The rift screamed.
Not like wind.
Not like magic.
Like something ancient—breaking.
The chamber shook.
The Spire walls glowed violently, veins of molten gold turning red-hot.
Cracks split the stone beneath us as fire roared up through the floor.
Owain shoved me behind him.
Yllas flared his wings wide, shielding us from falling stone.
Gerrin dragged Helion back from the widening rifts.
The air warped, folding on itself.
Space twisted.
Heat condensed into a single point—
And something stepped through.
Not a body.
Not fully.
A shadow.
A silhouette cut out of fire and void, as if the world refused to fully shape him.
Tall.
Monstrous.
Crowned in jagged horns of flame.
Eyes like molten silver.
Claws scraping across the rift's edge.
My breath stopped.
The Beast King.
Owain roared, shifting further—fangs elongating, claws blackening, hair bristling. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!"
His voice cracked into raw instinct.
The Beast King did not look at him.
He looked at me.
His voice wasn't sound—
It was pressure inside my skull.
You are mine.
At last.
I staggered backward. "No—no—stay away—!"
Owain's snarl tore into the chamber. "DON'T TALK TO HER!"
He lunged.
But the Beast King flicked a claw through the air—
and Owain was thrown across the room like a ragdoll.
"Owain!" I screamed.
He hit a pillar, the stone shattering from the force, and crumpled.
But he dragged himself up again, claws dripping blood.
"I'm not—letting—you—take her—!"
The Beast King didn't even turn his head.
Yllas stepped forward, wings spreading to their full span.
Heat rippled across his entire body as scales pushed through his skin.
"Step back," Yllas commanded quietly.
The rift vibrated.
The Beast King's shape leaned forward.
Dragon hatchling.
You presume to command me?
Yllas' aura burst outward—
a wall of furnace heat and molten gold.
"I don't presume," he said. "I'll stop you."
The Beast King's laughter shook the Spire.
Child.
You cannot stop the inevitable.
You cannot stop my mate.
My heart slammed into my ribs.
"I'm NOT your—"
The Beast King's eyes flared silver, and the chamber darkened with his presence.
Your blood answers mine.
Your rune calls to me.
Your destiny belongs to me.
Yllas roared, wings snapping forward, slamming into the ground and sending fire bursting outward.
"HER DESTINY BELONGS TO HER!"
The entire Spire trembled from the force of his voice.
Helion swore under his breath. "Yllas is actually going to fight him."
Gerrin pulled his staff, markings blazing painfully bright.
"We have no choice. He's going to drag her into the rift."
The rift widened again.
The Beast King's hand extended—
long claws
made of shadow
edged in flame
reaching toward me.
Owain lunged again. "DON'T TOUCH HER!"
He was knocked aside again—this time not thrown, but crushed by sheer pressure.
"Owain!" I cried, reaching for him.
His body arched under invisible force.
Claws dug into stone.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
But he did not stop fighting.
"I—won't—let—him—have—you!"
The Beast King snarled, low and dangerous, annoyed by the interruption.
Yllas took his chance.
He slammed his foot against the floor—
the stone cracked—
and he shifted.
Not fully.
Not a complete dragon.
But enough.
Scales raced across his shoulders.
His arms expanded with molten heat.
His fangs lengthened.
His eyes became pure gold.
Smoke poured off his skin.
Helion whispered, "Holy hell."
Gerrin murmured, "That's… more than half a transformation."
Yllas' dragon voice echoed through the Spire.
"STAY BEHIND ME."
Heat exploded outward from Yllas in a golden burst.
The Beast King shifted his gaze.
You dare bare your form before me?
Yllas stepped forward, heat cracking the floor.
"I dare."
The Beast King reached a claw toward him—
Yllas grabbed it.
My breath stopped.
He held the Beast King's claw.
Shadows hissed.
Fire ignited.
The stone cracked.
The air screamed between them.
Yllas roared, flames pouring from his half-shifted form—
and shoved the Beast King back.
Only a few steps.
Only slightly.
But he moved him.
Gerrin gasped. "No dragon of this age should be able to do that."
Helion whispered, "He's doing it for her."
Yllas braced his feet, wings slamming down again, bathing the chamber in heat.
"You do not touch her," he growled.
"She is under dragon protection."
The Beast King's silver eyes narrowed.
You cannot protect what belongs to me.
"Nothing belongs to you," Yllas snarled.
The Beast King tightened his grip.
Shadow hissed.
Yllas grunted, muscles straining under unnatural force.
"Owain!" I cried, looking at him.
But Owain was crawling toward us on all fours, teeth bared, body trembling from pain and fury.
"Kanah—" he growled. "Stay—back."
"No," I whispered. "I'm not running!"
The Beast King's attention whipped back to me instantly.
You will come.
Now.
He raised his claw.
Owain roared, "GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Yllas roared, "DON'T TOUCH HER!"
