The Queen Awakens in Blood

The earth trembled as if the world itself feared my return.

The ancient coffin cracked, its centuries-old seal splintering like brittle bone. Crimson light seeped through the cracks, illuminating the chamber with a bloody glow. Stone walls shook, dust fell in streams, and the heavy air vibrated with the pulse of ancient magic.

I inhaled sharply, the breath burning my throat. Life. After a thousand years, I could smell it again—the faint sweetness of blood lingering in the air. My fingers, pale and slender, rose from the coffin’s shadow and pressed against the lid. With a single push, the heavy slab flew off, shattering against the floor.

I rose from the coffin, shadows wrapping around me like a cloak. My black hair cascaded over my shoulders, silk clung to my body as though even time itself dared not touch me. Red spider lilies bloomed across the cracked stone, their petals curling like drops of flame.

I opened my eyes. Crimson light cut through the dark, glowing like molten fire. My lips curved into a smile.

A thousand years… and still, my name echoes in their blood.

“Nyxaria Veyra.”

The voice came from the crypt’s edge. Cold. Steady. A man’s voice.

I turned, and there he was.

A mortal hunter—or so he seemed. He stood tall, broad-shouldered, storm-gray eyes burning with resolve. His blade shimmered in the dim light, forged of silver and enchantments. His stance was unyielding, but I could hear his heart. Quickened. Alive.

I stepped forward, my heels clicking against the stone. Shadows rippled with my movement, filling the chamber with a suffocating presence.

“You dare to speak my name,” I said, my voice velvet and steel, “yet you are not kneeling.”

The man lifted his blade higher, pointing it at my chest. “Nyxaria Veyra, Queen of Eternal Night. The world has waited a thousand years for your death. I will be the one to deliver it.”

I laughed, a sound low and dangerous, echoing across the tomb.

“Kill me?” My crimson eyes narrowed with amusement. “Hunter, do you understand what you’ve done? You’ve awoken not a woman… but a storm.”

His jaw clenched. His blade did not waver.

“What is your name, little mortal?” I asked, stepping closer, each word dripping with both threat and curiosity.

“Kael Ardyn,” he said.

I smirked, my fangs flashing. “Kael,” I repeated softly, savoring the taste of it. “You should not have told me that. Now it will be carved into my memory… when I drink you dry.”

In a blur, I appeared before him, my hand seizing his blade. Crimson sparks burned against my skin, blood dripping down my palm. I did not flinch.

Leaning close, my lips brushed the air by his ear. “Do you know what happens to men who dare raise steel against me?”

He met my gaze, fire against fire. “They die.”

A slow, wicked smile spread across my lips. “No, Kael. They kneel.”

The spider lilies blazed around us, their petals scattering as the power between hunter and queen clashed like fire and storm.

And so began the war of blood and desire.

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