Mira's POV
Lyssa stepped down from her golden litter like a goddess descending from heaven.
She was beautiful in a way that made my chest hurt. Perfect blonde waves, sky-blue eyes, skin like porcelain. She wore white furs trimmed with gold, and jewels sparkled at her throat and wrists. Every male around me straightened up, staring at her with awe.
I suddenly felt very small in my bloodstained scrubs.
"So." Lyssa's voice was honey-sweet. "You're the new little healer everyone's talking about."
She walked closer, flanked by six massive warriors. Each one looked like they could snap me in half without trying.
Kael moved in front of me immediately. "You weren't invited here, Blessed One."
"Oh, Nightfang." She laughed, light and pretty. "Still so protective. It's almost cute." Her blue eyes slid past him to me. "Step aside. I want to meet my sister."
Sister? We weren't sisters. We weren't anything.
But Kael didn't move. Neither did Soren, who'd positioned himself on my other side.
Lyssa's smile thinned. "I said. Move."
The air crackled with tension. Her warriors tensed, ready to attack.
Elder Thorne stepped forward quickly. "Peace! We don't need bloodshed tonight." He looked at me. "She came to meet you, child. Let her."
Every instinct screamed to stay behind my protectors. But I'd already decided—I wouldn't live in fear.
I stepped around Kael before he could stop me.
"I'm Mira," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Mira Chen."
Lyssa circled me slowly, examining me like I was a bug under a microscope. "Mira. Pretty name. Tell me, Mira, what brings you to my world?"
"Your world?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. "I thought this was the Beastworld."
Her smile turned ice-cold. "Everything within a hundred miles belongs to me. The tribes, the territories, the males. All mine."
The way she said "males" made my skin crawl. Like they were possessions.
"I don't want to take anything from you," I said carefully. "I just want to help people and maybe find a way home."
"There is no way home." She stopped in front of me, so close I could smell her perfume—roses and something bitter. "I've been here three years. Trust me, I've looked. This is our reality now."
Three years. She'd been here three years and built an empire. What did that say about her?
"Then I'll make the best of it," I said. "Help where I can."
"Help." Lyssa laughed again, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Is that what you call stealing my thunder? Saving Nightfang's sister when everyone said it was impossible?"
"I didn't steal anything! She was dying!"
"And whose fault is that?" Lyssa's voice sharpened. "Nightfang refuses to trade with me. Refuses to bow. So his people suffer. That's not my problem—it's his."
I stared at her, horrified. "You'd let pregnant women die because their leader won't kneel to you?"
"I'd let the whole territory burn if it meant maintaining order." Her blue eyes were chips of ice. "Power isn't about being nice, Mira. It's about control. When these beasts see weakness, they tear you apart."
"They're not beasts! They're people!"
"They're animals who happen to talk." She waved dismissively. "But you'll learn. Give it time." She smiled again, warmer now. "That's actually why I'm here. To welcome you properly. Come to my territory. Stay as my guest. I'll teach you everything—how to survive, how to thrive, how to make these males worship the ground you walk on."
It sounded like an invitation. But her eyes promised a cage.
"Thank you," I said slowly, "but I'm fine here."
The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Fine here," Lyssa repeated softly. "With Nightfang? The male who murders without mercy? Who'd snap your neck if you stopped being useful?"
"He saved his sister's life tonight by trusting me," I shot back. "That's more than you'd do."
I regretted the words immediately.
Lyssa's face went blank. Emotionless. Somehow that was worse than anger.
"I see." She turned to her warriors. "Bring me someone. Anyone. Doesn't matter who."
Before anyone could react, her warriors grabbed a young wolf-man from the crowd. He couldn't have been older than sixteen, with gray ears and terrified eyes.
"Wait! What are you doing?" I lunged forward.
Kael caught me, holding me back. "Don't."
Lyssa pulled a small vial from her furs. Crystal clear liquid inside. "This," she said conversationally, "is my most popular medicine. Cures infections, stops fevers, heals wounds. Tribes pay fortunes for a single drop."
She uncorked it.
"It's also an agonizing poison if I change one ingredient."
My blood turned to ice.
"No," I whispered. "Don't. Please."
"You think you can insult me?" Lyssa's voice stayed pleasant, but her eyes burned. "You think you can reject me in front of witnesses and there's no consequences?"
She grabbed the boy's jaw and forced the vial to his lips.
"STOP!" I screamed. "I'll come! I'll come with you, just don't hurt him!"
Lyssa paused. Smiled. Recorked the vial.
