Chapter 97 Hundred
“Are they ready out there, Mira? Tell me the truth.”
Sienna’s voice hit the chamber walls before Mira even stepped fully inside. The Queen stood with her back turned, staring at the towering golden doors that opened onto the Pilgrim Steps. Her shoulders stayed completely still, but her fingers trembled at her sides.
“They’re gathering,” Mira answered softly. “Every pack. Every banner. The whole kingdom is waiting for your word.”
Sienna closed her eyes for one long second. “How many?”
“Hundreds,” Mira whispered. “Maybe thousands. Warriors. Elders. Even the temple disciples. They all want… clarity.”
Sienna let out a short, humorless breath. “Clarity. Or blood.”
Mira didn’t deny it.
Sienna turned at last. Her gown shimmered like moonlit water, the silver fabric hugging her sharp lines, the regal poise that once inspired admiration, now masking a heart breaking under its own weight. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders in soft waves, but the softness didn’t reach her eyes.
Tonight, she looked like a queen built from glass, already cracked.
“What are they saying?” Sienna asked.
Mira hesitated. “Some say you’ve changed since the Moon Temple. Others think the curse touched you. And a few…” She swallowed. “A few believe Ryder’s influence is too strong. That you’re… compromised.”
Sienna stared at her sister for a long moment, not angry, just impossibly tired. “Do they forget I rebuilt this kingdom from ruins? Do they forget I bled for them? Led their armies? Held back darkness with my bare hands?”
“They haven’t forgotten,” Mira said gently. “They’re just afraid.”
Sienna lifted her chin. “They should be.”
A gust of cold wind slipped under the doors, carrying faint drums from the steps outside. The sound vibrated across the marble floor like a heartbeat.
Sienna stepped closer to the doors, her voice dropping. “How long until they open the gates?”
“Minutes,” Mira answered. “The High General is already on the platform. The council too.”
Sienna tensed. “Theron?”
“Yes.”
Sienna let out a slow breath, trying to release the pressure building in her chest. But it didn’t leave. It only grew.
“Come here,” Mira urged, stepping closer. “Let me adjust your cloak.”
Sienna stood still as Mira fixed the clasp of the silver cloak draped over her gown. Her sister’s hands were warm against her cold skin. The warmth almost made her break.
“You don’t have to do this,” Mira murmured.
“Yes, I do.”
“For them?”
“For him,” Sienna said softly.
Mira’s hands froze. “Sienna… you’re walking into a lie that will tear you apart.”
“It will keep him alive.”
“And what about you?”
Sienna smiled faintly, soft, sad, filled with a kind of acceptance that frightened Mira. “Queens don’t get to survive gently.”
She took a slow step away from her sister and stood directly before the golden doors. The symbols etched across their surface glowed faintly, wolf sigils, moon spirals, the crest of the Bloodline Throne.
Mira whispered, “Sienna… if you say those words out there, you won’t be able to take them back.”
“I know.”
“It will destroy him.”
“I know.”
“It will destroy you.”
Sienna’s breath hitched. “I know.”
Mira stepped in front of her, desperation finally cracking through her calm. “Then don’t do it. Sienna, please, don’t do this to yourself. You love him. Anyone can see it. Don’t let them force this on you.”
Sienna touched her sister’s cheek gently. “They’re not forcing me.”
“Yes, they are, ”
“No,” Sienna interrupted quietly. “I’m doing this because Lunaris cursed him. And if he comes near me again, Mira, he dies.”
Mira shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. “So you’ll hurt him instead?”
Sienna inhaled sharply. “Would you rather I bury him?”
The room stilled.
Mira’s tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
Sienna turned back to the doors.
Through the cracks she could hear voices, packs calling her name, drums echoing, banners snapping in the wind. But beneath those sounds, a deeper pulse throbbed quietly, a tremor in the air that only she could feel.
She stiffened.
Mira stepped beside her. “What is it?”
Sienna didn’t answer. Her gaze sharpened toward the top corner of the chamber, near the vaulted ceiling. She could sense him.
Ryder.
Like a shadow clinging to the stones.
He was somewhere above them, hidden, watching. A faint pull tugged at her ribs, the bond twisting like a warning.
“Sienna?” Mira whispered.
Sienna blinked, forcing her expression neutral. “Nothing. Just nerves.”
“Not something you’ve ever suffered from,” Mira teased weakly.
“Tonight seems full of new traits.”
A guard stepped in hurriedly. “Your Majesty, the council is signaling. It’s time.”
Sienna nodded. “Open the doors.”
The guard pressed his palms against the carved handles and pushed. The golden doors creaked open slowly, letting in a flood of sound and cold air. The world outside roared to life, voices chanting, drums pounding, steel armor clashing as the warriors shifted.
Sienna stepped forward.
Mira grabbed her wrist.
“Last chance.”
Sienna turned just enough to meet her sister’s eyes. She whispered, “If this is the price of his life… I’ll pay it.”
Mira’s voice broke. “You’re choosing to break your own heart.”
“No,” Sienna murmured. “I’m choosing to keep his beating.”
She pulled from her sister’s grasp and continued walking.
The Pilgrim Steps stretched before her like a path carved into the soul of the kingdom. Torches lined the stairway, their flames dancing in the strong wind. Warriors from every pack formed rows on either side. Their eyes followed her, searching for reassurance, for strength, for something they themselves had lost.
Sienna’s silver cloak swept behind her like a falling star.
But before she reached the final step, something shifted above her.
The wind trembled.
The torches flickered wildly.
A shadow moved, silent, crouched, hidden in the stone arches high above.
He was there.
Ryder.
Watching.
Sienna’s chest tightened so sharply she had to grip the rail to steady herself.
She whispered his name under her breath, quiet enough that not even Mira, now a step behind, could hear.
Ryder didn’t move.
He only watched.
And in that instant, she felt everything he was feeling, pain, confusion, longing, that unbearable spark of hope he was trying to smother because Lunaris had shown him visions of her dying.
He shouldn’t be here.
He was risking everything.
Her fingers trembled against the railing.
She forced her eyes forward, forced her breathing to calm, forced her body to keep moving.
The realm waited.
The council watched.
And Ryder… Ryder waited for her next breath like it might save him or destroy him.
She stepped onto the platform.
The cheers died instantly.
The crowd fell silent.
Sienna lifted her chin.
Her voice rose clear and steady.
But her heart cracked with every word forming on her tongue.
And somewhere above her, in the shadows, Ryder’s hand closed over a stone arch as if it were the only thing holding him upright.