Chapter 61 Chapter 61
Leonidas's POV
"Mother?"
The voice echoed through the Heart Chamber softly.
It sounded small, young and ancient.
Every hair on my body stood up instantly.
Because the voice didn't sound dangerous and that was the dangerous part.
The Origin Heart pulsed once beneath Sable's hand.
Then again slowly and heavily, the entire chamber went silent.
Kael looked around first.
"....Please tell me nobody else heard that."
"We heard it," Zander muttered.
For once, even his sarcasm sounded uneasy.
Sable slowly pulled her hand away from the heart.
Her face had gone pale.
The silver–black glow around her body flickered weakly, unstable after everything we'd just done.
I reached for her instinctively.
The moment my hand touched her arm, relief hit me hard.
Alive.
Still here. Still mine.
No.
She was not mine.
She was never mine.
She was chosen.
The bond between us pulsed warmly anyway.
The dragon stepped closer to the Origin Heart, his enormous silver eyes narrowed carefully.
"What was that?"
The Heart answered with another beat.
The sound rolled through the chamber like distant thunder.
And then—
the child's voice whispered again.
"Mother....."
Sable stiffened.
The voice was calling to her.
Not the First Queen or the throne.
Her.
The Shadow King's expression darkened.
"There's something inside the Heart."
Kael gave him a deadpan look.
"Really? We hadn't noticed."
Malrik elbowed him lightly.
"Not helping."
Kael sighed.
"I'm coping."
Fair enough.
Because honestly, I was this close to losing my mind too.
The First Queen was gone.
The Creator was sealed again.
The Devourer was waiting outside reality itself.
And now there was apparently a child living inside the thing powering existence.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Sable stared at the Heart.
I could feel her emotions through the bond.
Fear.
Confusion.
And something else.
Recognition.
The dragon noticed it too.
"You know the voice."
Sable swallowed slowly.
"No."
But the hesitation gave her away. The Heart pulsed harder and suddenly—
silver light spread across the chamber floor.
Ancient symbols began glowing beneath us.
This time it was not the throne's symbols as this one was far older and softer than before.
The dragon backed away immediately.
"The nursery seal."
The words hit the room strangely.
Nursery.
A word that didn't belong anywhere near ancient gods and world–ending horrors.
Yet somehow—
it terrified the dragon.
That told me enough.
The Shadow King looked sharply at him.
"You knew about this?"
The dragon's massive body tensed.
"I knew rumors."
Kael blinked.
"There are rumors about cosmic babies?"
No answer.
Sable took a careful step toward the Heart.
"Sable."
I grabbed her wrist again.
She looked at me softly.
"I need to know."
Gods.
That look.
That stubborn, fearless look.
The one that always meant she'd already decided.
I hated it.
Because I could never stop her once she looked at me like that.
The Heart beat faster as she approached.
Like that of excitement and recognition.
The child's voice sounded clearer now.
"You came back."
Sable stopped breathing for a second.
And through the bond—
I felt it.
Pain that was sharp and sudden.
A memory.
Nad just like before it was not hers but someone else’s.
I caught flashes.
A woman laughing beneath silver trees.
A child running toward her.
Silver eyes.
Tiny hands.
Then blood.
Screaming.
Fire.
Sable gasped loudly, stumbling backward into me.
I caught her instantly.
Her body trembled violently.
"What did you see?"
Her voice cracked.
"A memory."
The dragon’s expression changed instantly.
"Whose?"
Sable looked at the Heart in horror.
"Mine."
Silence.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Because that was impossible.
Sable wasn't ancient.
She wasn't the First Queen.
Was she?
No.
No, that was impossible.
The Heart pulsed again.
And the child laughed softly.
Happily.
"Mother found me."
The chamber temperature dropped sharply.
The Shadow King's shadows spread instinctively around him.
Defensive.
Threatened.
The dragon lowered himself protectively in front of the Heart.
Interesting.
It wasn't guarding us from the Heart.
It was guarding the Heart from us.
That realization made my wolf restless.
"What's in there?" I demanded.
The dragon's voice came slowly.
"The heir."
The word hit hard.
Kael frowned.
"Heir to what?"
The dragon looked at Sable.
"The first bloodline."
Sable shook her head immediately.
"No."
Denial.
Fear.
The dragon didn't argue which somehow made it worse.
The Heart glowed brighter.
And suddenly—
a small figure appeared in front of it.
Not fully real as it was made of silver light.
A little girl.
Maybe five years old with silver hair and silver eyes. She was barefoot, beautiful and ancient.
She looked directly at Sable and smiled brightly.
"There you are."
Every instinct in my body screamed danger.
But Sable just stared.
Frozen.
The little girl tilted her head.
"You forgot me again."
Again.
The word echoed strangely.
