ELARA
I'm halfway down the palace corridor when I hear Matthias call my name.
"Elara, wait!"
I stop. Turn around. He's running after me, his fancy advisor robes flapping behind him like broken wings.
For one stupid second, I let myself hope. Maybe he's sorry. Maybe he'll explain. Maybe this is all a terrible mistake.
Then I see his face, and I know better.
"What do you want?" My voice echoes off the marble walls.
Matthias stops a few feet away, breathing hard. We're alone now—the other kings stayed in the Summit Hall, probably gossiping about the crazy immortal queen.
"I needed you to leave," he says. Not sorry. Not sad. Just... matter-of-fact.
"Why?" I ask, even though part of me doesn't want to know.
He smiles. It's the same smile he gave me forty years ago when I saved him from the executioner's blade. I thought it was gratitude. I was wrong.
"Because you're in my way," he says simply.
I laugh. I can't help it. "Your way? Matthias, I made you. You were nobody. A thief about to die. I gave you power, position, a life—"
"A mortal life," he interrupts. "Do you know what that means, Elara? It means I have maybe twenty years left if I'm lucky. Twenty years while you sit on your throne forever, never aging, never dying, never giving anyone else a chance."
"So this is about jealousy?" I shake my head. "You betrayed me because you're jealous?"
"I betrayed you because I deserve what you have." His voice gets louder. Angrier. "I've worked for forty years. Studied magic. Built alliances. Earned my power. You? You were just cursed with it. You didn't earn immortality—you were given it. And you don't even want it!"
He's not wrong. I hate being immortal. But hearing him say it like this, with such bitterness, makes me realize something.
"You read my journals," I say quietly. "You know about the curse. About Marcus. About everything."
"Every word." Matthias steps closer. "I know the sorcerer who cursed you was named Aldric. I know your beloved Marcus died in your arms. I know you've spent three thousand years trying every possible way to die." He pauses. "And I know why you can't."
My heart—my stupid, immortal heart—skips a beat. "What?"
"The curse feeds on unfinished love," Matthias says. "Marcus's life force powers your immortality. You can't die until you forgive yourself and love again." He laughs. "It's almost poetic. The great Eternal Queen, trapped by her own guilt."
"How do you know this?" I whisper. "I've searched for centuries and never found—"
"Because I've been working with someone who knows all about your curse." Matthias's smile turns cruel. "Someone who's been looking for you for a very, very long time."
Ice floods my veins. "Who?"
"Can't tell you that yet." He examines his fingernails like we're discussing the weather. "But here's what's going to happen. You're going to go back to your lonely palace. Your reputation is destroyed—no kingdom will help you now. And when my associate comes for you, you'll be completely alone."
"Comes for me?" I take a step back. "Matthias, what are you planning?"
"Your immortality can be transferred," he says. "With the right ritual. The right magic. The right... sacrifice." His eyes gleam. "And once we have it, I'll finally get what I deserve. Eternal life. Eternal power. Everything you've wasted."
Horror crashes over me. "You're going to kill me."
"No," Matthias corrects. "We're going to take your immortality and leave you mortal. Then you'll die just like everyone else you've ever loved. Poetic justice, don't you think?"
My hands ball into fists. Power crackles around me—shadow magic responding to my rage. I could kill him right now. Snap his neck with a thought.
But I'm in the Grand Summit. If I kill him here, every kingdom will declare war on me. And I'm tired of war. Tired of fighting. Tired of everything.
"You're a fool," I say instead. "You have no idea what immortality really costs."
"Then I'll find out." He turns to leave, then pauses. "Oh, and Elara? Don't bother running. We already know where you live. Where you go. Everything." He looks back at me with pity—actual pity. "You've been alone so long, you forgot how to see enemies in your friends. That's sad."
He walks away, leaving me standing in the empty corridor.
I should chase him. Demand answers. Make him tell me who he's working with.
But my legs won't move. My three-thousand-year-old body suddenly feels ancient and heavy.
Because Matthias is right about one thing: I am alone.
I have no allies. No friends. No one who would fight for me.
I've pushed everyone away for so long that when I finally need help, there's no one left to call.
I stumble back to the Summit Hall. The kings are still inside, arguing about what to do about me. Through the cracked door, I hear King Harald's voice.
"We should send soldiers. Capture her before she uses more dark magic."
"Agreed," says King Veron. "She's too dangerous to leave free."
They're going to hunt me. All seven kingdoms, united against the monster queen.
I back away from the door, my mind racing.
I need to get home. Lock the palace doors. Figure out who Matthias is working with and what they want.
But as I turn to leave, I see something that makes my blood run cold.
Standing at the far end of the corridor, hidden in shadows, is a man I've never seen before. Tall. Dark clothes. Cold eyes watching me like a predator watches prey.
He meets my gaze for just a second.
Then he's gone.
Disappeared into the darkness like he was never there.
My hands start shaking.
Matthias said they were coming for me.
I think they're already here.