Helion leapt in front of me, leopard tail lashing. "I swear, if a single shadow touches her—"
Gerrin slammed his staff down, runes lighting the floor. "Ancient beast, you tread on forbidden ground."
The Beast King's voice thundered.
You are insects.
She is the only one who matters.
He flicked his claw—
and the world exploded.
Fire.
Shadow.
Pressure.
Light.
The entire chamber shook as cracks split the ceiling.
I fell backward—
but Owain dove beneath me, taking the impact, shielding me with his body, snarling through the pain.
I clutched his shoulders. "Owain—!"
His claws dug into the stone, teeth bared. "He won't get you… I swear it… I swear it…"
The Beast King's voice cut through the chaos.
You cannot fight destiny.
But you can break under it.
And then—
He reached again.
This time directly at me.
Yllas lunged.
Helion blurred.
Gerrin raised every barrier he had.
But none reached me fast enough.
Claws of shadow closed around my chest.
Owain screamed my name.
"KANAAAH!"
Pain pierced my skin—
sharp, cold, burning—
a mark searing into my chest.
I screamed.
The rune flared white-hot—
and the Beast King whispered in my skull:
First Claim.
My body convulsed.
The mark burned.
Owain howled, losing control entirely.
Yllas roared as the shadow struck him backward.
Helion swore violently.
Gerrin's wards shattered.
The Beast King's shadow leaned closer to the rift edge, whispering—
You are mine.
Until I take you fully.
The mark seared deeper—
and something in me snapped.
The rune exploded outward.
Not gold.
Not heat.
Light.
Pure, blinding, white light.
The Beast King recoiled, howling.
The rift shuddered.
The chamber shook.
Yllas shielded his eyes with a wing.
Helion dropped to a knee.
Gerrin turned his staff to block the blast.
Owain wrapped himself around me, refusing to let go.
The light intensified.
It wasn't a wolf surge.
It wasn't dragon fire.
It wasn't elf magic.
It wasn't leopard instinct.
It was something older.
Something deeper.
Something the Spire recognized.
It carved itself into the walls—
symbols like the ones from the First Queen's vision.
Yllas whispered, awe-struck:
"Gods… it's the Queen's true power…"
Gerrin gasped. "She's channeling the ancient seal—"
Helion shouted over the roar, "SHE'S BREAKING THE RIFT!"
Owain held me tighter, claws digging into the stone, voice breaking.
"Kanah—please—stay with me—!"
The Beast King's shadow clawed at the fading rift.
NO—
YOU ARE MINE—
THIS IS NOT—
THE END—
The rift cracked.
Collapsed.
And snapped shut.
The chamber fell silent.
The air burned.
Smoke filled my lungs.
My knees buckled.
Owain caught me before I hit the ground.
"Kanah—Kanah—look at me—"
His voice was raw, shaking.
I blinked slowly, vision blurring.
"Owain…"
"I'm here. I'm right here."
He held me against his chest, trembling.
Yllas approached slowly, eyes still molten gold, wings half-unfurled.
"Let me see the mark."
Owain growled, "DON'T TOUCH HER."
Gerrin stepped forward calmly. "Owain. Move."
"SHE'S IN PAIN—"
"Exactly," Gerrin snapped. "Move."
Owain didn't let go.
But he shifted enough for Yllas to see my chest.
Gerrin inhaled sharply.
Helion swore softly behind his hand.
The mark burned across my skin—
black
silver
and pulsing.
Yllas' voice was low.
"He claimed you."
Owain snarled. "ONLY BECAUSE HE CHEATED!"
Gerrin's markings glowed. "This is only the first claim. It's not complete."
Helion added, "But it's enough to track her anywhere."
Owain froze.
"No," he whispered.
"No. No. No—he can't—"
"He can," Yllas said quietly. "He can find her whenever he wants."
Owain shook his head violently, holding me tighter.
"She's mine to protect—not his. NOT HIS."
Gerrin knelt beside us. "We can break it."
Owain's head snapped toward him. "How?!"
Helion leaned in. "With a stronger claim."
Silence fell.
Yllas stiffened.
Owain froze.
My breath caught.
Gerrin spoke softly.
"Only another claim can override the Beast King's.
Wolf.
Dragon.
Elf.
Leopard."
My heart pounded painfully.
Yllas' gaze locked onto mine—hungry, restrained, warning.
Helion's smile faded into something sharp and dangerous.
Gerrin's silver eyes softened with something like sorrow.
And Owain…
Owain cupped my face with shaking hands.
"You're not choosing him," he whispered.
"Kanah… choose one of us.
Any of us.
Just not him."
The chamber trembled as the mark burned again.
And despite everything—
despite pain
despite fear
despite the Beast King's claim—
my rune pulsed under his touch.
Warm.
Alive.
Answering him.
Owain froze.
Yllas inhaled sharply.
And the mark flared.
The rune surged.
Then—
The chapter ends.