The city behind me was still burning.
Not from fire.
From panic.
From fear.
From the kind of rumors that spread faster than smoke.
The Blood Court had been shaken. The Blood Council had revealed themselves. Selene had been dragged away like a screaming animal. Lucien had knelt. And worst of all, people had seen my crown.
They had seen what I was.
And now, every hunter, every noble clan, every elder with pride and poison in their veins would be searching for me.
I walked through the midnight streets with my hood pulled low, my heartbeat still loud in my ears. My ribs ached from the earlier impact, and the bite wound on my shoulder throbbed like a curse.
I could still feel traces of Selene's serpent venom under my skin.
It was not killing me.
But it was not healing either.
The Queen's voice stirred faintly in my mind, calm as ever.
You are slowing down.
I clenched my jaw.
"I am injured," I muttered.
That is not an excuse, the Queen replied. It is a weakness.
I almost laughed.
A weakness.
She said it like she had never bled in her life.
My eyes scanned the street ahead. Most shops were closed. The lamps were dim. The air smelled like rain, metal, and fear.
The city had changed in a single night.
Even the wind felt suspicious.
I tightened my cloak and turned into a narrow alley, avoiding the main road.
I did not need to be a genius to know what was coming next.
Hunters.
Blood hounds.
A bounty.
A wanted notice with my face sketched in ink.
And Lucien.
My stomach tightened at the thought of him.
I did not want to admit it, but the moment he saw the Queen's bloodline, everything became more complicated. He looked horrified, yes. But he also looked like a man who had just realized his life was built on a lie.
He said he wanted to change the future.
But I had heard promises before.
Promises did not save me from flames.
I reached the end of the alley and paused.
The street beyond was empty, but I did not trust emptiness.
Then I heard it.
Footsteps.
Soft, careful, synchronized.
Not drunkards.
Not lovers.
Not merchants.
Soldiers.
My heart dropped.
I turned back, but the alley behind me was already blocked.
Three figures stepped into the shadows, their armor dark and their eyes hidden behind black masks.
Blood hunters.
One of them raised a hand.
"By order of the Blood Court," he said, voice muffled, "you are to surrender immediately."
My fingers curled into fists.
I could feel the bloodline inside me stirring like an angry beast.
But I forced it down.
If I fought here, I would expose myself.
If I exposed myself, the Blood Council would know I was still in the city.
And if the Blood Council came…
There would be no running.
I took a step back, my eyes narrowing.
"I do not know who you are talking about," I said calmly.
The hunter laughed.
"You think we are fools," he said. "Your scent is on the stones. Your blood is in the air."
He tilted his head.
"You reek of royal sin."
Royal sin.
My lips twitched slightly.
The Queen's voice was almost amused.
Kill them.
I swallowed.
Not yet.
The hunters moved closer.
Their hands were already glowing with blood magic, dark crimson runes circling their palms.
My body tensed.
Then suddenly, a loud crash came from above.
Something dropped from the rooftop and landed right between me and the hunters.
I flinched, ready to strike.
But what I saw made my eyebrows rise.
It was a boy.
No, not a boy.
A man, maybe around my age, wearing torn clothes, a scarf wrapped around his neck, and boots that looked like they had seen war and poverty at the same time.
His hair was messy, his grin was shameless, and he was holding a sack that looked suspiciously full.
He straightened up slowly, brushed dust off his clothes, and looked at the hunters like they were interrupting his dinner.
"Ah," he said casually. "Of course. Blood hunters."
The hunters stiffened.
"Move aside," one of them snapped.
The stranger turned his head slightly.
"Me," he asked, pointing at himself. "Move aside"
Then he looked behind him.
"Or do you mean the girl behind me"
I froze.
The stranger turned fully toward me.
His eyes widened dramatically.
"Oh wow," he said. "You are pretty."
I stared at him.
What in the world…
The hunter leader stepped forward.
"This is not a joke," he growled. "We are hunting a fugitive."
The stranger sighed loudly, like a man forced to listen to nonsense.
