Chapter 70

Chapter 70
The great hall of Dragon kingdom was filled with noise. Voices rose and crashed like waves, each one angrier than the last. The council table, an enormous circle carved from ancient coral glowed under the flickering lights, surrounded by dozens of faces.

Lyra walked in slowly, her red cloak trailing behind her. Kaelen followed, his dark armor still dusted with ash from the fight below. The guards at the entrance shifted uneasily when they saw him, but one hard look from Lyra made them step aside.

“Your Majesty,” said Councilor Varyn, standing from his seat. “We demand to know what has happened in the lower ruins. The ground shook for hours. Fire burst from beneath the temple walls. The people are terrified.”

Lyra’s voice was calm but sharp. “We were attacked. A wraith, a cursed soul guarding the old magic. It’s gone now.”

Varyn slammed his hand on the table. “And who brought it upon us? You’ve been digging into forbidden magic again, haven’t you?”

Murmurs filled the hall. Lyra met his gaze without flinching. “I was trying to uncover the truth behind the curse that’s spreading through our lands. Or do you prefer to watch our kingdom rot in silence?”

Another voice rose, Councilwoman Serah, older and softer, but her eyes were cold. “And yet, you brought a vampire into the heart of Quenshi. A creature of blood, standing beside our Queen. The people whisper about it already.”

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. His hand rested on his sword but he said nothing.

Lyra looked around the table. “Kaelen saved my life tonight. If you think I’ll cast him out to calm your fears, you’re mistaken.”

“Your Majesty,” Varyn said again, leaning forward, his tone venomous. “You risk everything we’ve built. Do you even know who he is?”

Lyra frowned. “He’s a prince of the Northern clans.”

“No,” Varyn spat. “He is the one they call the Blood Heir, the son of Lord Kael of the Shadowborne. The same line that nearly destroyed our kind a hundred years ago!”

The hall exploded into gasps and shouts.

Lyra froze. Her eyes turned toward Kaelen, who didn’t deny it. His face was calm, but the truth was written there.

“Is that true?” she asked quietly.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

The council’s voices grew louder. “You hid your name!” “He’s a traitor!” “A curse upon the throne!”

Lyra raised her hand, and flames flared in her palm, silencing the room instantly. The golden fire reflected in her eyes as she said, “He fought beside me when none of you would. He bled for this kingdom. That’s more loyalty than your titles ever gave me.”

Varyn’s lips curled. “You sound bewitched, my Queen. What if his power has already poisoned your mind?”

Kaelen stepped forward, his voice steady. “Enough.”

The council guards reached for their weapons, but Kaelen ignored them. His eyes locked on Varyn’s. “You think I want her throne? I came here to protect her from what’s coming. The wraith was just the beginning. Something older is waking up.”

Varyn laughed harshly. “Spare us your ghost stories, vampire. You want to protect her? Then leave. Before your curse spreads through our walls.”

Kaelen’s eyes darkened. For a second, the air in the room changed from cold, heavy, dangerous. Lyra placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.

“Enough,” she whispered. “He’s not worth it.”

He looked at her for a long second, then nodded, stepping back.

Lyra turned to the council again. “If you don’t trust me, then strip me of my crown. But until that happens, I will not follow your fear. I will fight what’s coming whether you help me or not.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Councilwoman Serah sighed. “Your Majesty… No one doubts your courage. But the people are restless. They’ve seen the fire. They whisper that the Queen has bound herself to a monster.”

Lyra’s voice softened, but her eyes shone with quiet pain. “Then maybe they should see who the real monsters are.”

She turned and walked out of the hall. Kaelen followed her, his boots echoing on the marble floor.

When they stepped outside, the sky was deep red, the eclipse spreading across the ground like a wound. The air was thick with energy.

Lyra stopped on the palace balcony, gripping the railing tightly. “They’re turning against us, Kaelen. Everything I’ve done… everything I’ve tried to protect it’s falling apart.”

Kaelen moved closer, his voice low. “You stood your ground, Lyra. You showed them strength. That’s what they fear the most.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wet but steady. “You should’ve told me who you were.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “But I was afraid if you remembered everything, you’d hate me.”

Lyra’s lips trembled. “I don’t hate you. I just… I don't know how to forgive what I can’t remember.”

He reached out and gently took her hand. “Then let me earn it back. However long it takes.”

They stood like that for a moment, both silent, both watching the red eclipse paint the ocean below.

But far beneath the waves, deep in the ruins they had left behind, something else was stirring. The faint echo of the wraith’s final scream twisted into a whisper.

A shadow moved through the flooded tunnels soft, slow, and alive.

And from the darkness, a voice whispered…
“The Blood Heir has returned… so must the Queen of Ash.”

The wind picked up, pulling at Lyra’s hair as the red glow of the eclipse deepened across the sky. The sea below churned, restless and wild, as if something deep beneath it was waking up.

Kaelen’s hand still held hers. His warmth was steady, grounding her, but Lyra could feel the faint tremor in his fingers. He was afraid too though he’d never admit it.

“Kaelen,” she whispered, her voice almost lost in the wind. “If the Blood Covenant is behind this… then we’re both targets now.”

He nodded slowly. “I know. They’ll come for us through your heart.”

Lyra frowned. “The heart again. Everyone keeps talking about it, but no one says what it is.”

Kaelen turned toward the dark horizon. “Because it’s not a thing, Lyra. It’s a bond.”

She looked at him in confusion. “A bond?”

He hesitated, then met her eyes. “When two souls are bound by magic, their hearts can carry the same flame. When one is hurt… the other burns.”

Her breath caught. “Then…..”

“Yes,” he said softly. “The curse that hunts you, hunts me too.”

A flash of thunder rolled through the clouds above, and a strange hum echoed through the air. Lyra’s mark hidden beneath her collarbone glowed faintly, like a heartbeat pulsing under her skin.

Kaelen’s gaze dropped to it, his expression turning grim. “It’s starting.”

“What is?” she asked, fear threading her voice.

“The awakening,” he said, his tone low. “The eclipse isn’t just a sign. It’s a door.”

The sea roared, and far out on the horizon, something began to rise, a faint shimmer of black stone breaking through the waves, like a temple long buried now clawing its way to the surface.

Lyra stared, her eyes wide. “Kaelen… what is that?”

He tightened his grip on his sword.
“The past,” he said quietly. “And it’s coming for us.”