Page 4 of Prey of the Lycan Queen
“Kill the oracle . . . reveal the seven virtues, and the last female lycan.” Kelly directs her fury at my sputtering father, who has fallen to his hands and knees, and I turn my gaze back to Zirah.
Her steps falter, grief washing over her as she notices her grandmother’s lifeless body on the ground. The coven around her sobs. “Granny?” she murmurs before her scream of heartbreak resonates around us, guttural and loud as she races over and falls to her knees, clutching her grandmother.
The weather seems to respond to her emotions, changing swiftly as Zirah screams her anguish. The skies darken, and the wind howls as if in response to her unbearable grief. The thunder claps, lightning fills the night sky, and rain falls in sheets. The ground shakes with the force of the storm, and the trees sway in the wind. It is as if the heavens are mourning with her.
The next second, a blue bolt of lightning strikes her body, and her head jerks back violently. A fountain of sparks erupts around her, and the cobbled ground trembles beneath us. Her runes shimmer with life, and it’s as if the thunder roars and the lightning in the sky dances by her body’s wordless command. It’s a sight to behold, one that fills onlookers with fear.
Silence falls over everyone except the coven, who moves in to comfort her. As they do, a gasp breaks the silence, and everyone freezes. Zirah lifts her head, and the coven steps back when I notice Shelley across the square, getting up from the fallen rubble and debris.
A growl ripples and echoes around us as Zirah turns her gaze to Shelley. Scrambling to her feet, Shelley rushes over and drops to her knees just as Zirah stands. She clutches Zirah’s legs and begs for mercy.
“It was Theron. I had no part in it. I loved her,” she pleads.
Zirah pats her hair, and Shelley thanks her, tears streaming down her face while I gape at the woman’s audacity.
Zirah’s expression turns cold as she lifts Shelley’s chin with her fingertips. “Loved her so much that you killed your own sister?” Her hands clamp on the sides of Shelley’s head, and she gasps. Black tendrils snake across Shelley’s face like intricate webbing.
Her breath forms clouds of smoke in the air as Shelley’s body freezes solid, her face twisting in terror. With a resounding crack, the ice breaks apart, shattering and leaving nothing but shards of the woman who betrayed her mother.
My father’s scream rings loudly through the night while I watch the crowd of people back up in fear. Father crawls forward, clutching the shards of his lover.
Zirah looks down at him with pity, but I feel nothing as I watch him scrape fragments of ice into his hands, sobbing as they melt and slip between his fingers. Malachi holds the stance of a soldier, but he feels the same grief as his brother. He swallows hard and turns away from my father.
“You . . . Litha said it would break the curse,” my father sobs, peering up at Zirah.
“I am your curse, your mirror, a reflection of how you betrayed my mother,” Zirah says coldly. “How does it feel, Sloth? Can you sense it, your imminent death? Is it as cold as the betrayal my mother felt?”
She lifts her head, her eyes going to Zeke, then Lyon, and finally to me. Her anger, grief, and something else I can’t decipher burns in her gaze.
Lyon, Zeke, and I get to our feet. I stagger toward her when, with an air of regal authority, she peers around at the crowd and speaks. “This is my kingdom now. Bow to your queen or face the wrath of my wolves,” she orders, glaring at the guards before glaring at me. Gnash, Hunter, and Shadow join her, standing at her side. I swallow, trying to figure out what just happened.
All around me, people fall to their knees. Their heads bow in submission to their true ruler. The weight of her words and the power of her presence leave no room for defiance.
“Zirah,” I murmur, and her eyes snap to mine.
“Bow!” she yells with tangible fury. Zeke falls to his knees with an audible oomph, and so does Lyon when she walks toward me. Our wolves follow her steps, and as she stops in front of me, she lifts her chin to meet my gaze.
Her anger burns brightly. We hurt her, and now she is going to make us pay for it.
Clenching my teeth, I fall to my knees before her, my gaze not leaving hers. She tilts her head to the side, and Gnash growls at me until I bow my head.
“Now your fate lies in my hands, and what a damned place to be,” she says before her hip hits my shoulder as she walks toward the path leading back to the kingdom.
Chapter Three
As I make my way down the path, vivid images flash through my mind, memories bestowed upon me from every high priestess that came before me. My mother’s memories are the most painful, and I can feel her sorrow deep in my soul like a live wire, fueling the storm raging inside me.
My mother’s death was senseless and cruel . . .
King Theron took her kingdom and her mate, but that was not enough for him. He wanted everything. His vengeance had no end until he eradicated every memory of her. All because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.
The most difficult part of tonight wasn’t the pain of being burned alive, it was seeing and feeling my mother’s betrayal. Her sister betrayed her because my mother was an oracle, a high priestess, a woman with power unlike most. She was born powerful, not made powerful.
Jealousy and greed are two of the most disgusting traits that cause so much injustice. It drives people insane until humanity is lost.
I have memories of my mother warning Shelley about her relationship with Theron. She saw the king’s intentions in a vision, and she knew Theron was going to kill Shelley when he was finished with her, but Shelley wouldn’t listen. She was arrogant and turned her back on their coven.
To change the course of her vision, my mother told the queen about Theron’s infidelity. She loved her sister so much that she condemned herself and her kingdom to change Shelley’s future.