"Every night," he muttered. "Every single night, someone is hunting someone."
He turned back to the hunters.
"Listen," he said, voice calm. "I do not know who you are looking for. But I do know one thing."
The hunters narrowed their eyes.
The stranger smiled.
"I was here first," he said.
Then he lifted his sack and shook it.
Coins clinked.
Jewels glimmered.
Even in the dark, I could see stolen gold.
My mouth tightened.
He was a thief.
A very confident thief.
The hunter leader's patience snapped.
"Enough," he snarled. "Kill him if he interferes."
Two hunters moved forward instantly.
The stranger sighed again.
"Fine," he muttered. "If you insist."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black powder ball.
Before I could even blink, he threw it on the ground.
The alley exploded into thick smoke.
My vision went white.
My lungs burned.
I coughed.
Then I felt a hand grab my wrist.
"Come," the stranger whispered.
I wanted to resist.
But I had no choice.
I ran with him through the smoke, my heartbeat pounding as we pushed past crates and leapt over broken barrels.
Behind us, the hunters shouted angrily.
I heard blood magic crackle.
A bolt of crimson energy slammed into the wall beside my head, shattering stone.
I ducked instinctively.
The stranger laughed.
"Too slow," he shouted.
I glared at him even while running.
"This is not funny," I hissed.
"Oh, you are one of those serious types," he replied, still smiling. "Makes sense. You look like you have murder in your eyes."
I almost tripped.
He pulled me forward again.
"Watch your step," he said. "Dying is embarrassing."
My chest tightened.
He had no idea how true that was.
We turned sharply into another alley, then another.
The stranger moved like he knew the city better than the guards.
He climbed a wall and pulled me up effortlessly.
Then we jumped onto a rooftop.
The wind hit my face, cold and sharp.
From above, I could see the city clearly.
Torches moving in the streets.
Hunters spreading out like ants.
They were searching.
For me.
The stranger crouched low beside a chimney, peeking down.
"They are everywhere," he muttered. "What did you do Steal the prince's underwear"
I stared at him.
"What"
He shrugged.
"People do crazy things for revenge," he said.
I clenched my jaw.
"You should not have helped me," I said quietly.
He turned to me slowly.
For the first time, his playful grin softened.
He studied my face.
Then he whispered.
"Oh."
My heart tightened.
"What"
He leaned closer.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he spoke, barely audible.
"You are the one," he said.
My blood ran cold.
The Queen's voice sharpened.
Kill him.
Now.
My hand moved instinctively toward my blade.
The stranger lifted both hands quickly.
"Relax," he said. "Relax. I am not one of them."
"How do you know who I am," I demanded.
He lowered his voice again.
"Because I was paid to watch the Blood Court tonight," he replied casually. "Not for justice. For entertainment."
I blinked.
He smiled.
"Yes," he whispered. "Rich nobles pay good money to watch people suffer."
My stomach turned.
The stranger continued.
"And I saw you," he said. "I saw the crown."
He leaned closer again, voice dropping into a thrill.
"That was not normal magic," he whispered. "That was royal."
I stayed silent.
My heartbeat was loud.
The stranger tilted his head.
"You are running from the Blood Council," he said.
It was not a question.
I did not answer.
I did not need to.
He already knew.
He smirked.
"Then you are lucky you met me," he said.
I narrowed my eyes.
"And why is that"
He pointed toward the far end of the city.
Beyond the walls.
Beyond the gates.
A dark path leading into the hills.
"There is a tunnel," he said. "An old smuggler tunnel. It leads outside the kingdom's capital."
My heart tightened.
"Why would you tell me that," I asked.
He shrugged.
"Because I hate the Blood Council," he said.
The Queen's voice stirred.
Lies.
I stared at him carefully.
"You hate them," I repeated.
The stranger's grin faded slightly.
Then he spoke, softer.
"My sister disappeared because of them," he said. "They said she was chosen for a blood experiment. They said she should feel honored."
His hands clenched.
