The night swallowed me whole the moment I left the Blood Court behind.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs felt like they were turning to stone. The cold wind slapped against my face, mixing with the warm blood still dripping from the cut on my cheek.
I did not stop.
I could not.
Not when the Blood Council had ordered my disposal.
Not when the Blood Court was already behind me, screaming my name like a curse.
Only when the city lights appeared ahead did I finally slow down.
The capital city of the Blood Kingdom was massive, stretching endlessly beneath the dark sky. Lanterns hung from rooftops, glowing faintly red. The streets were alive even at night, filled with merchants, travelers, and guards patrolling with spears.
I blended into the shadows.
My academy uniform was torn, stained, and soaked with blood.
I looked like a fugitive.
I was a fugitive.
The Queen's voice whispered inside my mind.
Hide.
I swallowed hard and slipped into a narrow alley between two stone buildings. The smell of smoke and damp wood filled my nose. I pressed my back against the wall and closed my eyes for just a second.
My heart was still racing.
The Blood Severing Blade was heavy in my hand, but I refused to drop it.
It was proof.
A reminder.
A weapon.
I wiped the blood from my cheek and looked down at my hands.
They were shaking.
Not from fear.
From the aftershock of power.
I had killed an elder.
I had killed guards.
I had escaped the Blood Court.
And somehow I was still alive.
My stomach twisted.
What if I was not supposed to be alive at all
Then the Queen's voice returned, calmer this time.
You are alive because you finally stopped begging.
I clenched my jaw.
"I did not beg," I whispered.
You did, she replied.
In your heart.
In your eyes.
You begged them to love you.
The words stabbed deeper than any blade.
Because she was right.
I had begged Lucien to believe me.
I had begged Selene to choose me.
I had begged the world to see me as something more than weak.
And they answered by burning me alive.
I exhaled shakily.
"I will not beg again," I whispered.
The Queen's voice was quiet.
Good.
A loud sound echoed nearby.
Boots.
Many boots.
I froze.
My body stiffened as I leaned slightly toward the alley entrance.
A patrol of Blood Court guards marched past, scanning the streets.
They were searching.
Hunting.
One of them shouted.
"She escaped through the main gate. Spread out. Search every street."
Another guard replied.
"She killed Elder Kael. She is not a normal girl."
The first guard spat.
"She is a curse. If we find her, we kill her immediately."
Their footsteps faded into the distance.
I stayed still for a long moment.
Then I stepped out of the alley cautiously.
The city was too open.
Too bright.
Too many eyes.
I needed somewhere to disappear.
Somewhere even Blood Court soldiers would not search.
My eyes drifted to the slums beyond the main market.
A place filled with thieves, outcasts, and forgotten people.
A place nobles never stepped into unless they wanted to punish someone.
That was where I needed to go.
I moved quickly, keeping my hood low, slipping through crowded streets.
People brushed against me, laughing, bargaining, living their ordinary lives.
None of them knew that the Blood Court was hunting me.
None of them knew the crown mark had awakened.
None of them knew a queen was walking beside them in rags.
I reached the market and pushed through the crowd.
A vendor called out.
"Fresh bloodfruit, sweet and ripe"
A woman laughed.
"Mana stones, cheap mana stones"
Children ran past me holding pastries.
I almost envied them.
Their lives were simple.
Mine had become a war.
I stepped into a darker street, away from the noise.
The slums began here.
The buildings were older, the lanterns dimmer, the air thick with smoke and poverty.
I had barely taken ten steps when the Queen's voice whispered sharply.
Stop.
I froze instantly.
"What"
Danger.
A chill ran down my spine.
I looked around.
The street was empty.
Too empty.
The wind was still.
Even the rats that usually scurried around the slums were nowhere to be seen.
My grip tightened on the Blood Severing Blade.
Then I felt it.
A presence.
Not human.
Not normal blood magic.
Something twisted.
Something corrupted.
My skin prickled.
A soft laugh echoed from behind me.
I turned sharply.
Three figures stepped out of the shadows.
They wore black cloaks with red markings stitched into the fabric. Their faces were covered with masks carved like skulls.
Not Blood Court guards.
These were different.
Their aura was darker.
Thicker.
Like poisoned blood.
One of them tilted his head.
"Elara Nightborne," he said calmly. "You run well."
My heart pounded.
"How do you know my name"
The man laughed.
"We were sent to bring you," he replied. "Alive."
Alive.
My stomach dropped.
The Blood Council wanted me alive.
That meant they wanted my bloodline.
They wanted to use me.
I took a slow step backward.
The three hunters stepped forward at the same time.
Their movements were synchronized, unnatural.
Like puppets controlled by the same hand.
The Queen's voice whispered.
They are blood hunters.
I swallowed hard.
"What are blood hunters"
The Queen's voice became colder.
Dead men given blood magic.
Bodies turned into weapons.
My eyes widened.
So these were not ordinary humans.
That explained the smell.
Rot and metal.
The hunter on the left raised his hand.
A black chain made of corrupted blood erupted from his palm and shot toward me.
I moved instantly, dodging to the side.
The chain slammed into the wall behind me, tearing stone apart like paper.
I inhaled sharply.
If that hit me, it would rip my body in half.
The second hunter moved.
He was faster.
He appeared in front of me in a blink, his fist aiming straight for my chest.
I raised my arm.
Crimson flames burst out and blocked the strike.
The impact sent me sliding backward.
My feet scraped the stone.
My arm burned.
The hunter did not stop.
He attacked again.
And again.
His strikes were brutal, precise, as if he did not feel pain.
