Chapter 98: The Awakening of the Queen
Melissa’s POV
It was cold in the room. The air itself seemed as though it were pressing on my flesh and vibrating with an invisible power. As I followed the ancient lines cut into the stone altar’s surface, my fingers trembled as I knelt before it. Kane hovered protectively behind me, his presence grounding me even as uncertainty began to creep in, while Zephyr stood next to me, his face impassive.
“Are you certain of this?” The emotion in Kane’s voice was raw. “Melissa, this ritual is dangerous.”
I took a deep breath. “I must make an effort.”
In the flickering torchlight, Zephyr held out a ceremonial knife, its silver blade glistening. He cautioned, “The blood oath is not just a test of will.” It will compel the evil within you to reveal its actual essence. There is no going back.
Despite my racing heart, I nodded. I took the dagger slowly and pushed its tip to my hand. Warm blood dripped upon the altar from my fingers while the searing sting hardly registered. The patterns blazed with a rich red brilliance that pulsed like a heartbeat the instant my blood touched the carvings.
There were no windows or doors open, but a sudden burst of wind howled through the room. The torches were madly flickering. Then I felt the ache.
It was ice and fire that twisted through my veins and pulled me down into the depths of something primordial and old. For a brief while, my eyesight became blurry, and I saw shadows moving-writhing beings whispering my name while their red eyes glowed.
“Melissa…”
Kane took hold of my shoulders. “Hey, Melissa! Remain with me!
But I was unable to answer. The darkness was engulfing-it wasn’t going away.
Then a voice, as smooth as silk and as sharp as a sword, slithered into my head.
I was never supposed to be gone from you.
A force tugged at my spirit, causing my body to arch backward, and I gasped. My eyes snapped open, and a dazzling burst of light surrounded me. However, it was frigid rather than warm. It’s freezing.
Everything turned black after that.
I was no longer kneeling when I opened my eyes. I stood. The air felt heavy with an unknown energy, and the chamber was quiet.
Black mist curled from my breath as I let it out.
There was a change.
Kane took a hesitant step forward. Melissa?
I turned to face him, feeling strangely at ease, as though a storm had finally passed. But his expression was tense, and I could see it. Desperate, he looked into my eyes and begged.
“What took place?” he inquired.
I was about to respond when I noticed something in the darkness. I felt shivers down my spine as figures appeared, shrouded creatures wearing silver masks.
One of them then knelt in front of me.
The others went after them.
The man on his knees replied in a respectful tone, “My queen.” “We’ve been waiting for you.”
A harsh breath came out of my mouth. “What?”
Kane tensed. “You are not your queen, Melissa.”
The masked person raised his head a little and peered at Kane with crimson eyes that were gleaming and almost amused. “Alpha, you don’t get it. The mark is on her. She’s come to. We own her.
“No.” Kane took a defensive stance and stepped in front of me. “She is nobody’s property.”
However, something inside of me changed. My mind awoke with a memory, or maybe a whisper of something long forgotten.
Ours…
I looked at my palm as I raised my hand. The ritual marking has changed from a mere cut. It had expanded, like a brand, dark veins of electricity running up my arm.
A crushing but indisputable truth descended upon me.
The darkness had not been banished by me.
I had accepted it.
They were aware of it.
They bowed lower, one by one.
Kane’s hand was firm but soft as it reached for me. “Don’t listen to them, Melissa.”
I paused.
Then I saw something horrifying for the first time.
I had lost the feeling of fear. I was completely unable to feel anything.
Kane’s hand was warm against my skin, grounding, familiar. But as I looked at him, something inside me twisted. The concern in his eyes should have reassured me. Instead, it felt… distant.
Wrong.
I should be afraid. I should be fighting against this. But there was only silence where my fear used to be.
“Melissa,” Kane whispered, his grip tightening. “Stay with me.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words never came.
The figures in the shadows moved forward.
“You are the Forsaken Queen,” one of them said, his voice smooth and unwavering. “The one who will lead us into a new era.”
I shook my head. “I… I don’t understand.”
“You were never meant to be bound by the chains of others,” another voice added. “Not by the council. Not by your mate. Not even by your doubts. You are power itself.”
I turned to Kane, desperate for something-anything-to ground me. “Tell them they’re wrong.”
Kane’s jaw clenched. “They are wrong.”
But his voice wavered. Just slightly.
And I felt it.
Doubt.
A sharp, icy chill ran through me.
For the first time, Kane wasn’t sure if I was still just Melissa.
I took a shaky step back, but the cloaked figures remained where they were, waiting.
“I don’t want this,” I whispered.
“But you do,” one of them said softly. “Can’t you feel it? The power humming beneath your skin? You were always meant to rise. And now, you finally have.”
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
And I could feel it.
The way the darkness inside me coiled and stretched like a living thing. The way it recognized these people-these followers-not as enemies but as subjects.
Kane’s voice cut through the haze.
“This isn’t you, Melissa. You’re stronger than whatever this is.”
I wanted to believe him. I did.
But then, why did his words feel so small compared to the force surging inside me?
The moment I opened my eyes, the room darkened.
The torches flickered, their flames shrinking under the weight of the energy pulsing from me.
The figures knelt lower.
And something inside me snapped.
A slow, eerie calm settled over me, quieting the storm. I stepped forward, my movements deliberate, graceful-controlled.
Kane reached for me again, but I stopped him with a single look.
His hand froze mid-air.
“Melissa,” he murmured, his voice breaking.
I tilted my head, studying him.
His expression was raw with emotion, but I felt none of it.
No fear.
No hesitation.
No love.
Just… power.
I lifted my hand, watching as dark energy curled around my fingers like living shadows.
The figures remained still, waiting.
They had known all along.
This was always meant to happen.
A slow smile spread across my lips, and when I spoke, my voice was not just my own. It was something more. Something ancient.
“Bow before me…” I whispered.
The torches flickered.
The air trembled.
The figures obeyed, pressing their foreheads to the cold stone floor.
Kane’s breath hitched.
“Melissa,” he whispered.
I turned to him, my heart steady, my choice clear.
“…Or burn.”
The room exploded in darkness.