Chapter 69 The Gathering Storm
"Peace lasted exactly three weeks."
Luna dropped a stack of reports on Mara's desk. "Read these. All of them. Then tell me we still have peace."
Mara picked up the first report. Her face went pale. "This cannot be right."
"It is. I checked. Multiple sources. All confirmed."
"The Northern Territories are rebelling? Why?"
"Because they do not want a former slave as their leader. They want pure blood. Old blood. Royal blood."
Mara threw the report down. "I never claimed to be their leader! I just defended the city! The kingdom!"
"Apparently saving everyone does not mean they have to respect you. Just that they owe you. And people hate owing others."
"Who is leading the rebellion?"
"A wolf named Demetrius. Claims to be descended from the original First Wolf King. Says he has more right to rule than you."
"Let him have it! I do not want to rule! I never wanted to rule!"
"Too bad. Because the council just voted. You are officially the Alpha Queen. Whether you want it or not."
Mara stared at her. "They did what?"
"Voted. Unanimously. You are now the leader of the entire kingdom. Congratulations."
"I am going to kill them. All of them."
"You can try. But they hid. Knew you would be angry. So they voted while you were sleeping. Cowards."
Mara stood up. Started pacing. "I cannot be queen. I do not know how to be queen. I was a slave three years ago!"
"Three and a half years. And you have been leading this kingdom ever since. You just did not have the title. Now you do."
"Who decided I needed a title?"
"The people. They want stability. Structure. Someone official to follow. You have been doing the job. They just made it official."
"I need to talk to Zevran. He will understand. He will—"
"He voted yes too."
Mara stopped pacing. "What?"
"He voted yes. Said you are already doing everything a queen does. Might as well have the title to match."
"I am going to kill him too."
"Get in line. Half the council wants to kill him for other reasons."
"What other reasons?"
Luna hesitated. "There have been complaints. About you two. About your relationship."
"What kind of complaints?"
"Some wolves think you are too close. That he influences your decisions. That you favor him over others."
"He is my mate! My husband! Of course I am close to him!"
"They know. But they still complain. They want you to prove you can lead independently. Without his influence."
"This is ridiculous."
"Welcome to politics. Where everything is ridiculous and nothing makes sense."
Mara sat back down. Put her head in her hands. "I cannot do this. I cannot be queen. Lead a kingdom. Deal with politics."
"You can. You already are. You just need to accept it."
"What if I refuse? What if I just walk away?"
"Then someone else takes over. Someone like Demetrius. Someone who does not care about people. Who only cares about power. And everything you fought for dies."
"That is not fair."
"Nothing is fair. But that is reality. So what do you choose? Walk away and let everything fall apart? Or stay and fight to keep it together?"
Mara wanted to scream. To throw things. To run away and never come back.
But she knew she could not. Too many people depended on her. Too many lives were at stake.
"Fine. I will be queen. But only if I can do it my way. No political games. No fake smiles. Just honesty. Fairness. Justice."
"That will make enemies."
"I already have enemies. What is a few more?"
Luna smiled. "That is the spirit. Now, about Demetrius. He is gathering an army. Plans to march on the capital in two months. We need to prepare."
"Another army. Another battle. When does it end?"
"Never. There will always be someone who wants power. Someone who thinks they deserve to lead. That is the curse of being in charge."
"Some curse."
"Could be worse. You could be dead."
"I was dead. Twice. Being alive is more exhausting."
A messenger burst into the room. "Queen Mara! Emergency!"
"I am not queen yet!"
"The council says you are! So you are! Now come quickly! There is something at the gates! Something big!"
They ran to the main gates. A crowd had gathered. All staring at something massive.
A dragon.
Not a small dragon. A huge dragon. Black scales. Golden eyes. Smoke coming from its nostrils.
"Is that Silas?" Mara recognized the dragon who had guarded the Ancient Shrine.
