The fog trembled.
Snow drifted sideways, pushed by something massive moving beneath the white curtain.
Owain's hold around me tightened until I could feel the tremor in his arms.
"Stay close," he whispered, voice hoarse.
"Don't move."
Yllas stepped forward, wings expanding into a protective arc around us.
Dragonfire flickered at the corners of his lips.
Gerrin's staff hummed nervously in his hand.
Helion's tail lashed in agitation, claws already extended.
The fog thinned—
And then parted.
Revealing them.
Rows upon rows of figures.
Tall.
Silent.
Motionless.
Armor made of bone and obsidian.
Eyes like dull, hollow lanterns.
Bodies sculpted from stone and shadow.
Weapons fused to their arms as if forged from their souls.
None breathed.
None blinked.
None lived.
And yet—
They moved.
The first step echoed like a drumbeat across the snow.
Thud.
Yllas stiffened.
Gerrin's markings glowed sharply.
Helion swore under his breath.
Owain snarled deep in his chest.
"What are those?" I whispered, voice shaking.
Gerrin answered slowly, reverently:
"The Forgotten."
My heart lurched.
"The… who?"
Yllas's voice was low, grave.
"Soldiers created by the First Queen. A secret army forged from stone, bone, and fallen magic."
Gerrin nodded grimly.
"Unkillable. Unstoppable. Bound to one command."
"And that is?" Helion asked.
Gerrin swallowed.
His gaze flicked to me.
"To protect… the Queen."
Owain's breathing hitched.
Helion groaned. "So they're on her side?"
"No," Gerrin whispered.
"They obey bloodline, not intent."
Yllas's jaw clenched.
"If they recognize her Beast King heritage—"
"They will see her as his," Gerrin finished, "and eliminate all threats around her."
Owain's grip on me tightened.
"So they'll… try to kill you three?"
Gerrin inhaled sharply.
"No. They'll try to kill everyone BUT her."
Owain bared his teeth.
"Over my DEAD—"
The Forgotten army moved.
The First Wave
The ground rumbled.
Snow exploded upward as dozens of armored stone soldiers slammed into motion, sprinting with inhuman speed.
Owain thrust me behind him.
"STAY DOWN!"
The first Forgotten soldier lunged—
Yllas shot forward, wings snapping wide.
Fwshhhh—
A blast of dragonfire—bright gold—hit the soldier at point-blank range.
The soldier didn't burn.
It absorbed the flame.
Then swung its blade arm at Yllas.
Yllas barely dodged, the strike slicing a deep gouge into the frozen ground.
Gerrin gasped.
"They absorb magic!"
"Wonderful," Helion muttered, launching himself into the fray.
He slammed into a soldier with enough strength to break a tree.
The soldier simply staggered—
then grabbed Helion by the throat and hurled him across the snow.
"HELION!" I cried.
He hit a tree with a sickening crack.
"Ow…" Helion groaned, sliding down the trunk.
Owain snarled, eyes blazing amber.
"Don't worry about him—LOOK AT ME."
But the next wave of soldiers surged forward.
"OWAIN!" I reached for him.
He finally snapped—
and shifted.
Owain Loses Control
Not like before.
Not the controlled, partial shift.
A full, violent, ancient shift.
Bones cracked.
Muscles tore.
Fur burst from his skin.
And the wolf that emerged—
was not the gentle warrior who carried me.
This Owain was massive.
Primal.
A beast of fang, claw, and raw instinct.
Gerrin whispered in awe.
"The Alpha blood…"
Yllas stepped back, eyes narrowing. "No. That's not just alpha."
Helion groaned from the ground.
"That's ancient. Wolf-king level."
Owain roared so loudly the snow lifted off the ground.
He launched forward—
biting through the arm of a Forgotten soldier
tearing it apart with bone-crushing force
throwing another soldier into a boulder so hard it cracked.
But—
The soldiers reformed.
Stone reshaped.
Bone fused.
Armor restored.
Owain snarled furiously.
"OWAIN!" I shouted.
"They don't die!"
Owain skidded to a stop—
turned—
and sprinted straight back to me.
He grabbed me by the collar of my cloak and shoved me behind him—
literally throwing me clear of the fight.
"Stay BACK!" he growled, voice layered with wolf and man.
My chest burned.
Rune pulsing white-hot.
"Owain—your back—your side—"
He didn't listen.
He dove back into the battlefield, ripping, clawing, shredding—
but the Forgotten kept coming.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Marching like a cold tidal wave.
Helion jumped back into the fight, claws glowing gold.
