Chapter 20: The Last Daughter

The explosion shook the underground chamber with enough force to crack the ceiling.

Chunks of stone crashed onto the ancient floor as dust swallowed the narrow passage.

The sounds of steel striking steel echoed from the staircase above.

Magnus drew both swords.

'They're already inside.'

Derek folded the parchment and secured it beneath his leather armor.

'We leave now.'

Kira looked toward the hidden chamber one last time.

Every answer she had searched for seemed buried inside these ruins.

Yet there was no time to investigate further.

The group rushed toward the staircase.

Before they reached the entrance, three masked assassins burst through the collapsing tunnel.

Each wore black armor marked with the crimson crescent.

Without hesitation they attacked.

Magnus intercepted the first man, their blades colliding with a shower of sparks.

The second assassin charged Derek.

Derek sidestepped the strike and drove his sword through the attacker's shoulder before kicking him backward.

The third assassin ignored everyone else.

His target was Kira.

She stumbled backward as his blade sliced through the air.

The sword missed her throat by inches.

Before the assassin could strike again, Derek stepped between them.

His silver eyes flashed.

'Touch my queen again,' he said coldly, 'and I will erase your entire bloodline.'

The assassin laughed.

'You still don't understand who she is, Your Majesty.'

'Neither do you,' Derek replied.

Their swords met with explosive force.

The assassin fought with terrifying speed.

But Derek fought with absolute precision.

Within moments, the masked man dropped to one knee.

Blood spread across his chest.

Even wounded, he smiled.

'It doesn't matter if you protect her.'

'She cannot escape her destiny.'

'What destiny?' Kira demanded.

The assassin slowly raised his head.

'The Last Daughter always awakens.'

'When she does, kingdoms burn.'

Before anyone could question him further, he bit down on something hidden inside his mouth.

A second later, blood poured from his lips.

Poison.

He collapsed lifeless onto the stone floor.

Magnus cursed under his breath.

'Another dead witness.'

Derek searched the assassin's body.

Inside his cloak he found a folded piece of black parchment.

Only one sentence had been written across it.

'The Eclipse is coming.'

No signature.

No seal.

Only those four words.

The surviving guards entered the chamber.

'Your Majesty,' one reported.

'The remaining attackers have fled into the mountains.'

'Do not pursue them,' Derek ordered.

'Their mission was never to kill us.'

'It was to destroy whatever was hidden here.'

He looked toward the opened chest.

It was empty now.

Only the parchment remained in his possession.

They left the underground temple before sunset.

Snow had begun falling across the mountains.

The ruined sanctuary disappeared behind a curtain of white as they rode south.

No one spoke for nearly an hour.

Finally Kira broke the silence.

'Am I truly connected to the first Lycan royal family?'

Derek looked ahead at the frozen road.

'The temple recognized your blood.'

'That cannot be ignored.'

'Then my father lied to me.'

'Perhaps.'

'Or perhaps he believed he was protecting you.'

Kira lowered her eyes.

Everything she believed about herself had changed within a single day.

She was no longer simply the wolfless daughter rejected by her family.

She belonged to a history powerful enough for people to kill in order to keep buried.

As darkness settled across the mountains, the capital finally appeared in the distance.

The palace fires glowed against the winter sky.

Derek slowed his horse beside Kira.

'From this day forward,' he said quietly, 'you will never face this alone.'

For the first time since their marriage, Kira believed him.

She nodded silently.

Far away, inside an abandoned fortress hidden beyond the northern border, a hooded figure stood before a burning map of the kingdom.

A messenger knelt before him.

'Your orders were carried out.'

'The temple has been exposed.'

The hooded man smiled beneath the shadows.

'Excellent.'

'The King now has the parchment.'

'Exactly as we planned.'

'And the girl?'

'She survived.'

'Good.'

'The Last Daughter has finally begun her journey.'

He turned toward the fire.

'Prepare the next phase.'

'Soon the Lycan King will learn that some wars begin long before the first sword is drawn.'

The flames rose higher, consuming the map as the first chapter of an even greater conflict came to an end.