Chapter 4 The Queen's secret path

The wind in the Forbidden Grove howled like a living thing. Queen Amira stood still, eyes closed, hands pressed to the cold earth. Her fingers trembled. The trees whispered around her like ghosts.

She had left behind her crown. Left behind her guards. Now, all she had was herself... and the curse she once placed in a moment of grief and rage.

But now, something stirred in the Grove. Something ancient,something waiting.

A voice,deep and slow, rose from the ground.

**"You have returned. Again."**

Queen Amira kept her eyes shut. "I seek truth. And peace for my children."

**"You seek to undo what you willingly gave."**

"I didn't know what the oath would do," she whispered.

The voice laughed, low and cruel.

**"You asked for power. You asked for protection. And we gave it. Your blood now feeds the land.

The fire crackled in the center of the cave, casting long, flickering shadows across the stone walls. Kael sat beside the flames, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the burning logs. Beside him, Nyra stared at the dancing light, her face unreadable. Neither of them had spoken for a while.

Outside, the night howled with wind, and faint animal cries echoed through the forest. Somewhere far behind them, the kingdom was falling apart, torn by fear, lies, and betrayal.

"I saw him," Nyra finally said, her voice low. "Draven."

Kael turned sharply. "Where? When?"

"In the mountains, near the edge of the ruins. He looked... different and wild. He didn't speak. Just watched me with those glowing eyes and disappeared into the mist."

Kael's hands tightened into fists. "He shouldn't be alone out there. It's getting worse."

"We're all changing," Nyra said softly. "The curse grows stronger the more we resist it."

There was silence again. Kael threw another piece of wood into the fire.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the shadows behind them. "Fighting the blood only leads to more blood."

Both of them jumped to their feet, powers flaring instinctively. Kael's claws slid out. Nyra's fingers glowed with purple fire. But it was only the old witch, Elda, standing in the entrance, her crooked back bent under a thick, ragged cloak.

Elda smiled, showing stained teeth. "Still sharp, I see. That's good. You'll need it."

"What do you mean?" Nyra asked, lowering her hand slowly.

"The Shadow Court is moving," Elda rasped. "Varek is sending them to the villages. They are not hiding anymore. They are infecting the people with dreams of chaos. Soon, they won't just want Amira gone, they'll want your heads too."

Kael stepped closer. "Why are you helping us?"

"I already told you," Elda said. "Because the gods are watching, and they've been watching the wrong people."

Nyra tilted her head. "Then who should they be watching?"

"You," Elda whispered. "And what's inside of you."

Kael didn't like the way she said it. "Speak clearly."

Elda chuckled. "Your sister carries the voice of an ancient goddess. One that was betrayed. One that still burns inside her. That power is older than the gods of the land. If Varek finds out, he'll do more than destroy her, he'll become her."

Nyra's eyes widened. "You mean... he wants to take what's inside of me?"

"He wants to use you as a vessel," Elda said. "He's already twisted the curse. If he ties his soul to yours, he can force the goddess to wake, and serve him."

Kael growled low in his throat. "Then we'll kill him before that happens."

"You may have to kill more than him," Elda said, serious now. "That's the weight of power, boy. Sometimes, to protect what you love, you have to destroy what you are."

Her words sent a chill through them both.

Later that night, while Kael slept with one eye open, Nyra stepped outside the cave. The moon was hidden behind clouds, and the trees whispered like they were speaking secrets. She felt the pull again, the same pull she had felt near the ruins, near the bloodstones. A tug deep in her chest.

She followed it.

She walked through the woods, barefoot and quiet, guided by something unseen. Her fingers tingle with magic. Her head throbbed with distant voices. Then she found herself in front of an old tree, twisted, ancient, and blackened at the roots.

Its trunk opened like a mouth.

Nyra hesitated, but then stepped inside.

She found herself in a small chamber underground. Carvings covered the walls with symbols older than the kingdom. At the center stood a pool of dark water, smooth and still.

"Come," a voice called from nowhere and everywhere.

Nyra knelt beside the pool. Her reflection shimmered, then changed.

She saw a woman with golden eyes and long hair made of stars. Her lips moved, but her voice echoed inside Nyra's mind.

**"You are me. I was you. They stole my name. You must speak it."**

Nyra trembled. "Who are you?"

**"I am the fire that burned the gods. I am the womb that gave life to the land. They feared me, so they made me forget. But you... you remembered."**

The pool boiled. Flames rose around the edges.

**"Varek seeks to wear my skin. But I will not burn for him. You must awaken me, or I will be taken."**

Nyra gasped, holding her head. Visions flooded her mind she saw cities burning, gods fighting among themselves, a woman screaming as her power was stolen by masked figures.

When the vision ended, Nyra was back in the forest, knees in the wet soil, panting.