"It is!" The dragon's voice boomed. "Greetings, Moon Wolf! Or should I say, Queen?"
"Just Mara is fine. What brings you here?"
"Bad news. The worst kind. The Shadow King is returning."
"What? But he was freed! Kieran broke his curse! He is not the Shadow King anymore!"
"He was freed. Yes. But freedom comes with a price. He thought he could just be Kieran again. Live a normal life. But the shadow never truly leaves. It has been calling to him. Growing stronger. Taking over again."
"Where is he now?"
"The Northern Wastes. Where the cold kills everything. That is where Kieran went. That is where the shadow is consuming him again."
Silas lowered his massive head. "He is fighting it. But he is losing. Soon there will be no Kieran left. Only the Shadow King. And this time, he will be worse. Angrier. More desperate."
"How long do we have?" Mara asked.
"Days. Maybe a week. Then he will be completely taken over. And he will come here. He will come for you."
"Why me?"
"Because you freed him. He blames you for his hope. For making him believe he could be normal. That hope is killing him now. Making the transformation more painful."
"That makes no sense!"
"Curses rarely do. But this is happening. You need to prepare. Or run. Your choice."
"We do not run. We fight. Where exactly in the Northern Wastes?"
"The Frozen Peak. The tallest mountain. He went there to die. To freeze before the shadow could take him. But the shadow keeps him alive. Keeps him warm. Keeps him prisoner in his own body."
"Can we save him?"
"I do not know. Maybe. If you reach him before the transformation completes. If you can remind him who he is. What he fought for. But it will be dangerous. The shadow does not want to lose its host."
"When have I ever chosen safety over helping someone?"
Silas almost smiled. "Never. That is why the Moon Goddess favors you. You are predictably foolish."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"It was not meant as one. When do you leave?"
"Now. Right now. Before the council tries to stop me. Before Zevran locks me in a room for my own safety."
"Too late for that." Zevran appeared from the crowd. "I heard everything. And you are not going alone."
"Zevran…"
"No arguments. You go, I go. That is how this works."
"What about Isla? Someone needs to stay with her."
"Riven can stay. He is her grandfather. She trusts him. She will be safe."
Mara wanted to argue. But she knew it was pointless. Zevran had that look. The stubborn one. The one that meant he would follow her no matter what she said.
"Fine. But we take a small team. Fast. Efficient. In and out before Demetrius even knows we left."
"Agreed. I will gather.”
"No time. We leave now. Just us two. Everyone else stays and defends the city."
"That is insane. The Northern Wastes will kill us."
"Maybe. But Kieran needs help now. Not in three days when we finish preparing. Now."
Zevran looked at Silas. "Can you take us there? Fly us to the Frozen Peak?"
"I can. But I cannot stay. Cannot fight. I am old. Tired. I only came to deliver the message because I owed Kieran a debt. This clears it."
"Fair enough. Let us go before I change my mind."
They climbed onto Silas's back. The dragon's scales were hot. Almost burning. But they held on.
"Tell Isla I love her!" Mara called to the crowd. "Tell her we will be back soon!"
"And if you are not?" Luna shouted back.
"Then make sure she knows we died trying to save a friend!"
Silas spread his massive wings. With one powerful thrust, they were airborne. Flying over the city. Over the forests. Toward the frozen north.
"This is crazy!" Zevran shouted over the wind. "We have no supplies! No plan! Nothing!"
"We have each other! That is enough!"
"It never is!"
"It has been so far!"
They flew for hours. The landscape changed. Green forests became brown plains. Brown plains became white tundra. White tundra became frozen wasteland.
The temperature dropped. Mara's breath frosted in the air. Her fingers went numb.
"There!" Silas pointed with his tail. "The Frozen Peak! I can see him! On the summit!"
A figure stood alone. Dark against white snow. Not moving. Just standing. Waiting.
"That is him?"
"Yes. But he is not himself anymore. The shadow has almost won. Be careful. He might attack on sight."