Chapter 66

Chapter 66
Chapter Sixty-Six

Selene’s POV

The descent grew easier once the guardian stopped shifting its form every few minutes. Its body settled into something vaguely wolf-shaped, though larger than any living creature Kai or I had ever seen. Its scales dimmed to a muted silver, and its wings folded close to its spine like armor plates. It moved beside us in silence, its steps smooth, its breath steady, never hurried. Almost patient.

The deeper we went, the warmer the air became. The walls changed from dark stone to a lighter shade streaked with silver, as though the mountain itself had begun to glow from within. The faint pulse under my skin matched the rhythm in the stone. The hum was softer now, less chaotic than before. More deliberate.

Kai kept checking the walls, the floor, and the space behind us. He didn’t trust the quiet. I didn’t either, but for different reasons.

I felt the quiet watching.

As we reached a wider slope, the tunnel opened into a chamber far larger than the previous ones. We stepped inside slowly, our torchlight catching on something metallic. Then the guardian’s eyes brightened, and the chamber lit with a soft, steady glow.

My breath caught.

The chamber wasn’t empty. It was full.

Rows of pillars carved from pale stone lined the space, each holding an object wrapped in layers of dust and time. Some were weapons. Others were books bound in metal. Others were strange pieces of armor, half-shattered, engraved with symbols that matched the markings on my skin.

“This isn’t a tomb,” Kai murmured, turning slowly. “It’s… a vault.”

“A treasury,” I said. “Or a memory.”

The guardian strode forward, its tail sweeping dust away from the floor. It stopped at the first pillar and lowered its head, as if acknowledging something sacred. The pillar held a narrow blade with a hilt of white stone. It pulsed faintly, responding to its presence.

Kai’s hand hovered over the weapon but didn’t touch it. “These look ancient.”

“They are.” I stepped closer, examining the carvings along the blade. “Older than the packs. Older than the city in my dream.”

Kai glanced at me. “Dream or memory?”

“I’m not sure anymore.”

He didn’t push. He never did when he sensed the ground beneath me shifting.

I moved deeper into the chamber, past weapons and armor, past relics that still held faint traces of power. Every one of them seemed to whisper at the edge of my mind. Some called to me. Some recoiled.

Then I saw the central platform.

Unlike the others, it was low and wide, shaped like a shallow bowl carved from obsidian. And inside that bowl lay a single object—a small stone, no bigger than my palm. It shimmered with soft silver and blue.

The hum grew stronger.

The guardian stopped behind me, its wings shifting slightly. A warning, or an expectation.

Kai approached the platform slowly, his voice quiet. “What is that?”

I wasn’t sure. But it felt familiar, like something I had once touched or dreamed of touching.

The markings on the stone matched the veins that used to run across my skin. Even now, faint traces glowed at my wrist.

“It’s part of the throne,” I whispered.

Kai stiffened. “I thought you destroyed it.”

“I destroyed the seat. The shell. But the heart… the heart might have broken into pieces.”

He stepped closer, studying my expression. “If that’s true, why is it here?”

“Because someone wanted it hidden. Or protected.” I met the guardian’s eyes. “Or waiting.”

The guardian lowered its head toward the stone. The air around us trembled as if the chamber recognized the artifact’s presence.

Kai swallowed hard. “Selene, maybe don’t touch it.”

I hesitated. His caution was justified. Every time I touched something connected to the throne, something changed. Something awakened.

But I couldn’t turn away.

I reached forward slowly. My fingers brushed the surface—

A shock of cold ran through my hand.

Images burst through my vision. Not dreams. Not illusions. Memories burned into the throne’s heart.

The First Queen stood where I stood now, her hand on the same stone. Her chamber looked new. Untouched. She was alone, though her shadow split into countless shapes around her like reflections of what she would become.

She whispered something under her breath, and the stone responded, glowing brighter.

Then the scene shifted. She held the same heartstone over a newborn child wrapped in white cloth. Her hand trembled, whether from love or fear, I couldn’t tell.

“My continuation,” she whispered to the infant. “May you succeed where I failed.”

The stone flared.

The child—her heir—let out a cry, and the glow seeped into her skin.

The vision shattered. I staggered back, breathless.

Kai grabbed my arms. “Selene, what happened?”

“She used it,” I said, trying to steady my breathing. “The First Queen used the heartstone to bind the throne to her bloodline. Every heir after her carried part of its power. Including me.”

Kai’s jaw clenched. “So it wasn’t destiny. It was… engineered.”

“Yes.” My stomach twisted. “She didn’t want the throne to end. She wanted it to survive her.”

The guardian stepped onto the platform, its paws touching the obsidian rim. Its gaze locked onto mine.

The chamber responded. The lights along the walls brightened, revealing more carvings—scenes of battles, coronations, sacrifices. All tied to the throne’s history.

Kai exhaled sharply. “Selene, if the heartstone binds the throne to your bloodline, then destroying the throne didn’t break the bond.”

“No,” I said quietly. “It only scattered it.”

“And now it’s calling itself back together.”

He looked at me, fear and determination blending in his eyes. “What does it want from you?”

I shook my head. “More than I can give.”

“No,” he said firmly. “You give it nothing unless you choose to.”

His voice steadied me more than he realized.

The guardian nudged the heartstone gently with its snout, then looked at me again.

I understood.

“It wants me to take it,” I said.

Kai stepped between me and the platform. “Absolutely not. Last time something touched you, you almost didn’t come back.”

“I know,” I said. “But we can’t leave it here for someone else to find. And we can’t pretend it isn’t calling me.”

His jaw tightened. “So what’s the plan?”

I reached past him, fingers closing around the stone. It pulsed once, cold spreading through my veins. But this time, I could contain it.

The guardian lowered its wings in approval.

Kai stared at me. “You’re really going to carry that thing out of here.”

“I’m going to carry it until we know how to stop it,” I said.

“Or destroy it,” he added.

“Or that.”

We stood in silence, the chamber around us humming like an awakening heartbeat.

“What now?” Kai asked.

I looked deeper into the chamber, where another tunnel waited—narrow, dark, and warm with a pulse that matched the stone in my hand.

“We go further,” I said. “There’s more we were meant to see.”

The guardian moved ahead, clearing the path.

Kai sighed. “Of course there is.”