POV: Elara
The castle gates slammed shut behind me with a sound that echoed through my bones.
Blackthorn Castle loomed above like a beast cut from obsidian and old blood. The walls were black stone, cracked and scarred like they'd been through ages of war. Spiked towers scraped the gray sky, and red flags hung limp in the wind. There was no love here. No welcome.
Only silence.
The guards said nothing as they dragged me across the courtyard. Their metal clanked with each step. Silver glinted on their blades, the kind of silver meant to hurt things like me. Or what they thought I was.
I didn't ask questions. I didn't cry. I had no tears left. Only a dull ache in my chest and the growing heat under my skin… like a sleeping fire rolling tighter, waiting.
The doors opened with a moan of creaky springs.
Inside, it was darker than outside. The air smelled of smoke, metal, and old magic. Candles lined the halls, but they barely cut through the blackness.
"This way," one of the guards said.
They led me down a long stone passage until a woman walked into our path. She was tall, sharp-faced, with short red hair and green eyes that gleamed with hate.
"Nerissa," the guard nodded.
She didn't look at him. She faces me.
" Is this her?" she asked flatly.
The guard nodded once. "The king's order."
Nerissa made a sound like a scoff and grabbed my chain. I'll take it from here.
The chain is not for her, not for Elara.
She yanked me forward with a force that made my wrist scream. I stumbled to keep up as she marched me down a set of stone stairs, deeper and deeper into the belly of the castle.
"This is your room," she said dryly, stopping in front of a rusted door, and she pushed it open.
The smell hit me first… mold, damp air, rat droppings.
Inside, there was a stone cage with a straw bed, one cracked bowl, and rats squeaking in the corner.
"This isn't a room," I said, my voice low. "It's a cage."
Nerissa turned to me with a sweet, playful smile. You wanted to serve the Lycan King, didn't you? This is how it starts. You either survive here… or disappear.
She dropped the chain and stepped back. "Be up at dawn, and don't try to run. There's nowhere to go.
The door slammed shut.
I stood in the middle of the cold, wet floor and stared at the rotted straw. I had been a Beta's daughter. I had a home, a wolf, and some friends. But now, I had rats and stone walls.
But worse than all of that… I had questions.
Why did my skin glow?
Why did Kael's touch not burn… but awaken something?
And what did mix mean?
The Next Morning
"Get up, filth."
A sharp voice snapped me awake. A bucket of cold water splashed across my face, and I gasped, choked on the shock.
Nerissa stood above me, a mop in her hand and disgust in her eyes. It's time for you to earn your keep, Elara, she said. "You'll be scrubbing the throne room. The floor hasn't been cleaned since the last battle."
I forced myself upright, my clothes still damp from the night before.
"Let's go," she snapped.
I followed her back up the stone steps, my feet hurting with every step. The castle was awake now. Servants ran past with trays, books, and buckets. None looked at me.
When we reached the throne room, I was frozen.
It was massive, with black pillars stretched high above, silver wolf statues lining the walls, and in the center was the throne itself, cut from shadowstone. It looked more like a weapon than a seat. Cold. Unforgiving.
"Start scrubbing," Nerissa said, throwing the mop at me, and don't miss a single drop.
I looked down and saw the spots, blood. Old and new, dark and sticky across the floor.
I swallowed the bile in my throat and dropped to my knees.
The mop dragged across the floor, rough against my burned hands. I scrubbed until my arms shook, my hair clung to my face, and the copper smell made my stomach twist.
At some point, I stopped feeling my fingers. They were raw and pink, bleeding at the fingers, and then I slipped.
I cried out as the mop slipped from my grip and a shard of broken glass sliced across my palm. Blood welled up fast.
"Damn it," I hissed, squeezing my hand. I said Careful, came a voice… deep, calm, and too close. I looked up.
Kael was standing at the top of the stairs. His long black coat swept the floor behind him. His silver runes gleamed faintly beneath his sleeves.
He was looking at me. Not with anger, not even with pity. With something… unreadable.
I stood slowly, hiding my bleeding hand behind my skirt.
He stepped down with one heavy boot at a time, his eyes locked on me, but I couldn't breathe.
He stopped just feet away. His eyes dropped to my palm. "Show me, he said."
"I'm fine," I whispered.
He raised a brow. I said Show me he repeated, slower, "show me."
I paused, then extended my hand.
He took it gently. His fingers brushed mine, and that same heat sparked through my veins. His eyes flicked to mine.
"You're still hiding it," he said softly.
Hiding what? I asked him
His jaw clenched, and he let go and turned away.
Before I could speak again, Nerissa stormed in.
"Your Majesty!" she exclaimed, bowing low.
Kael didn't acknowledge her.
"Finish your work," he said to me. "Then return to your quarters. No one else gives you orders but me."
Then he was gone. Just like that.
Hours Later
I returned to my "room" tired and shaking.
But it didn't end there.
As I stepped inside, three girls were waiting: Nerissa and two others I hadn't met.
"Look at the little queen," one mocked. "Bleeding for his attention."
"I didn't ask for it," I said.
Wrong move.
Nerissa grabbed the mop bucket I hadn't noticed behind her and dumped it over my head.
Dirty water soaked my dress, my skin.
"Keep your filthy eyes off the king, freak," she spat. "You're nothing here. You think he's protecting you? He's watching you. Waiting for you to slip."
I clenched my hands.
My hand still burned from the cut, but the heat was spreading now, up my arm, into my chest.
I felt… wrong or right.
Alive.
They left laughing.
I sank to my knees, dripping wet, and stared at my hands were shaking, not from fear, but maybe from something else.
A tremble inside me, deep and tight. A second beating.
I pressed a hand on my chest.
What am I? I ask myself
That Night, I sat on the cot; the only sound was the scratching of rats in the corner.
Then, I hear footsteps, very fast and heavy.
A knock on the door, and I stood quickly; my heart began to race. The door slightly opened, and a royal guard stepped in, dressed in a black and silver coat.
His eyes met mine.
"The King has sent for you," he said.
I froze, "What? Why?"
"He didn't say anything."
My stomach turned. "Now?" He said.
"Now?"
I followed him through the halls lit with dim lights and old secrets, until we reached the same tall doors I'd entered before.
The throne room was empty, but the fire was lit.
Kael stood beside it, holding something wrapped in cloth, and when he turned to face me, his voice was colder than steel. Tell me the truth, Elara, he said. "What's in your blood?"