Rise of the Warrior Queen (Kaia and Silver) novel Chapter 56

CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

KAIA’S POV

That night, Mia and I didn’t sleep right away.

After everything we talked about, there was no way we could just crawl into bed and pretend like everything was normal. Alpha Gareth’s coronation being rushed, the secret meeting, the rumor of a surviving heir–it all felt like the beginning of something much bigger than us. Still, we tried to focus on what we could control.

Mia helped me practice all the things I might need to say during the ceremony–speeches, greetings, how to answer questions from council members which, by the way, I’d rather not. We read through scrolls, practiced stances, and repeated phrases until our mouths hurt.

Somewhere between reading and planning, we both fell asleep–fully dressed and surrounded by chaos. Books were scattered on the floor. Scrolls were open everywhere. Notes and ink stains covered my desk. It

looked like a storm had hit the room.

But it wasn’t the mess that woke me up.

It was… a presence.

Something dark passed over me, like a shadow, and I felt it before I even opened my eyes.

My eyelids fluttered, and the second they opened, my breath caught in my throat.

There was a man standing over me.

He was tall, broad–shouldered, wearing silver armor and a long royal blue cloak draped behind him, swaying

gently like it was caught in a breeze I couldn’t feel. But what shook me the most was the crown sitting on his

head.

He looked like a king–powerful and ancient. And he looked like he wasn’t of this world.

His face held no emotion, but he stared down at me like I was some puzzle he needed to solve.

His form faltered slightly, and at that moment, I knew what he was.

A ghost.

I screamed. Loud.

“Holy Moon Goddess!” I yelled, scrambling out of bed so fast I nearly tripped over a pile of scrolls.

Mia shot up, eyes wide with panic. “What?! What is it?! Kaia?!”

I couldn’t speak. My chest was heaving, and my eyes darted across the room. Where was he? Where was he?!

He was gone.

Vanished–like he was never there at all.

Mia jumped out of bed and grabbed my arm. “Kaia, Kaia, talk to me! What’s going on? What’s wrong?! Kaia!”

“I–I saw someone,” I whispered, still looking around, my heart racing. “There was someone here, Mia! He was

standing right over me.”

Mia looked around, confused. “Kaia, there’s no one here. It’s just us.”

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CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

I shook my head. “No! He was right there!” I pointed at the exact spot beside the bed. “He was standing there -wearing armor and a crown. Like some kind of… king”

Mia blinked at me, her brows pulling together. “A king?”

“Yes!” I nodded

y, “I’m not crazy, Mia. I saw him.”

“Kain, you were probably just dreaming:

“I wasn’t,” I insisted, “It felt real. I could feel his eyes on me. He didn’t speak–he just watched me like he was trying to figure me out.”

Mia’s lips parted slightly, clearly unsure what to say.

I suddenly glared at her. “This is your fault!”

Mia frowned. “What? Me?!”

“You’re the one who came in here with all those creepy stories about the Royal Pack and dead Lunas and hidden heirs. And now look at me! I’m seeing ghost kings all over my room!”

Mia shook her head with a sigh. “Okay, first of all, I never said anything about a king, Kaia. I only told you about the Luna and the baby rumor. That’s not enough reason to start imagining crowned kings in the middle

of the night.”

I stepped forward and pointed again. “Well, explain why he was standing right there when I opened my eyes!”

Before Mia could answer, my phone buzzed loudly on the desk.

I frowned in confusion, wondering who might be texting me so late at night.

Figuring it might be Elias calling to update me on the situation with Silver, I rushed to answer it.

It was a message from Dawn:

“Silver is back. Safe. Just got in. Thought you’d want to know.”

I gasped, relief washing over me like a wave.

“He’s back,” I said out loud, turning to Mia. “Silver’s back.”

Mia’s eyes widened. “What?! Really?”

I handed her the phone so she could read it for herself. A smile of pure relief spread across her face.

“Oh, thank Goddess,” she said. “I was really starting to think he was-”

She didn’t finish. But she didn’t have to.

We didn’t get to sit in that relief for long.

The bedroom door burst open, hitting the wall with a loud bang.

I jumped. Mia did too.

My parents stood in the doorway, both of them pale and wide–eyed.

“What’s going on in here?!” my dad demanded. “We heard screaming.”

“Are you girls okay?” my mom asked, rushing inside.

I opened my mouth to explain but froze. What could I say?

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< CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

That I saw a man wearing a crown in the middle of the night?

That a ghost–or vision, or something–stood over me like he was watching his future fall apart?

I looked at Mia.

She looked back at me with the same helpless expression.

Neither of us said a word.

Because we didn’t even know what to say.

And honestly? I wasn’t sure if this was actually real…

Or just some sort of hallucination.

After convincing my parents that the scream they heard was just part of a “practice speech,” they finally left

us alone. Mia didn’t waste a second crawling back into bed. Within minutes, I could hear her soft, even

breathing.

But me?

I couldn’t sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him–that strange man with the crown and the royal blue cloak, just standing there, watching me like I was some kind of mystery.

I sat up slowly, hugging my knees to my chest, my eyes drifting toward the drawer where I used to keep the

necklace.

Normally, by now, it would be glowing faintly–that strange, soft pulsing light it gave off every night without

fail.

But tonight, I had locked it away. I wrapped it in cloth, sealed it in a box, and stuffed it inside my closet. That

way, the light wouldn’t be able to get out, no matter how much it glowed.

I didn’t want Mia to see it and start asking questions. That glowing necklace had been my secret for a few

days now–one I didn’t even understand myself.

But now, sitting in this dark room, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Was it still a good idea to keep that thing here? Ever since I brought it home… my life had only gotten weirder.

I’d been moving from one strange experience to another.

Frustrated, I let out a soft sigh and got out of bed. The clock read 3:07 a.m.

Still a long way before morning.

I walked quietly to the window and pulled the curtain aside, resting my hand on the cold glass.

The storm had calmed down. The heavy rain was now just a light drizzle. The ground below glistened with wetness, and the trees were covered in fog. Everything felt quiet and peaceful.

At least, they were. Until I saw it.

A bird.

Flying.

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At this hour? And in this weather?

At first, I didn’t think much of it. But something about it felt… off.

The way it flew it wasn’t smooth. It wobbled, its wings flapping unevenly, like it didn’t know how to stay in the air. I squinted, leaning forward to get a better look. It jerked suddenly, nearly falling from the sky before it caught itself again. The poor thing looked like it was injured. Or drunk.

I blinked in confusion. The rain wasn’t even heavy anymore–barely more than a mist–so why was it

struggling? It couldn’t be from the force of the rain. It had to be something else.

Growing curious and concerned, I pushed the window open and stuck my head out to get a better look.

The bird tilted, flapped desperately, then–before I knew it–it lost control and slammed straight into a nearby

tree with a loud crack.

I flinched hard. “Ouch…”

The branches shook as the bird tumbled down, hitting each one on the way, until it finally landed in the mud

below.

I held my breath.

Was it dead?

But then-

The bird started to glow, causing me to frown in confusion.

It was faint at first, but then it grew brighter. Its entire body shimmered, shaking violently like it was trying to push something out of itself. And then something unbelievable happened.