Kael found her minutes later.

"What happened?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"I saw her," Nyra said, eyes wide. "The goddess inside me. She wants to wake."

Back at the palace, Queen Amira sat alone in the royal garden. She no longer smiled. Her eyes were darker, her body weaker. The sickness had spread.

Priestess Lirien entered quietly, dressed in dark blue robes. "You should rest, My Queen."

"I can't," Amira said, staring at the bloodrose vines. "The land doesn't sleep. Neither can I."

"You've grown quieter," Lirien said. "Even your dreams have changed."

Queen Amira looked up. "Do you see them?"

Lirien nodded. "I always do."

The queen lowered her gaze. "They don't feel like dreams anymore. They feel like warnings."

"There is something rising," Lirien said. "And it's not just Varek. The gods are restless. The veil between the realms weakens."

"I fear what will happen to my children," Amira whispered. "They carry a power I no longer understand."

"They were never meant to be understood," Lirien replied. "They were meant to become something the world has forgotten."

Amira closed her eyes. "Then I must prepare for the world to remember."

Meanwhile, Varek stood in the ruins of the old temple, surrounded by members of the Shadow Court. Their faces were covered by masks of bone and ash. He held a crystal orb in his hand, pulsing with red light.

"She's found it," Varek said, smiling coldly. "The goddess speaks to her."

A woman in a crow-feather cloak stepped forward. "Shall we move now?"

"Not yet," Varek said. "Let the power grow. Let it consume her. When she can no longer tell herself from the goddess... then we strike."

The Shadow Court chanted softly. A low humming filled the air. Varek turned to the altar and poured blood onto the stones.

The blood boiled.

A ghostly image of Nyra rose from the altar, her eyes burning, her arms raised in fire.

"She will open the gate for us," Varek whispered. "And I will become the god this land deserves."

The next morning, Kael and Nyra returned to the hidden camp where a few loyal guards still waited.

"Something is happening in the southern villages," a scout reported. "People are disappearing. Vanishing into the woods. Some say the gods are calling them."

Kael looked at Nyra. "Varek."

She nodded. "He's starting the ritual. He's using the land to feed his spell."

Kael turned to the others. "We move tonight. We find the altar and destroy it."

Nyra hesitated. "What if I'm part of it?"

Kael stepped close. "Then I'll protect you. Even from yourself."

She smiled faintly. "Even if you have to stop me?"

Kael's jaw tightened. "Yes."

That night, as the moon turned blood red, the royal children led their group through the forest. Thunder rumbled overhead. Trees groaned. The earth felt alive.

They reached the old temple before dawn.

Varek was already waiting.

"Too late," he said, standing at the top of the altar. His eyes glowed with golden light. "The gods are awake. And they remember who I am."

"Then you've already lost," Kael shouted.

Varek laughed. "On the contrary. I've only just begun."

Nyra stepped forward. Her body glowed with light and flame. "I am not your vessel."

Varek's face twisted. "You don't have a choice."

"I do now," she said and raised her hand.

The flames burst forth.

Amira opened her eyes. "Then tell me how to free them."

A soft glow lit the Grove. Shapes moved in the mist, shadows of the past. She saw herself, kneeling by the black tree. Blood dripping from her palm. Whispering the oath.

And beside her... someone else.

Her eyes widened.

A man in dark robes. Face hidden. Watching.

"No... That's not possible."

The mist shifted, showing her more. The man stood at her side during the oath, his voice blending with hers.

Amira took a step back, heart racing.

"I didn't... I had never seen him before. Who is that?"

The voice answered.

**"He is the one who twisted your wish. The one who poisoned the oath."**

"Elder Varek..." she breathed. "He was there. He changed the oath while I made it."

The mist darkened. The trees groaned.

**"He placed a shadow inside your blood. His hatred now flows through your children. He cursed the gods. He cursed you."**

Amira sank to her knees. Tears running through her eyes.

"I thought it was my fault. All this time... I believed I destroyed my family."

The voice whispered gently now.

**"You were the key. But he was the lock."**

Amira looked up. "Then I need to break him. And break the curse."

*"You must go deeper," the voice said. **"To the Hollow Heart. Where the gods sleep."**

"The Hollow Heart," she repeated. "Where is it?"

But the voice said no more.

The Grove fell silent.

And the light faded.

Back in the palace, Kael stormed into the war room. His armor half fastened, his hair, wet from the rain.

"What do you mean she's missing?" he shouted.

General Merek bowed low. "She left during the night. No one saw her go. Only a servant heard her praying before the eastern gate opened."

Kael punched the wall.

"She went to the Grove," Nyra said, standing beside him. "I saw it in my dream."

Kael turned. "And you didn't say anything?"

