Chapter 9: A Queen’s Power Awakens

The shadows called her name.

Low whispers, curling through the chamber like living things, their voices wrapping around her, sinking into her skin.

Seraphina stood at the center of the ritual circle, her breath shallow, her body still thrumming from the almost-claiming with Orin. The echoes of his touch, of Kier's challenge, of Rael's temptation—all of it had led her here.

To this moment.

To power.

The ancient script carved into the obsidian floor pulsed, crimson light flickering up in slow waves, licking at her bare feet. The air was thick, charged, the weight of it pressing into her chest, forcing its way into her lungs.

The elders, cloaked and silent, stood in a half-circle around her. Their presence was heavy, a weight in the room, their unseen eyes burning into her.

"You must surrender," one of them intoned, a low, resonant tone that seemed to vibrate through her bones. "Only then will the Underworld recognize you as its queen."

Surrender.

The word was a foreign taste, bitter and unwanted. It felt like asking her to stop breathing, to stop fighting, to stop being.

She had spent her entire existence fighting—against those who betrayed her, against the flames that had devoured her, against the three powerful males who wanted to claim her.

And now they expected her to simply give in?

But the shadows… they called.

A shudder rolled down her spine as the magic thickened, pressing against her, seeping into her very marrow. It wasn't just inside her—it was her now, rewriting her, twisting, molding, awakening.

Her knees buckled, but she did not fall. Instead, she gasped, her fingers clawing at the air as her body burned. Not with flame, but with something far darker.

The pleasure was unbearable. A sharp, twisting force licked up her spine, coiling between her legs, setting her nerves on fire. Her lips parted, a choked sound escaping her throat.

It was too much. Too much.

"gods…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, raw with need.

The darkness filled her, stretched her, made her writhe. She needed… she didn't know what. Only that her body thrummed with a desperate, primal hunger.

The air shifted, a ripple of power announcing their presence. Kier stepped forward.

Golden eyes molten, wings outstretched, his power rolling through the chamber in crashing waves. His gaze raked over her—slow, devouring—his lips curving at the way her thighs pressed together.

Then Rael.

His smirk lazy and knowing, his pupils blown wide, his gaze fixed on her with an almost disturbing intensity. He watched her struggle, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement, as if her torment was a performance crafted solely for him. As if the sight of her writhing was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

And Orin.

Predatory, barely holding himself back, his fists clenched, his gaze locked on her as if she were something to be devoured.

The sight of them, their power, their desire, sent another wave of heat through her, intensifying the hunger, making her body clench and writhe.

Kier was the first to move. His fingers, cool against her burning skin, tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Tell me, little queen," he murmured, his voice a low, seductive rumble. "What does it feel like?"

Seraphina's breath hitched, her nails digging into her palms. "Like… like I'm starving," she rasped, her voice thick with need.

Kier's smirk deepened, a flash of wicked pleasure in his eyes. "Then it seems we have a queen in need of… relief."

Rael chuckled darkly, circling her like a wolf scenting prey. "Shame we can't help her yet. Not until she fully surrenders."

He leaned closer, his breath hot against her ear. "Though watching you like this… it's a delicious torture."

Orin growled, low and dangerous. "She's close."

Too close.

The hunger clawed at her insides, making her thighs press together, making her body pulse in time with the dark energy wrapped around her.

The Underworld demanded her submission. It wanted her ruined. And her mates…

They wanted to watch her fall apart.

Kier's thumb brushed over her bottom lip, his voice nothing but sin. "You think you can fight it, don't you?"

Her nails bit into her palms. "I—"

"You can't." His smirk deepened. "That's the thing about power, love. You don't take it. It takes you."

A flicker of heat pulsed through her core. Rael's chuckle was a slow, decadent thing. "She's still trying to resist." His fingers grazed her bare shoulder, tracing the edge of her collarbone, watching the way her breath stuttered. "Fucking beautiful."

Seraphina bit the inside of her cheek. She hated how much she wanted them. Hated how her body craved their touch, their teeth, their hands.

"Say it," Orin growled, his restraint fraying, his voice raw. "Tell me exactly what you want."

"I want..." she started, her voice a strained whisper, "I want...relief."

