Chapter 55

Chapter 55 – The Cursed Throne Reclaimed

"They said no one could ever leave the Abyss unchanged. They were right."

The sun didn't rise the same after you came back from the Abyss.

Its light was too golden, too warm—as if the world was trying to forget what they had seen, what they had survived. But Selene remembered. Valerian remembered. And their bond, once tangled in curse and prophecy, now burned with something deeper.

Freedom.

Yet freedom came with a price.

As they crossed into the lands of the Night Court again, a strange stillness blanketed the air. No birds. No wind. Even the shadows seemed to bow in silence. The portal had closed behind them hours ago, but the ripple of its power still echoed through the realm like a bell tolling for a new era.

And every kingdom was listening.

—

Valerian's hand never left the hilt of his sword. Selene had changed.

Not just in power—but in presence.

The mark on her wrist—once just a symbol of her omega blood—now shimmered with threads of ancient silver. The halves of the Abyss Crown she shattered had melted into her skin like molten fate. And she didn't walk like prey anymore.

She walked like prophecy fulfilled.

"The Council won't welcome us," Valerian said quietly as they neared the gate to Noctris, capital of the vampire kingdoms. "They'll say the crown corrupted you."

Selene gave a wry smile. "Let them try to say it to my face."

—

Nova and Bea were waiting at the high gates.

Nova's eyes widened when he saw them. Not just alive—but changed. Bea took a cautious step forward. "You touched the heart of the Abyss?"

"I shattered it," Selene said.

Nova blinked. "Holy f—"

Valerian stepped past them. "We need the court assembled. Now."

"They already called a meeting," Bea said, her expression serious. "The moment the sky cracked, the elders started panicking. Rumors are spreading. They think you brought something back with you."

"They're not wrong," Selene murmured. "We did."

—

Inside the Grand Hall of Noctris, the Night Court gathered.

Seven elders stood on the dais. Hundreds of vampires and emissaries lined the marble floors. The stained glass above cast blood-red light across Selene's skin as she stepped forward, no longer just an omega.

Now, she was something else.

The High Elder stood, voice trembling. "You were never meant to survive. The Abyss takes what it claims."

"I didn't survive," Selene said, lifting her hand. "I rebuilt myself."

The court gasped as her veins lit with silver fire—the magic of the forgotten crown, pulsing through her like living starlight.

"You cannot claim the throne!" one elder barked. "You're not a queen!"

Valerian's voice echoed through the chamber like thunder.

"She is. She shattered the curse. She silenced the Abyss. And she stands here unbroken. That is more than any ruler has ever done!"

The chamber trembled. Not with magic—but belief.

Selene took the final step up the dais.

"I don't want your throne," she said, her voice steel. "I want to burn it down and build something better."

Silence.

Then... a single clap.

Bea.

Then Nova.

Then, slowly, the crowd.

It started like a whisper—but rose into a storm.

They were hers now.

Not because of prophecy.

But because she chose herself.

—

Later, in the throne room ruins, Valerian stood at her side.

"You're not afraid anymore," he whispered, touching her cheek.

"No," she said. "The Abyss taught me that fear is a story we inherit. But love... love is the one we write."

He smiled. "Then write it with me."

And in the ruins of a cursed legacy, they began.

—

End of Chapter 55 – Next: "A Queen with No Crown" (Chapter 56)