Moonlit Vows Of Vengeance-Chapter 53: The Queen

Athena pov

The captain’s eyes flicked to the prince. He hadn’t dismounted.

"You will be judged," she said simply.

I stared up at the spire.

"Judged by who?"

"The prince’s mother."

The guards marched me through towering obsidian doors into the spire. Inside, the air was thick with power—heavy, electric, old. The halls pulsed with soft white veins that glowed beneath the black walls like blood flowing through stone. My breath came shallow. Every instinct screamed danger.

"This place wasn’t built by werewolves," I muttered.

"No," said the captain coldly. "It was built by the blood of gods."

We climbed a winding staircase lined with silver script. The words shifted when I looked at them, writhing like they didn’t want to be seen. At the top, we entered a great circular chamber, its dome stretching so high it vanished into shadow. The floor beneath us shimmered with light trapped in crystal.

At the far end, a woman stood waiting.

The queen.

She wore robes of midnight and pearl, the fabric whispering like water as she turned. Her silver hair flowed like a river down her back, and her eyes were moon-pale, sharp as broken glass and it settled on me like I was something scraped off her feet. But there was power in her presence, ancient and terrifying.

She didn’t speak at first. Just looked.

And I realized—she wasn’t just royalty.

She was something else.

Something more.

"So," she said at last, voice soft and venom-laced. "The stray claims to have killed a goddess."

I straightened. "I’m not a stray neither am I a threat to you all. I’ve said it over and over again. The king lied. He used me."

She raised her hand. "Shut up now."

The command hit me like a blow. My throat clamped shut. I tried to speak again and failed.

Her eyes narrowed. "You are not of this realm. You reek of shadow and foreign blood." She stepped forward, studying me like I was a puzzle. "You are... wolf-born."

My heart slammed. " what exactly are you?"

"I smell it on you. Old blood. Cursed and sacred." Her fingers twitched. "You should not be here."

"Neither should he be in my world," I rasped, finding my voice again. "The king. He tore through the realms. He shattered the veil. He is trying to disrupt my world’s balance. Don’t you think that should be investigated too?"

"Lies, no one from this world has crossed to another world" she said.

"I saw him! I followed him! He told me the Moon Goddess was dying which now I’m doubting completely—then made the death real by destroying her essence."

"You speak in riddles and blasphemy," she snapped. "And your presence threatens the balance of this world."

"I didn’t come here by choice," I growled. "I’m not your enemy."

"You are an anomaly," she said. "And in this realm, anomalies are contained."

The guards stepped forward. I felt the surge of panic rise.

"I won’t go back in that cage."

"You will go somewhere far worse if you resist."

The queen turned her back. "Take her to the lower cells. Bind her in chains of dusk. If she shifts, she dies."

Chains of dusk. My breath caught.

Those were used in legend—to bind creatures of both spirit and flesh. If they wrapped those around me...

No. I had to get out. Now.

I acted on instinct.

I spun, grabbed the wrist of the nearest guard, twisted—and felt bone snap. He howled as I yanked his blade from his belt. My body burned, every muscle screaming, but I surged forward with a snarl.

"Stop her!" someone roared.

The prince had appeared at the door. Our eyes met again and I saw the flicker of surprise, maybe even admiration, in his face.

But he didn’t move to help.

He just watched.

I ducked a swing, rolled under a spear, and slashed at a thigh, there was more blood, another scream. I hit the stairs running, feet barely touching the steps. My heart pounded, blood singing in my ears.

Then I felt the shift coming.

My bones stretched, my skin rippling like water. The wolf within howled.

My hands twisted into claws. My eyes sharpened, hearing exploded outward. The pain was like fire—but I welcomed it.

Fur rippled over my back. My spine cracked. My mouth split into fangs.

They wanted to see what I was?

Let them.

I burst from the top of the tower in full werewolf form, dark and snarling, muscles coiled like steel. I slammed into two guards at the gates, they went flying. Screams echoed from below as the camp saw what I had become.

I raced across the crystal field, faster than sound, breath ragged, teeth bared.

But I wasn’t free yet.

I reached the outer courtyard only to find a glowing barrier slamming into place like a wall of ice. I skidded to a stop, claws scraping the ground. Magic crackled in the air.

They’d trapped me inside.

"No," I snarled. I slammed my body into the barrier—it held. Again and again—nothing.

Behind me, more guards were flooding from the tower.

The prince walked out last. Calmly and collected.

A pulse of power rippled outward from his hands.

The barrier shimmered and then collapsed.

I didn’t hesitate.

I leapt through the gap and vanished into the trees.

---

I don’t know how long I ran.

The strange forest was made of whispering silver trees, tall and ghost-like. The ground was soft with ash and starlight. Everything felt off, like the rules of nature didn’t quite apply.

But I kept going.

Eventually, I collapsed beneath a twisted root, panting, shifting back to human. My body was trembling, ribs aching from the transformation. I lay there, cold and half-naked, blood dried in patches.

But I was alive.

And free.

I closed my eyes and tried to gather my thoughts. The queen was dangerous and way too powerful. The prince... something about him unsettled me. He hadn’t stopped the capture. And he hadn’t killed me, either.