I swung the Blood Severing Blade at him.
The blade sliced through his cloak.
But instead of blood spilling, black smoke poured out.
The hunter laughed.
"You cannot kill what is already dead."
My breath caught.
He grabbed my wrist.
His grip was ice cold.
Pain shot up my arm as his corrupted blood magic tried to crawl into my veins.
I screamed and shoved him away with a burst of crimson flame.
He staggered back, but did not fall.
The third hunter stepped forward slowly, his voice smooth.
"Do not resist," he said. "Lady Selene requested you be returned unharmed."
My entire body froze.
Lady Selene.
The name tasted like poison.
Selene.
So she had not been destroyed.
She had not been punished.
She had become something worse.
She had allied herself with the Blood Council.
I clenched my teeth.
"She sent you," I whispered.
The hunter nodded.
"She has been blessed," he said. "She carries the new blood now. And she will become the kingdom's future."
My chest tightened with rage.
Blessed.
Selene was not blessed.
She was cursed.
I raised my hand, summoning flames.
The hunters attacked again.
The street exploded into chaos.
Black chains whipped through the air.
Crimson flames roared against them.
Stone shattered.
Lanterns fell.
Fire spread across the ground.
I fought with everything inside me, but I could feel it.
They were pushing me.
Surrounding me.
Driving me toward exhaustion.
One hunter struck my shoulder.
Pain exploded.
I stumbled.
The second hunter kicked my knee.
I fell hard to the ground.
The Blood Severing Blade clattered away.
My breath left my body in a gasp.
The hunters stepped toward me slowly.
Their voices were calm.
"You cannot escape," one whispered. "Your blood belongs to the throne."
I tried to rise.
My body refused.
The chains were back.
They wrapped around my arms and legs, pinning me to the stone.
I struggled, but the corrupted blood magic was heavy, sticky, like tar.
The hunter leader crouched in front of me.
His mask was inches from my face.
"You will come with us," he said. "Lady Selene will be pleased."
I stared at him with pure hatred.
Then the Queen's voice roared inside my mind.
Release me.
I froze.
"What"
Release me fully, the Queen demanded.
Let me awaken through you.
My heart pounded violently.
If I released her, what would happen to me
Would I still be myself
The hunters tightened their chains, preparing to drag me away.
My breath became uneven.
I had no choice.
I closed my eyes.
Then I whispered inside my mind.
Do it.
The air exploded.
A shockwave erupted from my body so violently that the entire street shook.
The hunters were thrown backward like they weighed nothing.
The chains shattered instantly.
I rose slowly to my feet.
But it did not feel like I was standing alone.
My blood felt deeper.
Older.
Heavier.
My vision sharpened.
The world turned red.
Crimson symbols appeared in the air around me like a storm of ancient runes.
The hunters froze.
Even they looked afraid now.
Because the crown symbol appeared above my head again.
Not faint.
Not flickering.
It blazed like a blood moon.
The Queen's voice echoed through my throat, but it was not my voice anymore.
It was hers.
Ancient.
Royal.
Deadly.
"You dare touch my vessel," she spoke aloud.
The hunters stepped back.
The leader raised his hand, trying to summon chains again.
But the Queen laughed.
And with a single motion of my fingers, his blood turned against him.
He screamed.
His body twisted violently.
Black smoke poured out of his mouth.
Then he collapsed.
The other hunters tried to flee.
But it was too late.
The Queen raised my hand again.
Crimson spears formed in the air.
They shot forward like lightning.
One pierced the hunter's spine.
Another pierced the third hunter's chest.
Their bodies dropped to the ground like broken dolls.
Silence.
Only crackling flames remained.
I stood in the middle of the ruined street, breathing slowly.
My hands were still raised.
Blood dripped from my fingers.
But it was not mine.
The Queen's voice was still in control.
And she whispered softly through my lips.
Pathetic.
Then suddenly, my knees buckled.
The crimson light faded.
The crown symbol flickered.
And I felt myself falling back into my own body like I had been shoved into a cage.
I gasped and dropped to the ground, my hands trembling violently.
My heart was racing like it wanted to burst.
I stared at the dead hunters.
I had killed them.
No.
She had killed them through me.
My throat tightened.
"What did you do," I whispered.
The Queen's voice responded calmly.
I saved you.
I swallowed hard.
"But I felt you," I whispered. "I felt you taking over."
The Queen's voice was quiet now.
You asked for power.
Power always has a price.
I clenched my fists.
My breathing became uneven.
I was alive.
But I had just realized something terrifying.
If I kept using her power, I might not remain myself forever.
I forced myself to stand.
Then I grabbed the Blood Severing Blade from the ground and stumbled away from the destroyed street.
I had to disappear before more hunters came.
But as I moved, I felt it.
A new presence in the air.
A dark presence.
Watching.
I turned my head slowly.
And far down the street, standing under a dim lantern, was a figure in white.
A familiar figure.
Selene.
She stood still, her long hair flowing in the wind, her face pale and beautiful.
But her aura…
Her aura was black.
Black like corrupted blood.
And her eyes were not human anymore.
They were slitted like a serpent's.
Selene smiled.
A slow, sick smile.
"You really came back," she whispered.
My blood ran cold.
She took a step forward.
And the darkness around her moved like it was alive.
"I missed you, Elara," she said softly. "Now let me take what you owe me."
I tightened my grip on the blade.
My body trembled.
Not from fear.
From fury.
Because Selene was standing in front of me again.
The same friend.
The same betrayer.
The same monster.
And this time…
I would not run.