Chapter 112

Pain surged around me, alive and wild. Lightning crackled, each burst igniting my skin and searing my breath. The electric heat was a pulsing beast, consuming everything, leaving only the furious dance of blinding white color in my vision. I felt it deep inside, a spark like nothing I’ve ever felt before. A rumble of strength, shaking the world beneath me. Magnus’ voice echoed through the chaos, his concern a distant murmur. The queen’s crystal shimmered, casting sparks like stars, white-hot and unrelenting. I stumbled, gasping. The power grew, rising with a reckless hunger, and I felt it all … burning, wild, a sleeping storm awakening within me. Pressure was building inside of me, ready to reveal itself.

The ground shook violently, and I felt electricity crawl over me. At first, I tried to fight it. I gasped for air, trying to grasp the magnitude of it all. It was relentless, sparking with energy that overwhelmed my senses. Each pulse was a jolt, charging me with its intensity, demanding my strength. It was inside me, deep and furious, a storm waiting to be unleashed. I struggled to breathe, to stand, to withstand the force of what I could barely comprehend.

The queen’s crystal shone with a white light that was almost blinding. Sparks rained around me, each one a white-hot promise of the power I couldn’t contain. I saw Magnus through the blur, his face marked with fear as he looked at me helplessly. I was lost in the fury, each second stretching with unknown time. The world vibrated, and my heart pounded with a reckless rhythm. A strength I didn’t know I had swelled inside me, and something switched. I was no longer trying to fight it or contain it. I was going to embrace it and harness it. If this power was mine, then I would seize it.

Squall’s voice broke through, a faint, muffled yell that I couldn’t be bothered with. The power was relentless, charring my skin and surging through my veins. I felt its weight, its energy, its vicious fury. It was electric and wild, but it was part of me, coursing through me, testing every fiber of my being. I could sense it all, the heat, the light, the chaos, but beneath it was something else. A calm certainty. A growing belief that I could control this. That I wouldn’t fear it. The ground trembled, and the crystal pulsed around me.

The electricity wrapped me in its blinding embrace, sparking with energy that both hurt and awakened. It surrounded me, a tempest that drew tighter and brighter, burning with a wrath that defied everything. But I was still there, still standing, my resolve unyielding. The power grew, its heat crawled on my skin, and it challenged my soul. I was alone, but I was strong, and as it all came crashing down, I knew that the lightning wasn’t just testing me. It was making me.

Lightning sang, swirling and wrapping me in its burning embrace. My skin seared as it licked at my fingertips, but I wouldn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. I leaned against the crystal, heavy with the power I was fighting to contain. Squall yelled, and I glanced up to see him desperate as he pounded at the barrier. But it was in this moment that I was able to grasp it. I felt the child inside of me stir, and everything slowed. Quieted. A breath. A promise. A calm in the storm. I moved my hand over the crystal. The lightning melted it away, freeing the queen. Sparks stopped midair. Breathless silence. Then the faint sound of a heartbeat, followed by the quiet words, “You passed your trial.” It was Fury’s voice, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The queen’s eyes opened, revealing striking pink irises. The brilliance of them took my breath away, and we just stared at each other. I watched as the last of the lightning faded, a glow to a shimmer, and then nothing. It was just us, in the quiet aftermath, and I was still standing. Still strong. I had freed her, and the reality of it crashed over me with the same force as the storm that should have been my undoing.

Her arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. Warm and comforting, but shocking. I was not anticipating this.

“You did it.” Her voice was rich with emotion. I stood there, breathless, the enormity of her presence wrapping around me like a second embrace. The trial, the lightning, the impossible storm … it all made sense and none at all. I was lost in a sea of questions, and the queen’s next words sent a shock through my system. “You passed your trial.” She knew about my trial?

“What do you mean?” The question tumbled from my lips. The warmth in her eyes was a beacon, a guiding light in the confusion that swirled inside me.

She took a step back, still holding my shoulders, her touch grounding me. “I was a test for you,” she explained, each word deliberate and powerful. “If you believed in yourself, you would free me.” Her eyes shone, and there was a depth to them that seemed to see everything. “If not, the lightning would destroy you.”

“You knew you would be a test for me?” Damn these gods and their games.

“My son touched the destiny chalice, which was for your challenge. I took my son’s place. I didn’t want that for him. I was told that I would be frozen, and it would be up to the true lycan queen to free me. If you failed … I would remain frozen. But if you passed, our kingdom would be given a tremendous blessing for being part of your trial. How could I risk my son not being freed? I gladly took it. And you did it.”

Honestly, fuck these gods. Involving people and making these made-up trials. It was just their way to amuse themselves.

“Let me take her.” Magnus took a step toward me, but the queen’s eyes held him like chains.

“Ciera,” Squall said, his voice unsteady. “You’re finally back.”

“How are Thorin and Gunnar?”

“They're good but have missed you like crazy.”

She nodded, smiled, then turned to me. I saw the concern in her eyes as she focused on my swollen belly. “We need to get you to the treatment room,” she said, urgency lacing her words. Pink wings burst from her back, lifting me off the ground. Squall and Magnus flew at her side, their voices a frantic echo. “The timing of all this … I’m sure the gods know what they’re doing.”

I inwardly scoffed. She had more faith and respect for the gods than I did. And she was the one that was frozen.

“I can carry her.” Squall reached for me, his words tangled with worry. But Ciera shook her head, her grip unyielding as she pulled me through the air. “She needs my strength,” she said, her determination fierce and unbreakable. “She used up a lot of her lightning energy. Since I’m a lightning dragon, she needs my charge.”

“How many lightning dragons are there?” I asked, noticing how Magnus flew closer. His eyes were traveling over me with concern.

“Lightning dragons are rare,” he said, his voice loud over the rush of air. “Only you and Ciera have that magic in the dragon kingdom.” I guess this was why they were so curious about me having lightning powers. Ciera was the only one who had them until I showed up.

I turned my head, looking toward the distance, searching for the horizon where I imagined the Lycan Kingdom would be. The urgency inside me was a frantic, unending beat. I needed to get there. I needed to find him. Darren … Lyle. I had things to do, and being stuck in the dragon kingdom wasn’t one of them. I needed to lead my people. I needed to see that Lyle was alright. And I needed Darren by my side.

But then a new pain crashed through me, fierce and undeniable, a cramping force that ripped the breath from my lungs. “Oh gods,” I gasped, the words tearing out of me.

“We‘re almost there.” Ciera seemed to fly even faster. As if she knew already and had anticipated this.

“Is she going into labor?!” I heard Squall’s voice raise in alarm.

“Not without Darren,” I insisted, placing my hand over my stomach.

“When the time comes, the time comes. We can’t control it.” Ciera’s voice seemed to sympathize with me. But I wasn’t having it. Another cramp squeezed my stomach, and I glanced at the horizon frantically.

DARREN, I NEED YOU!