The scroll lay on the desk between them, its ink glowing faintly red even in the dim candlelight.
The Court of No Shadows requests the presence of the lost heir.
By the Blood of the First Veil, she is summoned.
On the next Blood Moon, she shall take her rightful place or forfeit the throne.
Let her come of her own will. Or we will come for her.
Mariluna reread the words again and again.
Each line felt like a tether wrapping around her throat.
She looked up, voice flat. "Is this a threat?"
Lorenzo's silence was her answer.
David paced the room like a lion.
"They're forcing a coronation? That hasn't happened in over a century. Not since the Crimson Queen was torn from the throne."
Mariluna gripped the edge of the table. "Why do they want me?"
"You're the last of the true blood," Lorenzo said. "A descendant of the line that created the Veil. They need your blood to open it again."
"The Veil?"
He hesitated.
"It's a gate between worlds. Between ours and theirs."
"And what happens if it opens?"
"Chaos," David muttered. "Power. Death."
"And if I refuse to go?"
"They'll send more than messages," Lorenzo said. "They'll burn down cities if they have to. They'll rip this world apart."
Mariluna exhaled shakily.
"They want a queen," she said. "But I'm no queen. I'm no one."
Lorenzo stepped close, his voice low and raw.
"No, Luna. You're everything they've feared for centuries. You're the storm they thought they buried."
That Night
Mariluna couldn't sleep.
She stood before the mirror in her chamber, staring at the veined glow of the ring still resting on her finger.
The original Blood Veil, the gift Lorenzo had given her.
But now she knew it was more than a symbol.
It was a key.
To her power. To her blood. To her destiny.
She thought of Cassandra's body, the crimson glyphs etched into her skin.
She thought of the boy with the black eyes.
And her parents.
Her beautiful, loving parents who had died in fire.
Was it random?
Or was it… part of this?
Had the Court known even then?
A knock came at her door.
But she already knew who it was.
Lorenzo stepped inside without waiting for permission.
His eyes were shadowed, but she saw the tension in his jaw, the stiffness in his shoulders.
"I'm going with you," he said.
She didn't speak.
He took a step closer.
"I know what they'll try to do. They'll twist your blood, crown you, and cage you in gold. But I won't let that happen."
Mariluna stared at him.
"You think you can stop them?"
"I've killed kings, Luna," he said softly. "I'll burn gods if I have to."
His hand came to her cheek, rough thumb brushing a tear she didn't know had fallen.
"I didn't plan this," he whispered. "I didn't plan you."
Her heart thudded.
"Then why not just let them take me?"
"Because I'd rather watch the world bleed than see you taken from me."
Meanwhile, deep within the Unblooded Court
Lady Orasha studied the flame in her crystal sconce.
"She received the invitation."
"And what did she say?" Veritas asked, leaning against a pillar of bone.
Orasha's many eyes glittered.
"She didn't refuse."
"Good."
Veritas turned toward the throne room, already preparing the ceremonial hall.
"She will come," he said, "and she will kneel."
Orasha's voice cut through the stillness.
"And what if she doesn't kneel?"
Veritas's smile was slow and cruel.
"Then we'll see if her blood burns as brightly as her fire."
The night before they were to leave for the Court, Mariluna stood at the balcony overlooking the northern woods.
Fog rolled in thick and unnatural.
A figure appeared beneath the trees.
Not Lorenzo. Not David.
A woman.
She wore a tattered red cloak, her feet bare, her hair long and tangled like threads of night.
Mariluna's pulse quickened.
She blinkedand the woman vanished.
But on her balcony rail was a folded slip of paper.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
Do not trust the king of ash. He is not who you think.
Beneath it: a single name written in blood.
Mother.