"See? You can be reasonable." She released the boy, who collapsed, sobbing. "We'll leave at dawn. Pack light—I'll provide everything you need."
"This is kidnapping," Kael snarled.
"This is mercy." Lyssa met his eyes coldly. "I could've killed your sister after she gave birth. Could've sent poisoned medicine instead of none at all. Your territory breathes because I allow it." She looked at me. "Dawn, Mira. Don't make me come back for you."
She climbed back onto her litter, and her warriors carried her away into the darkness.
The second she was gone, chaos erupted.
"You can't go with her!" Soren grabbed my shoulders. "She'll kill you the moment you're alone!"
"I don't have a choice!" I pulled away, breathing hard. "Did you see what she almost did to that kid?"
"She's testing you," Elder Thorne said grimly. "Seeing if you'll submit."
"Then I'll submit!" I was shaking now, adrenaline crashing. "I won't let innocent people die because of me!"
Kael hadn't said anything. He just stood there, fists clenched, jaw tight.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. Dangerous.
"No."
"No?" I turned to him. "You don't get to decide—"
"No," he repeated. "You're not going to her territory. You're not submitting to that monster. And you're sure as hell not sacrificing yourself."
"What choice do I have?" Tears burned my eyes. "She'll kill people if I refuse!"
"Then we leave. Tonight." Kael's amber eyes blazed. "I'll take you so far into my territory that her warriors will never find you."
"And then what? She'll destroy this village for helping me escape! She'll punish everyone!"
"Let her try," Kael growled. "I've been waiting three years for an excuse to go to war with the Blessed One."
"War?" I stared at him in horror. "People will DIE!"
"People are already dying!" he roared. "My females die in childbirth because she hoards medicine! Cubs die from infections because she demands loyalty first, healing second! How many more deaths will you accept before you fight back?"
The words hit like a slap.
He was right. Lyssa's system was killing people every day. Slowly. Quietly.
But if I resisted her openly, the killing would be fast and loud and bloody.
"I need to think," I whispered.
"No time." Soren pointed at the sky. "Dawn is four hours away."
Four hours to decide: submit to a tyrant, run and start a war, or... what? There had to be another option.
"There is one other choice," Elder Thorne said quietly.
We all looked at him.
"Challenge her. Publicly. To a trial."
"A trial?" I asked.
"The old laws." His eyes gleamed. "Before the Blessed One, disputes were settled by testing. If two females both claim authority, they compete to prove who's worthier. Winner takes all."
"What kind of competition?" My mouth went dry.
"Usually combat. But in this case..." He smiled slightly. "Healing. You're both healers. Let the tribes judge who's better."
Kael shook his head. "She'll cheat. She'll sabotage. She'll—"
"Probably," the elder agreed. "But if Mira wins fairly in front of all the tribes, even Lyssa can't touch her. The old laws are sacred. Even the Blessed One can't break them without losing all respect."
It was insane. Risky. Probably suicidal.
But it was a chance.
"How do I challenge her?" I asked.
Elder Thorne's expression turned grave. "You present the challenge at dawn. In front of witnesses. And you must draw blood to seal it."
"Draw blood?"
"Yours." He pulled out a small knife. "Cut your palm and speak the old words. Once sealed, the challenge cannot be refused or broken. Winner lives. Loser..." He paused. "Traditionally, the loser is exiled. Forever."
My heart hammered. This was it. The moment that would decide everything.
Submit and die slowly in Lyssa's cage.
Run and start a war.
Or fight and risk exile if I lost.
I looked at Kael. His amber eyes burned into mine, and I saw something there—belief. He believed I could do this.
I looked at the young wolf-boy Lyssa had almost poisoned. At Vera recovering with her newborn cub. At all the people who'd die if I didn't try.
I took the knife.
"Teach me the words," I said.
Elder Thorne began to speak, and I repeated after him, memorizing the ancient challenge.
But as I practiced, a terrible thought struck me:
What if Lyssa wanted this? What if she'd pushed me tonight specifically to force a challenge?
What if I was walking straight into her trap?
A commotion at the cave entrance made us all freeze.
One of Lyssa's warriors stood there, breathing hard.
"Message from the Blessed One," he panted.
Dread filled my stomach. "What message?"
He met my eyes, and I saw pity there.
"She says to tell the new healer: if you're planning to challenge her, you should know—the last female who tried is buried in an unmarked grave. And her healing skills were legendary."
The warrior left.
Silence filled the cave.
Legendary healer. Buried. Dead.
"Who was she?" I whispered.
Elder Thorne's face was gray. "My daughter."