His Bride, Her Revenge

The storm had not ceased for three relentless days.

Lightning danced ceaselessly over the jagged peaks of the Valean mountains, casting an eerie glow through the roiling black clouds. Every crack of thunder rolled like a drumbeat, shaking the earth beneath their feet as if something ancient, something long dormant, had finally stirred from its slumber deep beneath the soil.

And indeed, something had.

In the crater where the first bolt of lightning had struck, the rain fell in sheets, but not a single drop touched the ground. The air above the crater shimmered, repelling the falling water like an invisible shield. Inside that strange bubble, the earth was dry, untouched by the storm.

At the center, Cambria Vale knelt in perfect stillness.

A ring of violet flames circled her like a living barrier, flickering softly but with an intensity that spoke of power beyond mortal reckoning. Her skin glowed faintly with silver veins of energy pulsing beneath the surface, her breath steady but slow, as though she were suspended between life and death.

Her eyes remained closed.

In the palm of her hand rested a crown unlike any ever seen in the realms.

Blacker than the deepest void. Forged from shadows and living flame. It pulsed like a beating heart alive, sentient, and waiting.

Evelyn arrived first, riding hard through the wild storm and the shattered ruins of what was once the great Valean court. Her horse’s hooves slipped in the mud, but she barely noticed. Her eyes were fixed on the glowing figure within the crater as she dismounted hastily, boots sinking into the soaked earth.

Her breath caught when she saw her sister.

"Cambria..." she whispered, voice trembling.

No answer.

Steeling herself, Evelyn stepped into the ring of violet fire.

The flames parted for her like a breath, as if recognizing the blood they shared.

And then Cambria’s eyes snapped open.

Evelyn staggered back involuntarily.

Those eyes were not wholly Cambria’s anymore.

Yes, they glowed violet, but beneath that shimmer was something older, darker, something vast and unknowable.

"Where have you been?" Evelyn asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Cambria rose slowly, her movements fluid and deliberate, like water flowing against gravity. There was a calm in her that was both comforting and terrifying.

"I was nowhere," Cambria said softly, her voice echoing with a strange resonance. "And everywhere. I walked to the beginning of the Crown. I spoke with the first Queen. I traversed the bones of the Eternal Citadel."

She stepped from the violet circle, her feet touching the earth with a measured grace.

"I died," she said. "And then I chose to return."

Evelyn swallowed hard. "Why?"

Cambria’s eyes darkened, the silver veins pulsing in time with her words.

"Because someone took my throne."

Two days later, within the fractured walls of the Blackwood Throne Hall, tension choked the air.

The Council chambers, once a symbol of power and unity, were now riddled with discord. Noble voices rose in bitter argument, each faction vying to claim control of the shattered regions left leaderless in Cambria’s absence.

Maddox stood against the cold stone wall, arms folded tightly, watching the chaos unfold with grim silence.

Until the heavy doors slammed open.

A sudden gust extinguished half the torches lining the chamber.

Every voice fell silent.

Cambria stepped inside.

She wore black.

A sleek, obsidian tunic clung to her like armor, damp from the endless rain, her hair falling loose and wild about her shoulders like a warrior risen from the underworld.

Above her head, the black crown hovered, never touching, never resting, but orbiting like a living thing bound by unseen chains.

Behind her, Evelyn and Lucien followed silently.

Maddox’s jaw tightened as he took a step forward. "Cam..."

Her gaze locked on his.

For a heartbeat, it was as if nothing had changed.

Then everything did.

She turned slowly toward the council.

"You were saying?" Her voice was low, calm yet cutting as a razor’s edge.

"Your Majesty," stammered Lord Heller, the eldest councilman, eyes wide with shock. "We believed you had perished."

"You were quick to replace me," Cambria said, voice colder now.

Lord Heller bowed deeply. "Forgive us. We only wished to preserve order."

"You preserved your power," she said, eyes sweeping over the assembly. "But that ends now."

She moved toward the throne, her steps echoing through the silent hall.

Then, without hesitation, she turned her back on it.

Gasps rippled through the room.

"I will not sit on this seat again."

Whispers erupted.

"I didn’t come back to rule from the throne."

Her eyes burned with fierce conviction. "I came back to destroy what made it necessary."

Lucien exhaled sharply. Evelyn’s gaze sharpened.

Maddox took a step closer, voice tight. "Cambria, what are you saying?"

She raised her hand. The crown above her head spun faster, a low hum filling the chamber, vibrating through stone and bone.

"I saw the root of all this "

"The experiments."

"The betrayals."

"The legacy of blood."

"It all began with the first Crown and the power it promised."

"It corrupted kings."

"It broke queens."

"It turned the realm into a battlefield."

"I won’t wear it."

"I will end it."

With a sharp flick of her fingers, she flung the crown high into the air.

Then, with a deep breath, she unleashed the energy she had brought back from the Citadel.

The chamber erupted in brilliant light.

When the blinding glow faded

The crown was gone.

Only a scorched circle remained burned into the stone floor.

Before anyone could react, a slow, mocking clap echoed from the corridor.

Heads turned sharply.

A figure leaned casually against a pillar.

Clad in midnight-blue armor trimmed with blood-red.

Eyes cold. Cruel. All too familiar.

"Impressive show, Cambria," the man said smoothly, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Very dramatic. Very noble."

Cambria’s face paled.

Maddox instinctively stepped forward, shielding her.

"No..." he said, voice thick with disbelief.

The figure pushed off the pillar, stepping fully into the light.

Knox Raye.

Alive.

Smiling.

"I must admit," Knox said, voice low and dangerous, "I never thought you’d come back from the grave."

"But I’m glad you did."

Cambria’s voice trembled not with fear, but with burning fury.

"You’re dead."

"Was," he agreed with a shrug. "But you know how these ancient programs work: one failsafe here, one prototype there..."

Lucien’s eyes narrowed, dread creeping into his voice. "You activated the Last Fragment."

Knox winked. "Only took me a decade to crack it."

His gaze locked on Cambria. "You destroyed the Crown."

"But you forgot one thing, sister-in-law."

He raised his hand.

Black flames roared to life in his palm.

"I don’t need the Crown."

"Because I am the Crown now."

Far beneath the ruins, in a sealed chamber forgotten by time, a faint pulse of light flickered inside an ancient containment cell.

A shadow moved.

Then another.

Then an arm smooth, metallic, and alive.

A crackling voice buzzed faintly through the speaker.

"PROJECT FINAL PROTOCOL... ACTIVATING..."

"RELEASING SUBJECT ZERO."

In the throne room, Knox’s eyes bore into Cambria’s.

"This is your final game, Queen."

His voice was cold steel.

"Let’s see how long you last... without a throne to hide behind."

Outside, the storm raged anew.

But this time, the skies cracked open.

Not with rain.

A rift tore across the horizon, bleeding shadows and ancient power.

And through it stepped a figure

Neither human nor machine.

A weapon the world had forgotten.

Cambria’s breath caught.

For the first time since her return

She felt something she hadn’t in a long time.

Fear.