Gerrin muttered a prayer before unleashing forbidden silver magic.
Yllas took to the air, wings barely functioning, blasting white-hot fire.
And still—
They didn't stop.
Not until their eyes turned toward me.
The one living heir.
The center of their purpose.
Their salvation.
Their master.
Their prisoner.
They Bow
The soldiers suddenly halted mid-charge.
Every one of them turned toward me—
—and knelt.
The ground shook from the weight of their bows.
Gerrin froze.
Yllas landed, stunned.
Helion blinked. "…Well, that's new."
Owain growled, massive wolf form shielding me entirely.
The Forgotten raised their heads—
and spoke as one:
"Daughter of Two Thrones.
Command us."
Ice shot through my veins.
"I—I'm not—"
"Command."
My heart pounded.
I shook my head.
"I don't want control. I don't want any of this—"
A deeper voice cut through the air.
Not the Forgotten.
Not any living beast.
The Beast King.
"Command them.
Or they will act on instinct."
My stomach twisted.
"What… instinct?"
Owain snarled viciously, stepping in front of me.
The Beast King's voice was calm.
"To eliminate anything that threatens you."
Yllas stepped backward, fire dimming.
Gerrin's expression cracked.
Helion stopped breathing.
Owain's massive wolf form shuddered.
"No," I whispered.
"No—no—NO—STOP!"
The Forgotten army rose.
Their eyes glowed bright violet.
They turned toward—
Owain.
"No!" I screamed. "STOP—STOP—DON'T TOUCH HIM—"
The Forgotten stilled.
Unmoving.
Silent.
Waiting.
Owain looked over his shoulder at me—
eyes wild.
Desperate.
Terrified.
"Kanah," Gerrin whispered softly, "your power is interpreting any strong emotional tie as danger to you."
Yllas added, voice tight,
"If you don't command them, they'll kill whoever they think is too close."
Owain stepped forward, forcing himself between me and the army again—even though it put him at the center of the danger.
His wolf voice came out low, pleading:
"Kanah…
tell them to stand down."
I swallowed hard.
"I order you…"
My voice cracked.
The Forgotten leaned in, waiting.
"I order you to—"
But cold power shoved into my mind.
The Beast King.
"Say kill."
"No!"
"Say it."
STOP IT—
Owain's snarl tore the air.
"Get out of her mind!"
Yllas unleashed another blast of fire.
Gerrin cast a shield around me.
Helion slashed at the air.
But nothing stopped the Beast King's whisper.
"Kill them."
No.
"Kill the wolf first."
NO.
Owain's fur bristled.
His body coiled to fight a hundred stone warriors alone.
"Kanah," he whispered, barely audible,
voice trembling like a wound,
"don't say it."
I burst into tears.
"I won't," I sobbed.
"Owain—I won't—I promise—"
The Beast King growled in my skull.
"You cannot resist me forever."
He tried to force the command again—
And the white rune pulsed.
Everything froze.
The Beast King's voice stuttered.
"…what…?"
The rune pulsed harder—
brighter—
fiercer.
White light erupted across the battlefield.
The Forgotten soldiers recoiled.
Owain shielded me with his body.
Gerrin, Yllas, Helion were thrown backward.
I stood.
Not by choice.
By instinct.
Power rippled through me—
calm
controlled
certain.
The white rune lifted from my chest like floating light.
I spoke.
But it wasn't loud.
It wasn't angry.
It was a whisper.
"I command you…
to sleep."
The Forgotten bowed once.
And collapsed like puppets cut from strings.
Stone shattered.
Armor fell.
Silence swept across the battlefield.
Owain shifted back into human form in shock.
His chest heaved as he ran barefoot across the snow and grabbed me in his arms.
"Kanah—Kanah—are you—"
He stopped.
He stared at me.
Terrified.
"What… what did you do?" he whispered.
I trembled.
"I don't know."
Yllas stepped forward slowly.
"That… power… was not the Queen."
Gerrin swallowed.
"And it wasn't the Beast King."
Helion's voice dropped.
"So what the hell was it?"
My knees buckled.
Owain caught me instantly.
Shock rushed through me—
nausea—
pain.
My vision swam.
"Kanah—hey—focus on me—stay awake—"
"Owain," I whispered,
voice small, scared,
"I think…"
I clutched his shirt.
"I think there's a third bloodline."
Owain paled.
Yllas staggered.
Gerrin froze.
Helion swore violently.
"Owain…" I whispered again.
Something warm dripped from my nose.
Blood.
My body finally gave out.
I collapsed into his arms—
as something ancient woke inside me.
And the world turned white.