Chapter 181: Before the Crown Falls

Ivy's POV

She smiled like a child giving a list of presents. “I want them executed. But first…I want her.” Her finger stabbed at me with a sweetness that made my blood turn to tar. “I want her arms chopped off before she’s killed. I want to watch it happen.”

The words landed like a strike. The king’s voice was soft, flat as a blade. “You heard the queen.”

Ezra screamed, a sound ripped from the bones. “My king—”

He was already turning, Lila tucked into him like an offering. “Have them executed as a present for the queen at her coronation tomorrow,” Leo growled, his tone a slow thing that promised ruin as he began to leave.

I could not breathe in the right sequence. Sounds blurred. Daniel’s hands found my wrist, pulling me into his solidness as the guards closed in, pushing us toward the dungeon mouth that yawned like a hungry thing. The Betas’ cry, the scrape of armor, the distant clatter of a crown being set…all faded into a single, hot pulse.

Lila’s eyes found mine as we were hauled away. Her smirk ate me alive, triumph baked into every corner of her face. Jealousy flooded me raw and consuming. Nyxara tore at my throat, claws scraping at skin and restraint.

He’s mine and he’s carrying another? She murmured inside me.

Oh hell no.

Nyxara purred inside me, her tone thick with amusement, sly with certainty. Let us do what nobody expects. Let lung towards them and rip that broken sister from our mate’s arms. And when he holds us instead, when his wolf breathes us in…he will know. He will know who truly belongs to him.

Her voice wrapped around me like smoke. In fact, she cooed, leave this part to me. I’ll speak to his wolf personally.

I should’ve fought her. I should’ve demanded clarity about the dreams, about why I saw him as both threat and salvation. But the butterflies in my chest burned hotter, sharper…twisting into something dangerous. Something possessive. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to stop it.

“I have to know,” I whispered to myself, a vow slipping through clenched teeth. “Whatever this is…I want to see it through to the end.”

Then, louder, steadier: “Let’s get him.”

The air stilled. I barely had time to shift my weight before something struck the side of my neck…sharp, precise, ruthless. Darkness slammed into me, cutting off my breath mid-gasp.

I woke to stone. Damp. Cold. My neck throbbed like a cruel reminder of how easily I had been undone. The air reeked of rust and damp straw. My lashes fluttered open and shapes loomed above me…faces bent close, watching, waiting.

I jerked back instinctively. “What do you all want?” My voice came out gravel-edged, low, dangerous. I forced myself upright, ignoring the pain in my throat. My head swam but my glare cut through the fog. “And who the hell knocked me out?”

The woman in white reached for my hand. Her touch was light, reverent, and desperate. “My queen,” she breathed, voice trembling. “Only you can save the entire realm from this darkness. We have to get you into the king’s chamber before tomorrow’s coronation. If it happens…if she’s crowned…we are doomed.”

Her words slammed into me, but before I could bite back, she rushed on, her tone pitched with panic. “My mother warned me about this. We tried to reach you, to bring you in time, but you refused—”

“So this is my fault?” I cut in, scowling, the weight of her desperation pressing into my ribs.

“No it’s not,” Daniel’s voice broke in, firm and sharp before anyone else dared answer. He turned, eyes cutting toward the priestess. “You’re supposed to be the priestess, the light. If she’s bewitched the king, why can’t you undo it? Use your power. Something. Anything.”

Silence fell heavy, broken only by the drip of water down the stone.

The woman in white closed her eyes. When she opened them, her voice was both weary and unflinching.

“Because light and darkness cannot exist in the same circle. That is why the spell around the palace kept Dina out. But she forced her way past by binding herself to the imposter. She poured her darkness into her vessel, and it crippled me.”

She paused, her gaze hardening as she turned to me. “I am tied to the king. My light holds the shadows inside him back. But the imposter brought more. Dina’s darkness burns hotter than my light. I can’t match her.

My sister is more powerful than I am. But you…” her eyes shone, her words striking like thunder, “…you are stronger than your sister, even Dina. Your very existence is her greatest threat. That is why she wants you erased…why your twin must replace you. So that you die in the hands of the one you were meant to save.”

The world tilted. My chest tightened. A truth that should have been told long ago had been forced into me like a blade.

“Why didn’t anyone just say that from the beginning?” I muttered, my voice thin and furious.

Daniel groaned and dragged a hand down his face. “Just listen, princess.”

The king’s beta spoke up, grim and practical. “How do we fix this? What do you mean she can save us all?”

The priestess answered without flinching. “She’s the king’s true mate. If she reaches him…if she lets her instincts guide her…she can cut through the darkness. That’s how this ends.”

My laugh was bitter. “Right. And how am I supposed to waltz into the king’s chamber while I’m rotting in a damn dungeon?”

Before anyone could answer, the sharp tap-tap of metal against metal drew our attention. Every head turned toward the bars. A guard stood there, posture stiff, eyes darting like he was being watched.

“Cole!” the beta hissed, rushing forward. “You know better than anyone that there’s no way I’d hurt the king…or the queen. The real queen is here. This is all a ploy to destroy the king. He’s been bewitched! That thing outside is an imposter, and…”

Cole cut him off, voice low, urgent. “I know, beta. That’s why I’m here.” His gaze shifted toward me, steady, filled with something like relief. “She’s making changes already. Yesterday was enough to feel it…a darkness heavier than anything I’ve known. The other priestesses have been locked away. People are terrified. Tell me what to do.”

The air seemed to ease, a breath shared by everyone in the cell. The beta’s voice shook with controlled urgency. “We need the true queen in the king’s chamber as soon as possible. Alone. Without the imposter. Before the coronation. Can you do that?”

Cole’s mouth curved into a grim smile. “Leave that to me.”

But something nagged at me from the inside, sharp and insistent. Nyxara was pacing, restless, claws dragging against the walls of my chest. Her agitation was never without reason.

The man bent lower, his voice a conspiratorial whisper as he laid out how he would sneak me into the king’s chamber. Everyone leaned in, desperate, hanging onto every word. But the unease inside me sharpened until it burned.

It clicked.

“Hold on,” I cut in, my voice slicing through the room like a blade. Every head snapped toward me, confusion etched into their faces. My pulse hammered, Nyxara’s growl echoing in my bones.

Something wasn’t right.