Page 174 of Haunted Crowns
One moment they stood. The next, they were gone. Screams never formed. The battlefield became a graveyard in an instant.
Lycans staggered, instincts reeling. Firstbloods dropped to their knees in fear.
Kriponius had returned, and he saw what his kingdom had become. He exhaled, and the ground shook.
“Kneel. Tremble. For the true King of Dragov is risen.”
The battlefield held its breath. Among the stillness, Kareon moved. If Kriponius stood here, it could mean only one thing.
Stephan was gone. Dead.
Kareon’s mind screamed against it, but there was no time to mourn. She was next. A low growl rose in his chest—part promise, part rage. He bolted, a blur of shadow and fury, one thought burning through every heartbeat: reach her before it’s too late.
His pack watched him go, their Alpha cutting across the battlefield like a storm.
Unstoppable. Desperate. Savage.
This time, Kareon would not fail.
Somewhere between death and divinity, Eris drifted. There was no sound, no weight, no world. Only sky. It stretched above her, vast and empty, while wind pushed strands of her hair across her eyes.
Then came slow and measured footsteps. A presence approached, ancient as time and vast as the night.
She could not move.
Then cold hands found her. Fingers closed around her body and lifted her without effort, while a low growl rumbled through the air—the sound of hunger finally fulfilled.
She opened her eyes and saw him. Kriponius Dragov.
He was tall and imposing, a shadow wearing the form of a man, a horror pulled from the depths of hell. She gasped as terror locked her lungs.
His breath carried the stench of rot, like a grave left open too long. His arms caged her against his chest with unbreakable strength. She could feel the void breathing inside him.
His lips hovered just inches from hers. “At last, we are made one again, my beloved.”
Her breath stopped. Every muscle in her body screamed to run, but nothing responded. She had nothing left to give. His grip tightened, her bones groaning beneath the pressure.
“And now,” he exhaled against her lips, “thou shalt be mine for all eternity.”
A helpless whimper escaped her throat. Then his mouth crushed against hers. It was brutal and greedy, a kiss that felt like a death sentence. Everything in her recoiled. She tasted rot and decay, a plague leaking into her soul.
Then a brutal snarl cut through the air.
Kriponius stopped. His head turned slowly as irritation flickered across his face. Someone had dared to defy him. Then he saw him. He was a beast, vast as the night. Gold eyes burned in the dark. Fangs gleamed. Muscles tensed to strike.
Eris knew him. She would know him anywhere. Her chest clenched as her soul reached for him.
She saw the same fierce gaze, the same steady presence, the same vow that would never break.
"Kareon," she whispered.
Kriponius’s expression shifted from irritation to rage. "Why must it always be they?" he spat. "Always between us, Seraphina. Always taking what is mine."
His anger surged. The air thickened with the weight of his power. Then he let her go. Eris collapsed, her limbs hitting the ground, lifeless.
The moment Kriponius’s grip vanished, Kareon lunged. It was a collision of fury and bloodlust. A beast fought against a god. Kareon did not hesitate. He tore through flesh. He ripped without pause. He fought with the fury of every ancestor who had fallen beneath Kriponius’s reign. For a single moment, Kriponius was caught off guard. Then came a vicious kick. Kareon was hurled backward and crashed into the earth.
Kriponius rose slowly, composed and unshaken. He bled, but he felt nothing. His wounds sealed as quickly as they were made.