The Fallen had called Sable "latest."
The First Queen had recognized her instantly.
And now this child—
Again.
Like this had happened before.
The little girl looked at me next.
And her smile vanished.
"You're not him."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Good."
That seemed to amuse her.
She giggled softly.
Then looked back at Sable.
"He loved you too."
Sable’s breathing stopped.
"What?"
The child skipped closer.
Still not fully real, she was more like a projection.
But the power radiating from her made even the dragon uneasy.
"The wolf."
She pointed at me.
"He loves you."
My wolf stirred deeply.
Protective.
Possessive.
The child smiled wider.
"Better than the last one."
The chamber went still again.
Last one.
The First Queen's wolf.
Not me.
History was repeating itself again.
The child reached toward Sable's face and the dragon roared.
"Do not touch her!"and
The little girl froze.
Then slowly looked back at the dragon and smiled.
The sweetest smile I had ever seen.
It terrified me instantly.
Because nothing ancient should look that innocent.
"You still obey."
The dragon lowered his head immediately in submission and in instinct.
The child giggled again.
"Good dragon."
Kael whispered,
"I officially hate this kid."
Honestly?
Same.
Sable finally found her voice.
"Who are you?"
The child blinked at me confused.
Then hurt.
"You named me."
That hit Sable hard.
I felt it through the bond like a blade twisting.
Because part of her believed it which was impossible.
But believed it anyway.
The child looked sad suddenly.
"You really forgot."
The Heart pulsed sympathetically behind her.
The Shadow King stepped forward carefully.
"What are you?"
The child looked at him.
And her silver eyes darkened slightly.
"Hungry blood."
My father stiffened.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The child could see through people instantly.
She looked at Caius next.
Then smiled softly.
"Broken blood."
Caius's jaw tightened.
Then Kael.
"Loud wolf."
Kael frowned.
"That's rude."
Malrik got—
"Quiet wolf."
Zander got—
"Dead prince."
Zander actually blinked.
The child pointed at the dragon.
"Last guardian."
The dragon bowed lower.
And then—
she looked at me again longer this time.
Her expression unreadable.
Finally she whispered—
"Chosen Alpha."
The chamber reacted instantly.
The Heart beat violently.
The throne above answered.
The entire mountain trembled.
The dragon looked horrified.
"No."
The child tilted her head innocently.
"What?"
The dragon's voice shook.
"The bond is complete."
Sable looked between them.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody answered immediately.
And that silence was enough to make my wolf restless.
Danger.
Something dangerous was happening.
The child smiled at me again.
"You touched the Heart together."
Me and Sable.
The sealing.
The bond.
The power fusion.
The dragon backed away slowly.
"The throne has recognized him."
Kael blinked.
"....Wasn't that already obvious?"
"No," the dragon said sharply.
"Not as her equal."
Equal.
The word hit the chamber hard.
Sable looked at me while I looked at her.
And suddenly—
the bond between us changed physically.
I felt her heartbeat.
Her breathing.
Her fear.
Not through instinct but directly from her.
And judging by her expression, she felt mine too.
The child clapped happily.
"There."
Silver–black light exploded around us.
Chains formed from the floor—
not restraining rather it was binding and connecting.
One wrapped around Sable's wrist.
Another around mine.
Then they fused together.
One chain.
One bond.
The Heart pulsed in approval.
The dragon whispered something ancient under his breath.
The Shadow King looked genuinely stunned.
Zander cursed quietly.
Kael looked deeply uncomfortable.
"What just happened?"
The child answered brightly.
"The throne chose."
Sable stared at the chain around our wrists.
"It wasn't supposed to do that."
The child looked confused.
"Yes it was."
No.
No it definitely wasn't.
The dragon finally spoke.
"Queen and Alpha were never meant to stand separate."
His eyes stayed fixed on us.
"The bond has restored the original law."
The original law.
Not the Creator's corrupted version.
The First Queen's.
Sable looked overwhelmed.
Honestly?
So was I.
The child smiled again.
"Now the Heart can wake."
Every instinct I had screamed.
"No."
The child pouted slightly.
"But I'm lonely."
The Heart cracked.
Once.
Silver light poured out through the chamber.
And suddenly, something moved inside it.
This time it was large and ancient
The dragon's wings spread instantly.
Protective.
Terrified.
The child looked delighted.
"Father's waking up."
The entire chamber froze.
My blood went cold.
Father?
No.
Not the Creator.
The child shook her head slightly.
As if hearing my thoughts.
"Not that father."
The Heart cracked again.
A massive shadow moved behind the silver surface.
The dragon backed away another step.
And I realized something horrifying.
The dragon—
the creature older than kingdoms—
was afraid.
Truly afraid.
The child looked at Sable one final time.
And whispered softly—
"You should run this time."