Chapter 53 – Bloodhound's Truth
The chamber fell into suffocating silence.
The man cloaked in mist—neither fully alive nor dead—stepped forward with the weight of centuries trailing behind him. His voice was not just a sound, but a memory, echoing across time and soul, and Selene could feel it in her marrow.
"I am Thorian," he said, removing his hood to reveal a face carved from shadows. Faint tattoos of an ancient language glowed beneath his skin, pulsing with cursed magic. "The first omega bound to the Abyss. The first to wear its mark. The first to be betrayed."
Selene didn't flinch. "You cursed the crown. Why?"
Thorian's eyes settled on her, not cruel—but hollow. "Because love made me foolish. And the Night King who once held me—he made me a weapon."
The High Coven stirred, whispers rising.
Valerian stepped protectively in front of Selene, but she touched his arm. "No, let him speak."
Thorian nodded slightly. "The prophecy you carry, Selene... was once mine. I was meant to unite the bloodlines, not burn them. But they feared an omega with power. Feared a crown that bent for someone like me. So they took it. Twisted it. And left me in the Abyss."
"You let the crown rot," Selene said, voice sharpening. "And now you come to warn me?"
"I came," Thorian said, "because I know what it's doing to you already."
The room dimmed.
Selene's heart thundered. "What do you mean?"
Thorian's gaze pierced into her. "That hunger you feel? The pull beneath your skin? The way your bones ache when Valerian touches you? The Abyss isn't just a crown—it's a living entity. And it feeds off love."
Valerian stilled.
Selene's breath caught.
"It thrives on your bond. And if it gets too strong, it will demand a sacrifice," Thorian whispered. "The same sacrifice I made. The same that nearly killed the last queen."
Selene's voice was barely a whisper. "It wants Valerian."
Thorian nodded once. "Or you."
A cold dread washed over the room like a tidal wave.
Valerian stepped beside her, his arm brushing hers. "Then we'll starve it."
"You can't," Thorian said. "You can only rewrite the crown. But that means entering the Heart of the Abyss. And no one who goes there ever returns the same."
"I don't care," Selene said. Her voice was fire now. "I'm not letting this curse take one more life."
Thorian looked at her—long, quiet. "Then you'll need to find the True Bond. A vow stronger than prophecy. A blood oath older than fate."
Valerian met her eyes.
There it was again—that tether. That invisible, impossible thread that bound them tighter than breath.
"I'll go with her," he said. "Into the Abyss. Into death. Into anything. She's mine."
The crown pulsed on her soul, glowing bright gold in the shape of a flame behind her eyes.
Selene turned to the High Coven. "Gather the elders. Ready the scrolls. We leave in three nights. I will find the truth. I will unmake the curse."
And the voice of the Abyss whispered within her...
> Long live the cursed Queen.
---
End of Chapter 53 –