Chapter 87

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Chapter 87 – The Blood-Crowned Queen

The world cracked open.

Selene staggered under the weight of the spectral crown, her breath shuddering as the light of every past queen surged through her bloodstream. Her vision blurred—not with weakness, but with time itself.

She saw flames devour temples.

She saw a wolf kneel before a moon-lit throne.

She saw Valerian—centuries ago—standing in a burning cathedral, with blood on his hands and a child's voice whispering, "Find her."

And now, here she stood.

She was her.

A scream split the air.

Not hers—but the Crimson Priestess as she entered the tomb, fury on her face and fire coiling around her staff like a living serpent.

"You!" the Priestess shrieked, pointing at Selene. "You were never meant to wear the crown!"

Selene lifted her chin, her voice like thunder wrapped in velvet.

"No," she said. "I was born to shatter it."

The Priestess raised her staff, unleashing a torrent of flame, but it halted midair, frozen in a crystal of moonlight. Valerian stepped beside Selene, his eyes pitch black, shadows crawling from his fingertips like claws.

"You'll die if you touch her."

The Crimson Priestess hissed. "So will you."

The clash began in a storm of magic.

The tomb shook as spells lit the darkness—silver and crimson colliding with bone-cracking force. Valerian was a tempest in armor, cutting through summoned beasts with a growl in his throat that didn't sound quite human. Selene raised her arms, and the spectral markings on her skin lit up like a celestial map—she was no longer just the omega fated to submit.

She was the omega chosen to rule.

From the crown, a voice whispered through her thoughts—Elarya's voice:

> "Break the seal. Become the throne."

Selene stepped into the center of the dais as the Priestess lunged toward her, her staff aiming straight for Selene's heart.

Valerian dove to block her, taking the strike across his chest—but Selene didn't flinch.

She reached into the air—and pulled.

The seal beneath the tomb cracked like ice. Light shot upward. Symbols in the ceiling split apart. The ghost of her mother gasped one final time—

And then…

Everything exploded into light.

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When the light faded, the tomb was gone.

Or rather, it was no longer underground.

Selene stood on a floating platform made of shattered marble and moonfire, hovering high above the mountain. Below them, the Crimson Order's army had paused, stunned.

Above them, the sky turned red with eclipse.

And on her head, the crown of fate had fused with her skin, burning like a tattoo of stars. Her eyes were no longer gray—they were opal, like stormglass and prophecy.

The Crimson Priestess knelt—unwillingly.

The crown had bound her to Selene's will.

"I don't understand," the Priestess gasped. "You're the curse—why didn't you destroy us all?"

Selene looked at her, voice low. "Because I'm not the curse. I'm the correction."

Valerian stood at her side, blood sliding down his chest, but he smiled—because he had seen this moment in a dream, once. Before she was born. Before time remembered her.

He bowed to her.

Not as her mate.

But as her King Consort.

Selene turned to the armies below, her voice carrying across the valley like lightning wrapped in silk.

"You hunted me. You chained my blood. You crowned your liars. But I have returned—and I will not return the world you gave me."

She lifted her hand.

And the sky cracked.

From the horizon, a silver tide surged forward—those who still bore her mark. Forgotten omegas. Banished bloodlines. Exiled warriors. The army of the moon, rising at last.

Selene whispered to Valerian without turning her head, "Ready to take back what they stole?"

He grinned, fangs out. "I've waited lifetimes."

And together, they descended from the floating dais.

Not as prey.

But as gods walking into war.

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💛 Chapter 88 will bring us to the First Battle of the Broken Eclipse—and the secret weapon hidden in Valerian's bloodline. Ready to dive in? Guys