Chapter 19 The Crowning Ceremony
Finished
The blood hadn’t washed from my hands. I covered Mr. Grokon’s body with my coat, my fingers still trembling as I tucked the fabric around his mutilated face. Even in death, his expression held terror.
“May the Goddess keep you, I whispered.
I mounted my horse, the urgency of my mission flooding back. The palace loomed in the distance as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the mountains. Almost there, and almost dark.
The white wolf’s image wouldn’t leave my mind. Those golden eyes, the calculated precision of each attack. Not an ordinary wolf–perhaps not even an ordinary shifter.
“Focus, Seraphine, Emogen cautioned. The crown first. Mysteries later.”
1 reached into my pocket, fingers brushing against the worn paper I’d carried from home. The coronation announcement- tonight, when the moon hung high. A slight smile crossed my lips as I looked up at the rising moon.
We’re right on time, Emogen whispered inside me.
The palace gates came into view, along with a sight I hadn’t expected: hundreds of wolves crowded entrance. Guards moved among them, checking documents and asking questions
I drew my hood lower to cover my face, then joined the queue.
I listened to the crowd talking
-lost everything, a woman sobbed nearby, clutching a small child to her chest. “The fields burn for miles. Nothing left of the eastern holdings
“Thirteenth pack’s all but gone,” an older man murmured. “Alpha King Aldrich offers shelter, but what good is shelter when your family’s bones lie unburied?”
The thirteenth pack, my throat is tight. The thirteenth pack was near our northern front. If they’d reached it, then they’d taken the front as well.
“I heard the attacks are getting worse, another whispered. “Southern troops push further north each day”
on
A young woman with a bandaged arm looked up. “But perhaps we will be saved. The Lycan King’s son comes to our rescue o the battlefield soon. The Prince of Lycans himself.
Three days, confirmed a man beside her. “My cousin serves in the royal guard. He says the prince will lead the counterattack himself.
“About time,” grunted someone. “Maybe then this slaughter ends.”
The woman’s eyes brightened. “Not just that–they say the Red Phantom is returning”
The crowd around her stilled, I covered my face more..
“Nonsense, scoffed a thin man with a scar across his cheek. “The Red Phantom is gone. She abandoned her duty when the kingdom needed her most”
“No, the woman insisted. The women from town say she’s coming back. Seraphine Velkan rides to the castle as we speak, to reclaim her birthright and defend the kingdom.”
My heart stuttered at hearing my name spoken aloud.
“A woman has no place in battle,” spat another. “The Velkans were fools to think a girl could lead.”
“That girl saved my brother’s life five years ago, snapped an elderly woman. “When the rogues attacked on the full moon, five years ago, Seraphine Velkan unleashed her red wolf to slaughter all who dared touch our people. She fought like the Goddess. herself. She didn’t flee–she was forced away
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Chapter 19 The Crowning Ceremony
“Better death for our enemies than our children, the elderly woman retorted.
Finished
I kept my gaze down, letting the arguments wash over me as we inched closer to the gates. The division among people was worse than I’d imagined. Some remembered me with reverence, others with contempt. And some believed Id abandoned them willingly.
When I finally reached the front, a bored guard glanced up. “Name”
“Seraphine Velkan,” I answered, keeping my voice steady.
The guard’s quill paused. He looked up with a disbelieving laugh, but the humor died on his face when I pulled out my family’s royal seal. The silver wolf emblem gleamed in the torchlight.
“I’d like to see the king, please. I said politely, then paused to ask, “Has the ceremony started?”
The guard’s expression hardened. Traitor,” he hissed. loud enough for those nearby to turn.
“How dare you show your face here?” he continued, standing up. “My cousin died in the Thirteenth pack. All of them would still be alive if the Velkans had kept their word to protect us.”
Heads turned. Whispers spread like fire.
The Dravens have been advising the Alpha King for barely two weeks, he snarled, “and already the northern front has fallen. Half the Thirteenth pack slaughtered like cattle.”
He stepped closer, spittle flying from his lips. “Your father fought for this kingdom. He bled for it. And you? You ran when the battles grew hard. You hid while our people died.
“That’s not true,” I whispered, but my words were lost in the growing murmurs.
“The Red Phantom returns!” someone shouted mockingly.
“Coward!”
“Traitor!”
“Velkan shame!”
A woman pushed forward. “My son died three months ago, she cried, “Where were you then. Velkan?”
Others joined in, their voices a rising tide of accusations. But not everyone.
“Enough“” An older man pushed through. “The Velkans served faithfully for generations.“–
“And what did that loyalty bring us?” countered another. “War. Death. Ruin.”
I turned away, blocking out their stares and insults.
I rushed up the long stairway leading to the palace proper. At the second gate, I showed my seal again. This time, the guards merely nodded. They stepped aside to let me pass.
The moon hung high now. Time for the ceremony.
I entered the grand ceremonial hall, my steps echoing across marble floors. Maids bustled about, arranging chairs and wiping down the floors, but there was no sign of the royal court. No nobility, no Alpha King, nO CROWIL
“I must be early, I mumbled, smiling with relief.
*Or perhaps the king has seen what a mistake it is to crown the Dravens, Emogen suggested.
Amaid who’d overheard me looked up from her work “The ceremony is over,” she said matter–of–factly.
My heart stopped. “What?”
4:06 PM ch
Chapter 19 The Crowning Ceremony
Finished
She shook her head. “The Alpha King learned of a new plot from the assassins to attack during the crowning. They did it this morning instead”
“Are you saying-
“Our new betas are now t
the Draven Family. The maid smiled serenely. “We all pray they will lead us just as good as the
Velkans did.”
My heart dropped.
