make him more desperate. I meet his eyes. Training starts at dawn.
Dawn comes too early.
Ryker's training ground is brutal. Elite warriors circle me, waiting for the signal to attack.
Your power is raw, Ryker says, arms crossed. You need control.
I have control.
Prove it. Fight them without using your royal command. Just skill.
The warriors attack.
I shift into my massive wolf form and meet them head-on. My Luna form is eight feet tall now, radiant and powerful. But Ryker's warriors are good. Really good.
They work together, coordinating attacks. One distracts while another strikes. I take down three, but four more replace them.
Frustration builds. I'm stronger than them, but they're faster, more experienced.
One warrior gets through my defence and slashes my side. Pain explodes.
My power erupts.
Silver light blasts from me, throwing all the warriors back. One hits a wall hard too hard. He doesn't get up.
I shift to human, horror filling me. I didn't mean
STOP! Ryker's command cuts through the chaos. He runs to the injured warrior, checking his pulse. He's alive. Barely.
Guilt crushes me. I hurt my own ally.
Ryker turns on me, and for the first time, he looks angry. Control your anger or it'll control you!
I WAS controlling it! I shout back.
No, you were holding it in. That's not the same thing. He stalks toward me. You're terrified of your own power. So you bottle it up until it explodes. That's how people get killed.
I'm doing my best!
Your best isn't good enough! His eyes blaze. In two weeks, you fight Theron to the death. He's been training for years. You've had three months. If you can't control your power, he'll kill you.
Then TEACH me! I'm in his face now, refusing to back down.
We glare at each other. The air crackles with tension not just anger, but something else. Something electric.
Ryker's eyes drop to my lips for a split second. Then he steps back.
Again, he says quietly. We go again. Until you get it right.
We train for hours. Ryker pushes me harder than anyone ever has. He doesn't treat me like I'm fragile or broken. He treats me like a warrior.
And I start to respect him for it.
By sunset, I'm exhausted but better. More controlled.
Good, Ryker says. Tomorrow we train with weapons.
I limp back to my room, every muscle screaming. Caspian appears beside me like a shadow.
You did well today, he says.
I hurt someone.
You're learning. That's what matters. He opens my door for me. I've secured your room. No more broken windows.
Thank you. The words feel strange. I'm not used to people helping without wanting something.
It's my honour, my Queen.
After he leaves, I collapse on my bed. My body aches. My mind races.
Two weeks until I fight Theron. Two weeks to master power I barely understand.
I touch my chest where the mate bond still pulls. Kade is somewhere out there, probably still at Ryker's border. Still trying to get to me.
I push the thought away. I can't think about him now.
A knock on my door. It's Nova.
I let her in. She's carrying a tray of food.
Eat, she orders. You need your strength.
We sit together in comfortable silence. Then Nova says, three males now. The rejected mate, the Alpha King, and the sworn protector. Your life got complicated fast.
Tell me about it.
Which one do you trust?
I think about it. I don't know if I trust any of them.
Then trust yourself, Nova says firmly. You're not that broken girl anymore, Sera. You're a queen. Act like it.
She's right. I need to stop being afraid of my own power.
That night, I dream of the blood combat. Of Theron's face face I've never seen but somehow know. Of fighting to the death while thousands watch.
I wake to screaming.
Not my own. Coming from outside.
I run to the window and my blood turns to ice.
The sky is red. Not sunset red. Blood red.
And in the courtyard below, Ryker's warriors are fighting... something. Shadows with glowing red eyes. Dozens of them.
Caspian crashes through my door. We're under attack! Dark magic creatures Marcus sent an army!
But that's not what makes my heart stop.
Standing in the center of the chaos, commanding the shadow creatures, is a figure I recognize even from this distance.
Vivian.
Kade's wife. My replacement.
She looks up at my window and smiles.
Then she lifts her hand, and the shadows surge forward like a wave.
They're coming for you, Caspian says, silver blades appearing in his hands. We need to move NOW.
The shadows crash through the gates.
And I realize this isn't just an attack.
It's an execution.