the timid bride

# Chapter 87 – The Lost City Beneath Blackstone

Dawn cracked with a crimson edge over the horizon as Zara stood at the edge of the old forest, staring toward the shadowed valley known as Blackstone Hollow.

It had once been the heart of the Trin dynasty, now spoken of only in frightened tales and forbidden books. The Flamewatch scouts had confirmed Kael's report—there was movement in the valley. Lights underground. Voices where none should echo.

And now, she was here to end it.

---

Her company was small but fierce—Amara, Damon, Kael, and twenty elite riders. Silent. Loyal. Bound by fire.

The descent into Blackstone Hollow was steep. Jagged stones, broken statues, and fallen walls lay buried in thorns. Carvings in ancient stone whispered of a once-great city. Zara could see pieces of it: a shattered fountain, scorched pillars, a staircase leading into the earth.

Kael led them downward.

"I remember this place," he muttered. "I came here once as a child. My father called it cursed. But it wasn't curses. It was fear."

They lit torches and entered the underground city.

---

What lay beneath was breathtaking.

Stone bridges spanned an underground lake. Ancient towers, blackened by time, stretched up to a carved ceiling. The city had been hollowed into the bones of a mountain.

And it was not empty.

Dozens of figures in dark cloaks moved between fires. Tents, weapon caches, and maps marked an ongoing operation.

Kael pulled Zara behind a broken wall. "We need to strike fast. If they rally, we're outnumbered."

Zara nodded. "We divide. Two flanks. I'll go through the center. Amara, take the eastern ridge. Damon—get the bridge secured. No retreat. No mercy."

Amara smirked. "Just how I like it."

---

The assault began with fire.

Zara hurled the first torch into the supply tents. Explosions followed as oil and powder ignited. Screams rang through the cavern as the rebels scrambled. Then came the clash of steel.

Zara fought like a storm.

She carved through enemies with precision. Her phoenix-forged blade blazed against the dimness, a living streak of fire in the darkness. The symbol on her chest glowed like molten gold.

Amara and her unit pinned the eastern flank. Damon rallied guards at the bridge, cutting off escape.

Kael moved like shadow, eliminating leaders and breaking formations.

It was brutal.

And it was swift.

---

At the heart of the ruin stood a central temple—the seat of the old Trin kings. Zara burst through the shattered doors, smoke curling behind her.

Inside, a lone figure stood before a blackstone altar.

It was Elias Serent.

No longer shackled, no longer weak.

"I knew you'd come," he said, voice low. "The blood called you home."

Zara pointed her sword. "You betrayed the crown."

He laughed. "You wear a crown built on lies. But I offer truth. The true heirs. The forgotten fire."

She advanced. "You offer rebellion. I offer peace."

He lifted his hand. A symbol flared—a crest of Trin, marked with blood. "Then take it. And destroy what remains of your own legacy."

Zara hesitated.

For a heartbeat, the silence between them stretched.

Then she struck.

Steel met bone. Elias fell. And with him, the rebellion crumbled.

---

Outside, the fires were dying. The surviving rebels had been captured or fled. Amara approached Zara with blood on her boots.

"It's over," she said.

Zara stared at the temple behind her.

"No," she whispered. "It's just beginning."

---

Back at the palace, Zara summoned Thorne.

He laid out the ancient records before her, finally complete.

"You were right," he said. "Your great-grandmother was Trin. The House didn't fall. It bent. And now it lives in you."

Zara sat in silence.

Then she stood and faced her court.

"I have seen the face of rebellion. And I have seen its cause. Generations of silence. Buried names. Secrets written in blood. That ends today."

She held up both crests—Trin and Corval—now forged into one.

"This is our banner. Flame and crown. Past and future."

They rose in applause.

And in that moment, Zara became more than Queen.

She became legend.