Chapter 11 The Queen of Shadows

The Queen of Shadows

The gates of my old home looked smaller than I remembered. Or maybe it was just because I was no longer looking at them from the dirt.

Five years. It had been five years since the branding iron touched my neck. Five years since my father voted for my death. Three years ago, the wedding between Valerius and Seraphina had ended in a disaster. The land had shaken, the altar had cracked, and the King had fallen ill. They were still not fully married. The Goddess wouldn't let them.

Now, the kingdom was dying. And I was the only one who could save it.

I sat inside the black silk carriage. I didn't wear a maid’s rag. I wore a gown of midnight blue that cost more than a palace. My face was hidden behind a thin, black veil.

"Mama? Is this the place?"

I looked down. Leo sat across from me. He was five years old now. He had the dark, wavy hair of his father, but his eyes were mine. No, they were better than mine. They were gold. He was playing with a small dagger Silas had given him. He looked like a little King.

"Yes, Leo," I said. "But remember what we talked about."

"I stay behind the curtain," Leo said. He made a serious face. "I don't show my eyes. I don't speak unless you say. Because the people here are mean."

"Very good," I said. My heart gave a squeeze. He shouldn't have to hide, but if the King smelled his blood, we would have a war before lunch.

The carriage slowed down. Through the window, I saw the stone walls of the capital. They were gray and dusty. The grass on the side of the road was brown. The trees were bare. It looked like a graveyard.

"It smells like old socks here," Leo said, wrinkling his nose.

He was right. The air was heavy. The "spark" of the pack was gone.

The carriage stopped.

"Open the gate!" a guard yelled.

"Wait!" another voice shouted. A voice I knew. A voice that used to make my soul sing, but now only made my skin crawl.

Valerius.

I felt a sudden, sharp tug in my chest. The ghost of the mate bond. It was supposed to be dead. I had a new kingdom. I had a new life. But as he got closer to the carriage, the air inside felt thin.

"Who is in the carriage?" Valerius asked.

He sounded tired. His voice didn't have that big, scary boom anymore. It sounded like he hadn't slept in years.

Silas, who was riding on a horse next to us, leaned down. "This is the Queen of Shadows. She has come from the Dead Lands for the Unity Summit. Move aside, Alpha King."

"The Dead Lands?" Valerius said. I heard his boots hitting the gravel. He was walking toward the carriage door. "No one lives in the Dead Lands. It is a place of monsters."

"Maybe you should look closer at the world you threw away," Silas spat.

I held my breath. I pushed Leo further into the shadows of the seat.

"Mama," Leo whispered, his eyes wide. "Is that the loser?"

"Hush," I hissed.

The carriage door didn't open, but I could see Valerius through the black silk curtain. He was standing right there. He looked thin. His face was sharp, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look like a god anymore. He looked like a man who was drowning.

Suddenly, Valerius stopped. His nose moved. He sniffed the air.

His eyes went wide. He looked at the carriage door like he wanted to rip it off the hinges.

"What is that smell?" he whispered.

"It is freesia and ozone," Silas said. "The scent of my Queen."

"No," Valerius said. He took a step closer. He was so close I could hear his heart beating. It was fast. Too fast. "It’s... it’s her. It smells like wildflowers. It smells like... Elena."

My hands shook in my lap. I gripped my dress until my knuckles were white.

"Elena is dead," Silas said. His voice was like a hammer. "You killed her five years ago, remember? You branded her and sent your dogs to take her head. Do not speak that name again."

Valerius didn't move. He kept sniffing the air. He looked lost. "I felt it. A pull. Like a ghost pulling on my heart."

He reached out his hand. He was going to touch the door. He was going to pull back the curtain and see me. He was going to see the gold-eyed boy hiding in the shadows.

I felt the White Spirit Wolf roar inside me. I didn't shift, but I let my power leak out. I sent a wave of cold, heavy pressure straight through the carriage wall.

Valerius gasped. He staggered back three steps, his hand dropping to his side. He looked at the carriage with fear.

"Your King is rude," I said.

My voice was different now. It wasn't the soft whisper of an Omega. It was the cold, sharp command of a Queen. I used a bit of my wolf’s power to make it echo.

"If he touches my carriage again, Silas, we turn around. Let his land rot."

The guards at the gate dropped to their knees. They didn't know why, but their bodies were forcing them to bow. The pressure was too much for them.

Valerius stood his ground, but he was shaking. He stared at the black curtain.

"I am sorry, My Queen," Valerius said. He sounded breathless. "I... I have not been myself. Please. Enter. My palace is yours."

He stepped aside. He bowed his head, but he didn't stop looking at the carriage.

"Drive," I told the driver.

The carriage moved forward. We passed through the gates and into the capital. I looked back through the rear window. Valerius was still standing there in the dust. He was watching us go, his hand over his heart.

"He smells like fire," Leo said, coming out from the shadows. He looked at the window. "But he looks sad, Mama. Why is he sad?"

"Because he is a King with no crown, Leo," I said.

I looked at the silver scar on my neck. It was tingling. The "pull" Valerius felt was real. The bond was trying to wake up. It was trying to tell me that my mate was right there.

I looked at my son.

"But we aren't here to make him happy," I said. "We are here to show him what he lost."

"And the cake?" Leo asked.

I smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "After we finish the business, Leo. We will have all the cake we want."

We drove up the hill toward the palace. The same palace where I had been thrown to the floor. The same palace where I had been called a "Nameless" slave.

I could see Seraphina standing on the balcony. She was wearing a red dress, looki

ng down at us with a frown. She didn't know who was in the carriage. She didn't know the "dead" girl was back.