Chapter 268
The castle felt colder that morning.
Not from weather—but from something else. Something in the walls. In the way the servants lowered their gazes a little faster. In how the guards kept their hands near their hilts, even when no threat was present.
Fear.
I used to think fear was a blade I had to avoid.
Now I knew better.
Fear was a tool.
If wielded right, it could keep your enemies guessing—and your allies loyal.
I stood by the open balcony window, watching Zaerion disappear into the clouds. He’d started keeping watch above the city every morning—circling once, a signal of presence. Of power.
Below, whispers spread like wildfire. The Moon-Blooded queen had awakened. The dragons were loyal again. The sea-born girl was now flame-touched.
And somewhere, in the cracks of my kingdom, the Blackfangs were listening.
Plotting.
Waiting.
Not for long.
“They’ve been careful,” the Alpha said as he entered. “Messages passed through third hands. No names. But I’ve found a pattern.”
I turned to him, hair still damp from the bath. “Show me.”
He laid out a small map of the castle. Red marks dotted the corners—near the west kitchens, the library vaults, and the stables.
“Same symbol. Found carved beneath benches, stitched into hidden hems, scrawled under discarded parchment. Always the fanged crown.”
“They’ve been here longer than I thought,” I muttered.
He nodded grimly. “Years, probably. Waiting for the next Moon-Blooded to rise.”
“Waiting to kill me,” I said.
He stepped closer. “They’ll fail.”
I looked at him—really looked. His eyes were storm-gray today, unreadable. But I could feel his loyalty. Strong. Grounded.
Still… a voice whispered deep inside me: She trusted someone once. And died for it.
I shoved the thought down.
“They’ll make their move soon,” I said. “I want them to think I’m unguarded. Overconfident.”
He arched a brow. “You’re planning a trap.”
I nodded. “And you’re going to help me spring it.”
The royal court had long called the courtyard feasts a symbol of peace. Of strength.
Tonight, I’d turn that symbol into bait.
The moon was high by the time I stepped out onto the terrace, flanked by only two guards. My gown shimmered like molten fire—woven with thread laced with Zaerion’s scales. Light caught in it like sparks about to ignite. I looked every inch the queen they feared.
And that was the point.
The guests were already gathered. Council members, minor nobles, warriors, emissaries from distant regions. The food was rich. The music elegant.
But I tasted none of it.
My eyes scanned the room like a hawk. Watching.
Waiting.
It happened just after the toast.
I was halfway through a sentence—something polite and shallow—when I felt it.
The shift in the air.
My skin prickled.
Someone moved wrong.
Too fast.
A shadow broke from the far corner of the courtyard—dressed like a server, blade already drawn, sprinting toward me with murder in their eyes.
Time slowed.
Gasps.
Screams.
The Alpha lunged forward, but he was too far.
The guards reacted—late.
But I didn’t move.
I didn’t need to.
Because something ancient inside me already had.
The fire roared from my chest like a living creature.
The attacker didn’t even get within five feet.
He screamed as blue flame erupted between us—hotter than any normal fire, crackling with symbols that shimmered in the air. It struck him mid-charge, lifting him from the ground, burning through fabric and flesh in an instant. The blade clattered to the stone.
Silence.
All eyes turned to me.
I stood still—breathing hard, heart racing—but I hadn't lifted a hand.
The flame had moved on its own.
It wanted to protect me.
The assassin’s charred body lay curled like ash on the stones.
The Alpha reached my side in seconds, sword drawn, but unnecessary.
“You didn’t even blink,” he murmured.
“I didn’t have to,” I said. My voice was steady, but inside… the fire still burned. It didn’t want to stop.
The guests stared in awe. In terror.
Let them.
“Take his body,” I commanded. “Strip him. Search him. I want every scar, every mark, every tooth examined. The Blackfangs leave signs.”
The guards leapt to obey.
I turned to the room. “Let this be your reminder. I am not the girl from the sea. I am not a pawn. I am the fire that answers to no one.”
Not a single person in the court raised a challenge.
Hours later, I sat alone in the war chamber.
The flames in the hearth were low, flickering weakly.
My body felt drained. But the magic… it hadn’t dimmed.
It pulsed under my skin like a second heartbeat. Alive. Wild.
I pressed a hand to my chest.
“Why are you waking now?” I whispered. “Why are you… angry?”
No one answered.
But I remembered the look in the attacker’s eyes—pure devotion. Not to a cause. But to hate.
That’s what the Blackfangs had built. Generations of loyal hatred. Cold and calculated.
I was not just fighting warriors.
I was fighting faith.
There was a knock at the door.
He entered—quiet, careful.
The Alpha.
“I stayed behind,” he said softly. “To make sure the fire didn’t consume you.”
I looked up. “You thought it might?”
“I hoped it wouldn’t.”
I swallowed. “It’s changing. I can feel it, growing stronger every day. It thinks. It acts. It’s not just mine. It’s… something else.”
He walked toward me slowly, sat beside me without a word.
Then he reached for my hand and turned my palm over.
The mark was glowing.
Faint—but unmistakable.
“You once told me you wanted someone to teach you what this all meant,” he said. “But you’ve become the teacher. You’re rewriting what it means to be Moon-Blooded.”
“And if I lose control?” I whispered.
He leaned in, close enough to feel his breath. “Then I’ll stand in the fire with you. Until you remember who you are.”
My throat tightened.
He didn’t kiss me.
He didn’t hold me.
He just stayed.
And that meant more.
The assassin’s body was burned by morning.
But the message had been received.
The court was silent.
The Blackfangs knew now: I wasn’t just a threat.
I was an inferno waiting for a reason.
And gods help them—
They’d just given me one.
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