Chapter 10 The Dying Kingdom

The world across the border was gray. Not the cool, magic gray of our mist, but the gray of death.

I stood on the jagged edge of the Border Lookout. It was a high cliff that watched over the Moonlight Pack lands. Two years had passed since I was thrown into the Abyss. Two years since I was a "Nameless" girl with a burnt neck.

Now, I was a Queen. I stood tall in my black leather armor. My hair was tied back, and my eyes were sharp.

Beside me, Leo stood on his own two feet. He was two years old now. He was sturdy and strong. He wore a tiny fur cloak, and his golden eyes watched the birds circling below. He didn't look like a baby. He looked like a prince.

"Mama," Leo said, pointing a small finger at the valley below. "The trees are sad."

He was right.

From up here, I could see my old home. It used to be green. It used to be full of life. Now, the forests looked like skeletons. The river was a thin, muddy line. The fields where the wheat should be were just patches of dirt.

"The land is dying, My Queen."

I didn't turn around. I knew the voice. It was Jax, one of my best spies. He had just come back from the other side. He smelled like dust and old smoke.

"Tell me everything," I said.

Jax stepped up to the edge, but he didn't get too close. He was afraid of the height.

"It’s bad," Jax said. "The apple trees didn't bloom this year. The cows are skin and bones. The wolves are hungry, Elena. They are starting to get sick."

"And the King?" I asked. My heart didn't flutter when I said his name. It felt like a cold stone in my chest.

"Valerius walks the halls like a ghost," Jax said. "He hasn't smiled in two years. The people say the Moon Goddess has turned her back on him. They say the land won't grow because it misses its true Luna."

I looked at the brown fields. A small part of me—the girl who used to clean the boots—felt a pang of sadness. Those were my people once. They were starving.

But then I touched the silver 'X' on my neck. I remembered the heat of the iron. I remembered my father voting for my death. I remembered the assassins chasing me to the cliff.

"They chose their King," I said. My voice was as cold as the wind. "They cheered when he branded me. Let them eat dirt."

"There’s more," Jax said. He looked nervous. "The Council is scared. They think if the King doesn't fix the bond, the whole pack will vanish by winter. So, they made a plan."

I narrowed my eyes. "What plan?"

"The wedding," Jax whispered. "It’s in one week. Valerius is finally going to marry Seraphina. They think a formal ceremony on the Moonlight Altar will force the land to wake up. They think the Goddess will accept her if they put a crown on her head."

I felt a spark of white light flash behind my eyes. My wolf growled deep in my mind.

"A wedding," I muttered.

"They’ve been trying to link their souls for months," Jax continued. "But the spies say the bond won't take. Every time Valerius tries to claim her, he gets sick. Seraphina is throwing fits. She’s been whipping the servants because her 'Queen' power won't manifest."

I let out a short, sharp laugh. It wasn't a happy sound.

"The land knows a lie when it sees one," I said. "Seraphina is a snake. The soil won't drink her blood."

Jax leaned in a little closer. "The Rogues are asking, Elena. The Alphas want to know. Do we move now? While they are weak and hungry? We could burn the palace before the sun sets on their wedding day."

I looked down at Leo. He was watching a lizard crawl over a rock. He looked so much like Valerius, but his spirit was all mine.

If I stayed here, my old pack would die. My father would starve. Valerius would lose everything. I could just sit here and watch the smoke rise.

But if I went back, I would have to show my face. I would have to show the world that the "dead" Omega was alive. I would have to put Leo in danger.

"Mama?" Leo looked up at me. His golden eyes were so bright they almost glowed. "Are we going home?"

I reached down and tucked a lock of dark hair behind his ear.

"Not yet, Leo," I said.

I turned back to Jax. "Tell the army to stay ready. We aren't attacking the wedding. Not yet. I want them to reach the altar. I want Seraphina to put on her white dress. I want Valerius to think he’s finally won."

"And then?" Jax asked.

"And then I'm going to show them what happens when you try to replace a Queen with a pebble," I said.

I looked back at the dying land. I could almost hear the wind whispering my name across the trees.

Valerius was marrying a woman he didn't love to save a kingdom that was rotting. He was desperate. He was weak.

"One week," I whispered to the wind.

I turned away from the cliff. I didn't look back at the gray valley. I walked toward my Citadel—my city of monsters that was full of food, fire, and life.

My old pack was dying because they had lost their soul.

And I was the soul they threw away.

"Get Silas," I told Jax as we walked back toward the camp. "Tell him to find my finest dress. Not the leather. Not the armor."

"The royal silk?" Jax asked, confused.

"The Queen's silk," I corrected. "And tell him to prepare the carriage. We have an invitation to a wedding."

Jax bowed and ran off.

I picked up Leo and held him against my hip. He leaned his head on my shoulder.

"We're going to see a party, Leo," I said softly.

"Cake?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"No," I said, a dark smile touching my lips. "Justice."

I felt the White Spirit Wolf hum. She was ready.

Then I felt something else.

A pull. Sharp and deep, right behind my ribs. It yanked me toward the border, toward the palace, toward him.

My breath caught. The mate bond. It wasn't dead. It was sleeping.