Chapter 6 - The Queen Mother Returned, and Alera Learned Who Had Really Betrayed Them
They returned to the capital as rulers, not fugitives.
The people gathered in the streets.
Some bowed.
Some cried.
Some stared.
Alera expected hatred.
Instead, she heard whispers.
The Lost Queen.
The Moon Heir.
The Omega Princess.
Lucian rode beside her.
Their hands remained linked.
But the palace gates were closed.
The Queen Mother stood waiting.
She was elegant.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Alera immediately understood why she had been feared.
The woman looked at Lucian.
“My son.”
Lucian dismounted.
“You killed Evelyn.”
The Queen Mother did not deny it.
“Yes.”
Alera's heart shattered.
“Why?”
“Because your mother wanted to destroy everything.”
“My mother wanted to save me.”
“She wanted to return the old bloodline.”
“Because it was yours to protect.”
The Queen Mother looked at Alera.
“You are too young to understand what happened.”
Alera stepped forward.
“I understand enough.”
The Queen Mother smiled sadly.
“You think the old throne was freedom?”
“No.”
“It was slavery.”
Lucian froze.
“What?”
“The ancient Omega queens weren't rulers.”
She looked at Alera.
“They were vessels.”
Alera went still.
“What do you mean?”
“The Moon Blood requires sacrifice.”
Elara's face turned pale.
“The prophecy was mistranslated.”
The Queen Mother nodded.
“Yes.”
Alera looked at Lucian.
“What sacrifice?”
The Queen Mother answered.
“Your mate.”
Silence.
Alera's heart stopped.
Lucian stepped toward his mother.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
The old throne had awakened because the final stage was approaching.
The Alpha must die.
Alera must inherit the eternal crown.
She would rule forever.
Alone.
The bond would consume Lucian's life.
Alera stared at the ground.
The beautiful future suddenly seemed like another prison.
“No.”
The Queen Mother smiled.
“That is why your mother hid you.”
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
Alera shook.
“She sacrificed herself to stop the crown.”
Lucian looked at his mother.
“You knew this.”
“Yes.”
“You let me fall in love with her.”
The Queen Mother's face hardened.
“I never expected you to love her.”
Lucian laughed bitterly.
“And that is why you lose.”
He drew his sword.
Guards surrounding them stepped forward.
Alera raised her hand.
“Stop.”
Everyone froze.
She looked at the Queen Mother.
“Tell me how to break the curse.”
The Queen Mother stared.
“You cannot.”
“There is always a way.”
“No.”
“There has to be.”
The Queen Mother looked at her.
“There is one.”
“What?”
“You must willingly give up the crown.”
Lucian stared.
“Then you lose your power.”
Alera thought of everything her family had sacrificed.
Her mother.
Her father.
Thousands before them.
She looked at Lucian.
He understood.
“No.”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
“If you give up the crown, they will kill you.”
“Then we'll build a kingdom where they can't.”
He stepped toward her.
“Alera.”
“I choose you.”
The bond exploded.
The Queen Mother cried out.
The cursed crown shattered.
Darkness swept through the palace.
The old throne cracked.
The Queen Mother collapsed.
When she looked up again, she was crying.
“I wanted to save you.”
Lucian knelt beside her.
“You became the thing you feared.”
She whispered, “I know.”
Then she handed Alera an ancient key.
“The real throne is not stone.”
Alera stared.
“What is it?”
“The people.”
The kingdom fell silent.
For the first time, Alera understood.
A crown was only metal.
Power lived in people.
She looked at Lucian.
“We don't need the old throne.”
He smiled.
“No.”
“We need a new kingdom.”
“Yes.”
Outside, the bells began ringing.
But another sound followed.
War horns.
May you like
Malrec had returned.
And he was marching toward the capital with an army large enough to destroy them both.
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