"And how do you want that relief?" Rael purred, his finger tracing the line of her jaw. "Do you want to beg for it? Do you want to scream for it?"

"Rael," Kier warned, his voice low, but Rael just laughed.

"What? She's the queen of the Underworld, isn't she? Surely she can handle a little… honesty."

Orin stepped closer, his body radiating heat, his presence overwhelming. "You want to give in," he growled, his voice thick with desire. "You want to let go."

"I…" Seraphina's breath hitched, her body trembling. "I don't know…"

"Yes, you do," Kier murmured, his thumb stroking her cheek. "You feel it, don't you? The darkness calling to you. The hunger that only we can satisfy."

Orin's voice was gravel, rough with restraint. "Give in, Seraphina. Stop fighting it."

Her body trembled.

She wanted to.

Fuck, she wanted to.

But she wasn't weak.

She lifted her chin, forcing her voice to stay steady. "What if I don't?"

Kier's grin was nothing short of wicked. "Then we get to watch you fall apart."

Rael's fingers ghosted over her hip, barely touching, and still it sent a sharp bolt of pleasure through her. "And we do love a good show."

Orin's jaw flexed, his fists tightening. "Seraphina." A warning. A plea.

The shadows pulsed.

The magic coiled tighter.

Heat rolled through her in unbearable waves, twisting, consuming—

Mine.

The voice wasn't hers.

It was deeper, darker—something ancient, something that had lived in the Underworld long before she ever touched its soil.

Her breath hitched.

A whisper of power slid between her thighs, stroking, teasing, making her gasp.

The pleasure hit her hard, stealing the air from her lungs, making her head tip back.

And Kier—

Kier moaned.

Low and deep, as if the sight of her losing herself was enough to wreck him.

"Fuck," he muttered, his pupils blown wide.

Rael looked just as affected, his smirk gone, his tongue sweeping over his bottom lip. "She's so close."

Orin's jaw flexed, his fists tightening at his sides. His chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, a muscle in his throat shifting—like he was swallowing down a growl. His fingers twitched once, barely noticeable, as if he was resisting the primal urge to reach for her. To claim.

Seraphina let out a strangled sound, her body shaking, the darkness owning her now, bending her to its will.

She was—

She wasn't in control.

Her thighs clenched, her lips parting, pleasure rolling through her in thick, dirty waves—

And then it stopped. Ripped away. Gone.

Seraphina gasped, her body locking up, the sudden loss leaving her shaking, desperate, furious.

Kier laughed. Low. Dark. Fucking delighted.

"Poor thing," Rael mused, his smirk back in place. "You were right there, weren't you?"

Orin didn't speak. Didn't move. His eyes burned, his chest rising and falling like he was one second away from snapping.

Seraphina trembled. "I hate you," she bit out, her voice raw.

Kier's teeth flashed in a grin. "Liar."

Rael tsked, his fingers dragging over her wrist, making her shiver. "Admit it, love. You want this."

She clenched her jaw. But the shadows knew the truth.

She did. She wanted them. Wanted the power. Wanted everything.

Seraphina shivered, caught between agony and ecstasy, knowing that once she gave in, once she surrendered to the darkness and to them, there would be no turning back.

"Surrender, Seraphina." The elders' voices echoed, a unified command. "Become one with the shadows."

The command rippled through the chamber, heavy as fate.

Kier's smirk widened, pure sin curling at the edges of his lips. "Finally," he murmured, his golden eyes burning into her.

Rael chuckled, slow and cruel, tracing the line of his jaw as he drank in her torment. "Oh, this is going to be fucking beautiful."

Orin exhaled sharply, his wings twitching, his hands clenching into fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. He shook his head once, as if trying to clear it, but the hunger in his gaze betrayed him.

The crimson light pulsed, the darkness coiled tighter, and Seraphina's body arched, her voice a choked gasp. The hunger was a living thing, a beast inside her, demanding to be fed.

The darkness curled around her, a lover and a monster. Waiting.

She stood at the precipice, her body screaming, her soul unraveling.

The moment she surrendered—

She would never be hers again.

She should resist. She should fight. But gods… she didn't want to. She wanted to fall. To drown in this.

END OF CHAPTER 9