"But she never came back."
Silence hung between us.
I could hear distant shouts from below.
Hunters were still searching.
The stranger looked at me again.
"I do not know what you are," he admitted. "But I know you are not a monster."
His grin returned suddenly.
"Also, you look like someone who will eventually kill a lot of powerful people," he added.
I blinked.
That was…
oddly accurate.
He stood up and adjusted his scarf.
"My name is Kael," he said. "Kael Draven."
I stared at him.
Kael.
The name felt like trouble.
I did not trust him yet.
But I also knew I could not survive alone.
Not against the Blood Council.
Kael leaned closer.
"And you," he said, eyes glinting, "are definitely not a normal academy girl."
I kept my expression cold.
"Elara," I said.
Kael nodded slowly.
"Elara," he repeated. "Alright. Follow me, Elara."
He turned and began running across the rooftops.
I hesitated.
The Queen's voice whispered.
Use him. Trust no one.
I inhaled sharply.
Then I followed.
We moved fast across the rooftops, leaping between buildings, avoiding torchlight and patrols.
Below us, hunters flooded the streets.
At the city gate, I saw something that made my stomach drop.
Lucien.
He stood near the guards, cloak wrapped tightly around him, his silver eyes scanning the crowd like a blade searching for blood.
He was not shouting.
He was not panicking.
He was simply watching.
Waiting.
And for a moment, our eyes met across the distance.
I froze.
My breath caught.
Lucien's gaze sharpened.
His eyes widened slightly.
Then his body shifted, as if he was about to move.
Kael grabbed my wrist.
"Do not stop," he hissed.
I tore my gaze away.
My heart was pounding.
Lucien had seen me.
Or maybe he had not.
But I could not take the risk.
We reached the far side of the city where the walls rose like a giant beast.
Kael led me to a hidden staircase behind an abandoned tavern.
He pulled aside a wooden panel.
A dark opening appeared beneath it.
A tunnel.
Cold air rushed out.
Kael smirked.
"Welcome to the rat road," he said.
I stared at the tunnel.
My chest tightened.
Leaving the city meant leaving everything I knew.
But it also meant survival.
Kael stepped in first, holding a lantern.
I followed slowly.
The tunnel smelled like damp stone and old secrets.
As we walked deeper, the light above disappeared.
And then I heard it.
A whisper.
Not Kael.
Not the Queen.
A different whisper.
Soft.
Ancient.
Like something was awake beneath the earth.
I stopped.
My skin prickled.
Kael turned back.
"What is it," he asked.
I swallowed.
"I feel something," I whispered.
The Queen's voice rose sharply.
This tunnel is not empty.
Kael's playful expression faded.
He tightened his grip on the lantern.
"Do not scare me," he muttered.
But even his voice trembled slightly.
Then the whisper grew louder.
The walls began to glow faintly.
Crimson symbols appeared in the stone, one after another, like blood veins waking up.
My crown mark burned.
Pain shot through my forehead.
I gasped and stumbled.
Kael caught me.
"Elara," he hissed. "What is happening"
I looked at the glowing runes.
My heart dropped.
Because I recognized them.
I had seen them in the Queen's memories.
These were not smuggler marks.
These were royal seals.
And only one person could have placed them here.
The Forgotten Queen.
The Queen's voice whispered, cold and dangerous.
This tunnel leads to my sanctuary.
Kael stared at the glowing walls, his eyes wide.
"What are you," he whispered.
I did not answer.
Because I did not know anymore.
The runes flared brighter.
The tunnel shook.
And a stone door appeared ahead, hidden for centuries.
On it was a symbol carved deep into the rock.
A crown dripping blood.
The same crown burning on my forehead.
My breath caught.
Kael stepped back slowly.
"Elara," he whispered, voice shaking. "Tell me you know what that is."
I stared at the door.
My blood was screaming.
My crown mark burned like fire.
And the Queen's voice spoke inside me with chilling satisfaction.
Enter.
The stone door began to open on its own.
And darkness poured out like breath.