Nyra didn't blink. "I didn't know if it was real. Dreams don't always speak straight."

Kael grabbed his sword. "Then we go now. We find her. Before Varek does."

General Merek stepped forward. "Prince Kael, with respect, the people are still unsettled. Many believe the Queen is hiding dark truths. And they fear you and your siblings."

Kael's voice lowered. "Let them fear me. I'm not here to please them. I'm here to protect my mother."

Nyra moved to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There's something else," she said quietly. "I saw Draven... in the mountains. With Varek."

Kael's breath caught.

"Draven wouldn't......."

"He's changing faster than we did. The curse is burning hotter in him."

Kael nodded slowly. "Then we find them both. And stop whatever is coming."

---

Draven stood at the edge of a cliff, staring into the storm clouds rolling above Eldoria. Varek stood behind him, arms crossed.

"Do you feel it?" Varek asked.

Draven nodded. "The land... it's alive. It's angry."

Varek smiled. "It's not angry. It's hungry."

Draven's eyes flicked toward him. "Why me?"

"Because you are pure," Varek said. "You haven't been poisoned by guilt and royal lies. Your siblings try to hide their power. But you... you embrace it."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Draven muttered.

"But you will," Varek said, stepping closer. "You must. Power doesn't live in peace. It feeds on chaos."

Draven's jaw tightened. "I'm not your puppet."

Varek leaned down. "You are more than a puppet, Draven. You are the door."

"The door?"

Varek's eyes glowed faint red. "To the Hollow Heart. Only your blood can open it."

Draven stepped back. "What do you want from me?"

Varek reached into his cloak and pulled out a shard of obsidian. It pulsed with dark light.

"This," he said, "is a fragment of the gods' prison. Placed long ago to bind them. It must be returned to the Hollow Heart to break their chains."

Draven hesitated.

"If I help you," he asked, "what happens to Kael and Nyra?"

Varek smiled thinly. "They will kneel. Or they will fall."

---

Hours passed. The forest grew colder.

Kael and Nyra traveled on horseback, riding hard through the forest paths. Wolves howled in the distance. The trees closed in like walls.

"We're close," Nyra said. "I can feel Mother's presence."

Kael grunted. "And Draven?"

Nyra's voice grew tight. "He's fading."

Suddenly, the horses halted, sniffing the air.

Kael raised his hand. "Something's wrong."

The forest ahead was dark, too dark. Even Nyra's magic couldn't light the path.

Then came the sound of snapping branches.

Kael drew his sword.

Three hooded figures stepped from the trees. Eyes glowing pale silver. Their cloaks marked with the symbol of the Shadow Court.

Kael growled. "Get out of our way."

One of them laughed. "Your journey ends here, prince."

The air shimmered.

A curse spell.

Nyra reacted first. She whispered an incantation, and a wave of violet light burst from her fingers, slamming into one of the attackers.

Kael handled the second, their blades flashed.

The third leapt toward Nyra with a curved dagger, but she raised her palm and set him ablaze with a whispered word.

The fight was fast and brutal.

When it was over, Kael stood panting, his sword dripping of blood.

"They were watching the Grove," Nyra said, wiping her brow.

"Varek knows Mother's here."

They dismounted and moved forward on foot, the path now lit by Nyra's magic.

The Forbidden Grove loomed ahead.

Amira knelt at the center of the Grove once more, whispering to the earth.

"I'm ready," she said. "Take me to the Hollow Heart."

The ground beneath her opened slowly, revealing stone steps leading into the dark.

As she stepped downward, her breath turned to mist.

Below the Grove, a cavern glowed faint blue. Strange symbols showed on the walls with Bones lining the path. And ahead, at the very heart, stood a black altar made of stone and blood.

She approached it slowly.

And behind her, a voice whispered.

**"You finally came."**

Amira turned.

It was Varek's voice .

Varek stood in the shadows, Draven beside him. The boy's face was pale, his hands twitching with unstable power.

"Draven," Amira said softly. "Please... come back to us."

Draven blinked, confusion on his face.

"I don't know what's real anymore."

Varek placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is your destiny."

"No!" Amira stepped forward. "You used me. You used my blood. You poisoned my oath."

Varek's smile faded.

"You gave me the door, sister," he said. "Now let me walk through it."

He raised the obsidian shard.

The altar cracked. The ground shook.

Draven screamed and dropped to his knees, his body convulsing.

"No!" Amira cried.

Kael and Nyra burst into the chamber.

Kael's sword was out before he even saw what was happening.

Nyra rushed to Draven's side, chanting fast, trying to stop the magic.

Varek held the shard high.

"You're too late," he said.

The altar split.

A black wind roared out from the Hollow Heart.

And something inside it stirred.

**The gods were waking.**

End of chapter 4