The forest trembled.
Bella felt it in her bones—a low, guttural hum that vibrated through the soil. Trees bowed as the creature stepped into the clearing, dragging darkness behind it like a second skin. Its head scraped the low branches, splitting bark and snapping limbs with ease.
It didn't walk.
It slithered, lurched, oozed into the world like something dredged from a nightmare too old for names.
Its limbs were elongated and disproportionate, as if stitched together from the fallen. Its hands were claws—each finger ending in a glinting shard of bone. Its mouth was a jagged void, torn open from ear to ear, filled with crooked teeth made of broken silver crowns, still crusted in blood.
And its eyes—were sewn shut.
But Bella felt its gaze all the same.
"What… is that thing?" she whispered.
Kael's voice was ragged as he pulled her behind him.
"The Devourer of Queens. Born from betrayal. Fed by power. It crawled from the ashes of the witch wars—when the royal covens collapsed under their own greed."
He gritted his teeth.
"You sealed it once, Isadora. At the cost of your own life."
Bella couldn't look away.
The creature sniffed the air, its blind head tilting toward her. Threads dangled from its stitched sockets, twitching like spider legs in a breeze.
It smelled her soul.
"Kael," she said slowly, "I don't remember how to fight this thing."
"Then don't," he said, muscles coiling, voice full of quiet urgency. "Just survive. I'll distract it. You run to the river and follow the moonlight. The Witchgate will be there. You'll know what to do when you see it."
Bella's voice cracked.
"You'll die."
"If I do, make it mean something."
Without waiting, Kael dropped to all fours—and transformed.
Flesh ripped. Fur exploded from his skin. His jaw elongated with a wet crunch as he became the black wolf once more. This time, larger. Meaner. Fueled by desperation.
He lunged at the Devourer.
The creature reacted too fast.
It spun with impossible grace, snatching Kael mid-air and hurling him against a tree so hard the bark split open. The forest shook.
"KAEL!"
Bella screamed and rushed toward him—but the ground cracked beneath her feet, spewing violet fire.
She fell backward, barely escaping a claw that embedded into the earth like a dagger.
The Devourer turned its blind head toward her.
"You have returned," it said.Its voice was a rasp—no lips, no breath, just words carried on decay."And still… you are weak."
The creature's claw hovered above her chest.
Bella's power surged.
But it wasn't golden anymore.
It was violet.
Pure, dangerous violet—just like the woman in the Vale. Just like her sister.
"You feed me," the Devourer whispered. "Your crown still sings."
Bella's body trembled, not from fear—but from heat. Something inside her awakened. Memories clawed at the edge of her mind: A crown burning in her hands. A voice chanting her name. A kiss before betrayal.
Then…
Everything slowed.
She inhaled—and the flames obeyed.
A ring of violet fire exploded around her, repelling the Devourer back with a shriek. Its body sizzled where the light touched it, bones cracking as it tumbled through trees.
Bella stood, her hands glowing with unstable power.
"You're not getting my crown," she whispered. "Not again."
The fire lifted her slightly off the ground.
Kael stirred nearby, groaning.
"Bella… no… don't burn yourself out—"
But she didn't stop.
She raised both hands and screamed. Her magic spiraled outward in a cyclone, the trees bending violently away. Birds fled the sky. The Devourer roared in rage as the light touched its flesh, black veins erupting across its chest like poisoned roots.
The creature charged.
So did she.
Their collision was an explosion.
Bella's scream mingled with the Devourer's as they slammed together in a blast of violet and black flame. The forest floor cracked. Lightning ripped through the clouds above.
Kael shielded his eyes from the blinding surge—
Then—
Silence.
Ash fell like snow.
The creature was gone.
Bella stood in the center of the clearing… arms limp… steam rising from her shoulders.
Her eyes were completely violet now.
Kael slowly approached her, limping.
"You killed it," he breathed. "You actually—"
Bella didn't answer.
Her hands twitched.
"Bella?"
Her gaze slowly turned to him—and her expression was blank.
Emotionless.
Her lips moved, but it wasn't her voice.
"He was just the beginning," she said softly."The real Devourer still sleeps. And the Witch Crown must feed again."
Then she collapsed.
Kael caught her before she hit the ground.
But as he cradled her limp body, her skin began to glow from within, like something inside her had cracked open.
A mark appeared over her heart—a violet sigil shaped like a burning crown.
Kael's voice trembled.
"Oh gods… the seal is breaking."