☠ Crown of Shadows ☠ (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 2: Keepers of the Crown

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The Hall of Kings felt hot and suffocating as Celyna stood beside her Matriarch. The heat of the braziers on the wall warmed her back while silence lingered in the room. Instead of keeping her attention on her mother––like she was supposed to––she was looking at Nox. As soon as his grandfather had told the Council that the Dark King had returned, the air had grown heavy. She could still feel it pressing down on her, making it hard for her to breathe. Even Nox couldn't keep the fear from his eyes, and despite the heat, Celyna shivered.

     She had grown up with stories of the Dark King and his army of Undead that had nearly destroyed the world centuries ago. They were stories to remind them of the darkness that lay in wait in the shadows and teach them the importance of the Crown. Many things had been lost then and some of the Houses had never regained the strength they once had. It was a black page in their shared history.

     The Dark King had disrupted the peace between the Houses of Shadows and his death, while a blessing, had led to the Great War. Even dead and buried, all the Houses had feared him, but never had anyone told Celyna that he might come back––that he might walk from his grave. If he raised an army of Undead again, even she knew it would make the wars between the Houses seem petty.

     "That's impossible," the Unicorn Matriarch said, the first to speak and to break the haunting silence that filled the hall. The color was drained from his otherwise tanned skin as he swallowed hard. "Our ancestors ensured that he would never rise again."

     "Our ancestors ensured nothing, Arion," the Lycan Matriarch replied. "They gave us Rules to live by, but one of our own broke those Rules and now the magical seal on the tomb is broken. Whatever wards were placed there long ago, they no longer have any power. Aemon has returned and he will come for us."

     "You mean he will come for you," Leonor said, leaning back in the large red chair. "You are wearing the Crown, Cain. He will come for you first. Why should we not let him destroy your House and take the Crown for ourselves?"

     "You know very well there will be no stopping him if he brings down one of the Houses. Do I need to remind you of what happened all those centuries ago?"

     Celyna watched as Leonor's shifted in her seat, her expression changing. All the other Matriarchs bowed their head in an act of unspoken respect for those who had been lost. Yet Celyna and the other Heirs could only listen to what was being said, wondering what truths were being hidden from them.

     "We must not let him divide us again," the Lycan Matriarch continued. "We must stay united."

     "If what you say is true, Cain, then dark times are indeed upon us," Celyna's mother said. She had never heard her Matriarch sound so serious before, her voice infused with old sorrow and regret. "What would you have us do?"

     "We need to break the spell that allowed Aemon to rise from his grave."

     "And how will we do that?" Morvan asked, looking around the room. He might be inexperienced as a Matriarch, he at least seemed to know what the others were talking about.

     Celyna was still trying to figure out how everything that was being said, fit into what she had been taught. Her mother had always had her secrets, but as Heir, she had the right to know which dangers lurked in the darkness. It seemed that even that had been held back from her.

     "He created the spell with blood, so it can only be undone with blood," Cain answered, seeming calm despite the tension in his muscles. "The House of Cerin might no longer sit in the Council, but they are not gone. There still is an Heir. His blood will break the Dark King's spell."