Chapter 4 The Queen's Awakening
Chapter 4
Nyra stared at Malachi face in horror after hearing his reply—his words.
"The queen inside you is waking up."
The words barely felt real, felt impossible to her.
Queen.
Inside of her.
"Nothing about this night made sense anymore," she murmured softly to herself.
Her chest still burned violently, with sharp pulses spreading beneath her skin like dark fire. She gripped Malachi's arm instinctively as another wave of pain crashed through her body.
A broken gasp escaped her lips.
Malachi tightened his hold on her immediately.
"Breathe."
Nyra glared at him through the pain. "Don't tell me to breathe when you just said there's a queen living inside me!"
The room remained tense and silent around them.
Lilith Dusk watched Nyra with narrowed crimson eyes now, no longer amused. The vampires standing behind her looked deeply unsettled.
Afraid.
Nyra noticed it instantly.
They were afraid of her and that realization terrified her more than anything else.
Because just few days ago, few hours, she was just a girl trying to make ends meet and now someone was here telling her she was a queen and midnight that she was supposed to be scared of were now afraid of her.
Darius Blackthorn stepped forward slowly, his expression grim. "The transformation is happening too fast."
Nyra looked sharply toward him. "Transformation?"
No one answered immediately.
Which made panic rise harder inside her chest.
Malachi's jaw tightened slightly before he finally spoke.
"The bond awakened dormant blood magic inside you."
Nyra shook her head quickly. "No. No, I'm human."
The second the words left her mouth, silence fell again.
A heavy silence.
Lilith smiled faintly.
"Not anymore."
Nyra's breathing became uneven as the burning under her skin worsened.
Something cold slithered through her veins, mixing with unbearable heat until she couldn't tell where one sensation ended and the other began when she suddenly heard whispers again.
Dozens of them.
Ancient voices murmuring inside her head.
Queen... Blood..... Awaken....
Nyra cried out softly, clutching her head.
"Make it stop....."
Malachi immediately pulled her against him and the moment his arms wrapped around her, the whispers weakened slightly.
Nyra froze.
So did he.
The room darkened again.
Shadows curled around them both protectively, almost as if responding to instinct rather than command.
Lilith's expression darkened instantly.
"Well," she said coldly. "That confirms it."
Darius looked equally disturbed.
"This cannot reach the Elders."
Malachi's eyes lifted sharply. "They already know."
"And when they discover she carries the queen's mark?” Darius asked grimly. "Every vampire house will come for her."
Nyra pushed herself away from Malachi slightly despite the strange comfort his presence gave her.
"Can somebody stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here?"
Lilith crossed her arms
elegantly.
"You truly know nothing, do you?"
Nyra snapped. "Obviously not!"
Lilith stepped closer slowly, her black dress brushing against the broken glass scattered across the floor as it roll off the floor.
"The Blood Queen was the most powerful creature to ever exist," she said softly. "She ruled beside Malachi centuries ago."
Nyra frowned immediately.
Beside him?
Her eyes shifted toward Malachi while his expression had become unreadable.
Lilith continued before either of them could speak.
"She nearly destroyed the vampire world."
"Lilith," Malachi warned.
But she ignored him.
"She controlled blood itself. Entire armies died kneeling before her."
Lilith's eyes returned to Nyra. "And when she vanished, the kingdom collapsed into chaos."
Nyra's stomach twisted.
"This is insane."
"It is history."
"No," Nyra said firmly. "And in our grandmother downward thank you very much for having me is some kind of nightmare."
She turned toward Malachi desperately looking for an answer.
"Tell me she's lying."
For the first time since meeting him few hours ago Malachi hesitated.
That was answer enough.
Nyra stepped backward slowly.
"No."
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too cold. Too dangerous.
Everything around her was breaking apart too fast.
First her grandmother died.
Then the diary.
The ritual.
The vampires.
Now apparently she carried some ancient queen inside her?
None of this could be real.
Nyra shook her head repeatedly trying to convince herself of her fate.
"I'm leaving."
Malachi's voice became dangerously soft.
"You cannot."
Nyra's fear instantly sharpened into anger.
"Watch me."
She turned and moved toward the apartment door.
Or what remained of it.
But before she could take more than two steps—
pain exploded through her wrist to her entire body.
Nyra gasped violently.
The symbol burned bright crimson beneath her skin.
At the exact same moment, Malachi staggered slightly behind her as well making everyone froze.
Darius's eyes widened while Lilith cursed under her breath. Nyra looked back in confusion.
Malachi's face had darkened with restrained pain.
The realization hit her instantly.
The bond.
He felt it too.
"What did I just do?" she whispered.
Malachi recovered quickly, though tension remained visible in his expression.
"The further you move from me," he said quietly, "the more unstable the bond becomes."
Nyra stared at him in disbelief.
"You're telling me I physically can't leave you?"
"For now."
"For now?!" she repeated.
Lilith almost looked entertained again.
"Oh, this is becoming tragic already."
Nyra glared at her. "You know what? I really don’t like you."
Lilith smiled sweetly. "The feeling is mutual."
Darius stepped forward again before the argument could continue.
"We do not have time for this."
He looked toward Malachi seriously.
"The Elders will send hunters soon."
Malachi's expression hardened instantly.
"Then we leave before they arrive."
