CHAPTER NO 5
Chains of the Palace
Morning crept into the halls of Obsidian Vale, painting streaks of pale light across its marble floors. Selene awoke to the distant chime of bells — a sound softer than she expected from a kingdom that slept beneath eternal night. The silken canopy above her shimmered faintly, its threads catching moonlight that still lingered through tinted glass.
Her body felt heavy, not from exhaustion but from memory. The training sessions, the whispers, the way Nyra had looked at her the night before — a look that was neither cruel nor kind, but filled with something far more dangerous: curiosity.
When Selene stepped into the corridor, the air shifted. The vampires bowed coldly to Nyra when she passed, but when their eyes found Selene, they did not bow — they stared. Their gazes sliced sharper than fangs, and every whisper felt like a curse:
"The mortal still breathes?""A pet of the princess.""How long until she's drained dry?"
She wanted to vanish. But Nyra had ordered her to walk beside her that morning, to "observe court etiquette."
The throne hall of Obsidian Vale was nothing like the stories. It wasn't made of gold or splendor — it was made of power. Black marble walls climbed toward an unseen ceiling, and veins of red crystal pulsed faintly beneath the stone like living blood. At the center stood Queen Seraphyne, Nyra's mother, a figure carved from silence and steel.
Nyra knelt before her mother, hand pressed to chest.Selene, unsure, mirrored her awkwardly.
"Rise, my daughter," said the Queen. "Your reports have reached my ears. You bring mortals into my court?"
Nyra's tone was calm, practiced. "I brought her because the system chose her. She passed the three trials."
The Queen's eyes shifted to Selene — deep red, endless, ancient. "And yet she trembles," she said softly. "Tell me, little human, what makes you worthy of standing beside my blood?"
Selene's voice caught. Every instinct told her to kneel lower, to disappear. But something in Nyra's quiet gaze held her upright.
"I don't know," Selene whispered. "Maybe I'm not worthy. But I didn't come here to steal anything. I just want to understand why I was chosen."
For a moment, the Queen said nothing. Then she smiled — cold, beautiful, cruel. "Then you shall learn why. Begin her service in the lower wings. Let her see what kind of world she's stumbled into."
The guards moved instantly. Nyra turned sharply."Mother—"
"Enough." The Queen's voice struck the air like a blade. "If she survives the month, then perhaps the prophecy speaks truth."
Selene was taken from the throne room before Nyra could speak again.
The lower wings were nothing like the palace above. The air was damp, filled with the scent of dust and old magic. Vampires who lived there didn't wear silks or crowns — they wore scars. Selene was handed a pail of water, a rag, and orders to clean the stone floors.
Each night, she heard footsteps echoing past her door, heavy with armor. Sometimes she thought it was Nyra, but she never turned the latch.
Until one night.
The door creaked open. The room glowed faintly from her small lamp. Nyra stood there — no armor, no crown. Just dark eyes rimmed with exhaustion.
"You shouldn't be here," Selene said quietly.
"And yet I am."
Nyra stepped closer, her voice lower. "I fought my mother for you. She sees you as a test — I see something else."
"What?" Selene asked.
Nyra didn't answer. She reached out, fingertips brushing Selene's wrist. A spark. Warm and frightening.
"Don't lose hope," Nyra said, eyes lingering longer than they should. "This palace feeds on despair. Don't let it taste yours."
She turned to leave — but paused at the doorway. "Tomorrow… I'll train you again. Privately."
And then she was gone.
Selene sank to the floor, her heart pounding louder than the midnight bells. The palace that once felt like a prison suddenly held something else — something alive, dangerous, and fragile all at once.