*Chapter 23: The Serpent's Game*
The city of Verona never slept—not when Queen Elena DeLuca ruled from the shadows. That night, the skies were painted in ash-grey, a storm threatening to tear open the heavens. But the real storm was already unfolding inside the walls of her stronghold.
Elena sat in her war room, the Crimson Ledger open before her. The ancient book had confirmed it: Nikolai Trevisan—the Architect—wasn't just her father's betrayer. He was the founder of a secret faction called *The Serpent's Eye*, a breakaway order that believed in chaos over control, fear over loyalty.
They had infiltrated her empire. And Jade had only been one of many.
Marco entered, face grim. "We've decrypted Jade's final transmission. She was reporting directly to Nikolai… and leaking our expansion plans in Eastern Europe."
"How many of our ports?" Elena asked, her voice dangerously low.
"Three. But the Russian base is already under attack. We've lost contact with Luka."
Elena stood up slowly, her heels clicking against the cold marble floor.
"Mobilize the Leviathan unit. We're going to Moscow."
***
Meanwhile, in a hidden bunker beneath the Ural Mountains, Luka was chained to a steel wall, blood seeping from his mouth.
Nikolai stepped into the dim room.
"You DeLucas… always loyal to a woman who was never meant to rule," he sneered.
Luka lifted his head, chuckling weakly. "You're afraid of her."
"I'm not afraid," Nikolai snapped. "I'm correcting a mistake the Order made by crowning a child of emotion and mercy."
"She's not merciful anymore," Luka whispered.
Nikolai smirked. "Then let's test her."
***
Back in Verona, Elena suited up in black tactical armor. Her crown was gone—replaced by steel.
Isabelle approached. "You know this is a trap, right?"
Elena looked her in the eye. "I'm not walking into it. I'm burning it down."
The Leviathan unit—a team of elite soldiers handpicked by Elena herself—boarded the stealth aircraft. As they lifted into the night sky, silence fell. Every operative knew: this wasn't just another mission.
This was war.
***
Upon arrival in Moscow, the team split into two. Elena moved like a shadow through the snow-covered ruins of what was once her safehouse. Bullet casings and bodies littered the ground.
And then she found Luka—barely breathing.
"Elena…" he rasped.
"I'm here," she said, kneeling beside him. "You're safe now."
But then—*BOOM!*
The room exploded in flame as a secondary charge detonated nearby. The team was scattered. Elena pulled Luka to cover, shielding him with her body.
Static buzzed in her earpiece.
"Elena!" Marco's voice screamed. "It's a setup—they're flanking the eastern corridor!"
She pulled her gun.
"Then we fight."
***
Hours passed.
By dawn, the Leviathan had pushed back Nikolai's soldiers. Smoke rose into the pink sky as the battlefield settled.
Elena stood among the wreckage, blood on her cheek, fire in her eyes.
But Nikolai had escaped.
Again.
Luka was safe, but barely alive.
And the message was clear.
This war would not end until one of them fell.
***
Later that night, back in Verona, Elena opened the last page of the Crimson Ledger once more.
This time, something new had appeared.
A phrase only visible in blood:
*"To defeat the serpent, one must become the fang."*
Elena stared into the mirror across from her desk.
"I'm not afraid to become what I must," she whispered.
Because the Queen was no longer just a ruler.
She was a weapon.
*To be continued…*
(*Ready for Chapter 24?*)