Nyra shook her head immediately. "No."
Every eye turned toward her.
"I am not going anywhere with vampires I just met!"
"You do not have a choice," Darius said bluntly.
Nyra narrowed her eyes at him. "And who exactly are you to tell me what to do?"
Something dangerous flickered briefly across Darius's scarred face.
"I am the one trying to keep you alive," he said.
Before Nyra could respond, thunder shook the entire building violently.
The lights flickered once more and then suddenly all at once—
every window in the apartment shattered inward.
A scream tore from Nyra's throat as freezing wind exploded through the room.
Dark figures landed silently inside.
Not vampires this time.
These creatures looked wrong.
Their bodies were twisted unnaturally, skin stretched tightly over sharp bones, crimson eyes glowing wildly in the darkness.
Monsters.
One hissed loudly, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
Nyra stumbled backward instinctively.
"What are those?!"
Darius drew the sword from his back instantly.
"Bloodborn."
The creatures attacked without warning as chaos erupted throughout the whole room from different angles.
One lunged directly toward Nyra but Malachi intercepted it midair.
The sound of bones breaking echoed through the apartment as he slammed the creature into the wall hard enough to crack concrete.
Nyra stared in shock as he saw that Malachi wasn't merely strong, he was terrifying.
Darius moved next, slicing cleanly through another Bloodborn with frightening precision as black blood splattered across the floor.
Lilith vanished into shadows before suddenly appearing behind one creature and snapping its neck effortlessly.
Nyra backed into the kitchen area, panic flooding her veins as the fight exploded around her.
The monsters moved unnaturally fast.
Too fast for human eyes.
One of them suddenly turned toward her. Its crimson gaze locked onto the glowing mark on her wrist.
Then it smiled.
A horrifying, twisted smile.
"Queen....."
Nyra froze.
The creature lunged forward towards her but before it could reach her, something inside Nyra snapped.
Dark energy burst out violently from her body.
The entire apartment shook.
Every window shattered completely.
The Bloodborn was thrown backward with enough force to tear through the wall.
Silence crashed over the room instantly.
Nyra stared at her own hands in horror to see black smoke curled around her fingers before disappearing.
Everyone looked stunned.
Even Malachi.
Nyra's breathing turned uneven again.
"I didn't do that...."
But deep down, she knew she had done it herself.
The whispers returned instantly stronger this time.
Hungry.
Awake.
Mine.
Nyra's chest tightened sharply.
For one terrifying second, the apartment disappeared around her completely.
Instead what she saw was a throne room covered in blood.
Bodies scattered across black marble floors.
Vampires kneeling.
And herself—
No.
Another woman.
Standing beside Malachi while wearing a crown of silver thorns.
The woman slowly turned around to face her.
She had Nyra's face.
Nyra gasped violently as the vision disappeared.
Malachi reached her instantly.
"What did you see?"
Nyra looked at him shakily.
"I...."
Fear swallowed the words before she could finish.
Because part of her already knew the answer.
That woman. The queen.
She was somehow connected to her.
"No," Nyra whispered. “No, no, no...."
Malachi gently gripped her shoulders.
“Nyra.”
She looked up at him and realized something terrifying from his expression.
He looked relieved.
Not scared.
Relieved.
As though the vision confirmed something he had secretly hoped for.
That realization sent anger crashing through her fear.
"You knew," she accused.
Malachi remained silent.
"You knew something was wrong with me from the moment you saw me!"
"The seal reacted to your blood," he admitted quietly.
Nyra shoved his hands away.
'You should’ve told me!"
"There was no time."
"There's still no explanation!"
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I don't even know what I am anymore!"
For a brief moment, something painfully human crossed Malachi's face.
"You are Nyra Voss."
"No," she whispered shakily. "I don't think I am."
Silence followed.
Even Lilith looked uncomfortable now.
Darius cleaned blood from his blade before speaking grimly.
"The Bloodborn should not have found her this quickly."
"They sensed the awakening," Lilith replied quietly.
Malachi's expression darkened instantly.
"They will keep coming."
Nyra looked between them anxiously.
"How many more things are trying to kill me tonight?"
Nobody answered, which terrified her again.
Darius stepped toward Malachi.
"We need to move her to the castle."
Nyra blinked. "The what?"
"The Viremont estate," Lilith said casually. "Or what humans like to call the Castle of Nightmere."
Nyra stared at them.
Of course vampires lived in a castle.
Why wouldn't they?
"I'm not living in some creepy vampire mansion."
"You would rather stay here?" Lilith gestured toward the destroyed apartment.
Nyra opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
Fair point.
Malachi stepped closer carefully.
"There are answers at Nightmare," he said quietly.
"About the bond. About your bloodline."
Nyra looked away as that was a temptation because part of her wanted to run.
Another part—
the darker, unfamiliar part growing inside her still wanted answers.
The whispers inside her head softened strangely whenever Malachi stood near.
That scared her most of all.
Because it felt natural.
Wrongly natural.
Like her soul recognized him even when her mind refused to.
Nyra swallowed hard.
"If I go with you...."
Malachi waited silently.
"...you tell me everything."
His crimson gaze locked onto hers. And slowly, he nodded.
"Everything."
Thunder echoed outside once
more.
But this time, Nyra realized the storm wasn't ending.
It was only beginning.
