Crown Of The Forbidden Heir

The Woman Who Knew My Power

CHAPTER 2 

 THE WOMAN WHO KNEW MY POWER

One second I was staring at the glowing veins under my skin, the next a powerful shockwave burst from my chest like a bomb. The alley around me cracked, debris shot into the air, and the world bent as if space itself warped.

I stumbled back, breath burning.

“What—what’s happening to me?!”

The woman stepped forward slowly, not scared at all. Her hood fell back a little, revealing sharp eyes—silver, bright, unreadable. “Adrian, listen to me. You need to calm your breath. Your magic is reacting to fear.”

“Magic?” I shouted. “What magic? I don’t—”

“Stop talking,” she commanded.

Her voice hit me like a hand to the chest. Not physical—more like it touched something inside me.

Even worse: I obeyed.

She stepped close, raising one hand toward my shoulder. I jerked away instinctively.

“Don’t touch me!”

“If I don’t touch you,” she said calmly, “your power will rip this entire street apart. Probably half the city block too.”

My heartbeat shook my ribs.

She wasn't joking.

Her hand touched my forearm.

Instantly, the chaotic glow under my skin dimmed, like someone turning off a screaming alarm. My pulse steadied.

I exhaled sharply, bending over.

“What did you just do?”

“I stabilized your core,” she said. “But it’ll only last a few minutes. You’re awakening too fast.”

“Awakening to what?!”

She looked at me with a mixture of sadness and awe.

“To what you really are.”

A cold breeze rushed down the alley, carrying the smell of dust and broken asphalt. My shirt was torn, the ground cracked open around my feet. The bodies of the men who attacked me were nowhere to be seen—blown away by the shockwave.

I swallowed hard.

“I don’t even know your name,” I said.

Her expression softened, just a little.

“My name is Lyra.”

“Who are you?” I asked. “Why were you following me? What do you know about… this?” I lifted my glowing hand.

She glanced around the alley. “I’ll explain everything, but not here. More will come. They felt your awakening.”

“More who?”

She leaned in. “Your enemies.”

My blood ran cold.

Before I could respond, the screech of tires echoed across the alley entrance.

Lyra’s eyes widened. “Too late.”

A black armored van skidded into view. Doors slammed open. Five men in dark armored suits spilled out, guns glowing with blue energy.

One shouted, “Target acquired! Adrian Voss—capture alive!”

I froze.

Lyra didn’t.

She grabbed my wrist. “Run!”

But the moment she pulled me forward, the men opened fire.

Blue bolts of energy streaked toward us.

My instincts screamed.

I threw my hands up, and something exploded out of me again.

A radiant shield burst into existence, curving around Lyra and me like a bubble. The bolts hit it and dissolved into sparks.

“What the hell?!” I gasped.

Lyra stared at my shield with stunned amazement. “You manifested it on your own… already?”

I had no idea what she meant.

The armored men reloaded.

Lyra’s voice snapped back into command mode. “Adrian, we have ten seconds. When I say ‘jump,’ you jump. Understand?”

“No!”

“Yes,” she corrected firmly. “You do.”

I clenched my fists. “Why are they after me?! What did I do?!”

“You were born,” she said coldly.

Before I could argue, she grabbed my shirt.

“Jump!”

“What—?!”

She yanked me upward with impossible force.

The world blurred.

My feet left the ground, rising higher and higher until the alley shrank beneath us. I gasped, staring as the gravity around us flickered like broken lights.

“How are we?”

“You’re doing it!” she shouted over the wind. “Not me—you!”

My stomach dropped.

We were floating.

No—flying.

Blue bolts shot past us as the men fired again. Lyra twisted mid-air, and we crashed onto the rooftop of a nearby building. I hit the concrete hard, coughing. She landed perfectly.

The gunmen below shouted into radios.

“We need aerial support! He’s awakened! Repeat—THE HEIR HAS AWAKENED!”

I turned to Lyra, chest heaving.

“What heir?!” I yelled. “Why do they think I’m someone important?! Why is magic even—”

Lyra knelt, grabbed my jaw gently, and forced me to look at her.

“Adrian. Listen to me. Your power belongs to your bloodline. You were born into a legacy older than nations. You are the last surviving heir to the Dominion Line.”

I blinked. “Dominion? Like the word?”

“Not the word.” Her voice lowered. “The empire. The one hidden beneath the world. The one that controls everything from the shadows.”

I shook my head. “Impossible. I’m… nobody.”

“You were raised to believe that,” she whispered. “To protect you.”

The wind howled over the roof.

My chest tightened.

“My grandfather… did he know?”

Her eyes softened. “He ruled it.”

I went numb.

“My grandfather was… a king?”

“Not a king,” she corrected. “The Emperor of Dominion. But he died last winter. And since you’re the last living male of his bloodline…” She hesitated. “You are the only rightful successor.”

My knees nearly buckled.

“That means…” My voice cracked. “…I’m supposed to rule something? An empire? That sounds insane.”

“It is insane,” she admitted. “Because every other faction wants you dead before you claim the throne.”

“But why me?! I didn’t ask for this!”

Lyra sighed. “Blood is destiny, Adrian. And destiny doesn’t care if you’re ready.”

Suddenly, a Shadow crossed the roof. A black helicopter rose above the building, a spotlight cutting through the darkness and landing directly on me.

Lyra cursed. “Move!”

A voice boomed from the helicopter’s speakers:

“ADRIAN VOSS! SURRENDER NOW! YOU BELONG TO THE COUNCIL!”

“Belong?” I shouted. “I don’t belong to anyone!”

The helicopter opened fire.

Lyra slammed her hand onto the rooftop. A wave of shimmering force erupted upward, forming a temporary barrier.

She groaned, her knees shaking. “I can’t hold it long—your awakening drained me—Adrian, you need to use your magic!”

“I don’t know how!”

“Yes, you do,” she insisted. “Your instincts already saved us twice.”

Bolts slammed into her barrier. The shield cracked.

“Adrian!” she screamed. “SHIELD US!”

My heart pounded.

My hands trembled.

Fear burned through me like fire.

Then something in my chest tightened—then unlocked—like a chain snapping.

The glow shot down my arms again.

A golden aura exploded around us, wrapping Lyra and me in a thick dome of light just as her barrier shattered. The helicopter's shots bounced harmlessly off my shield.

Lyra stared at me with wild pride. “That’s it. You’re doing it. You’re controlling it.”

I wasn’t sure “controlling” was the right word. It felt more like the power was dragging me with it.

“What do I do now?!” I yelled.

Her gaze sharpened. “Now… you fight back.”

“But—”

She grabbed my arm. “Adrian, your power was never meant to hide. It was meant to conquer.”

My pulse roared in my ears.

She positioned my hands toward the helicopter.

“Breathe. Focus. And let it out.”

I inhaled deeply.

And the world exploded.

A massive wave of golden energy blasted from my palms. It tore through the air like a meteor, hitting the helicopter dead center. The aircraft spun uncontrollably, alarms blaring.

The pilots panicked.

“He’s too strong! Abort—ABORT—”

The helicopter peeled away into the night, disappearing behind skyscrapers.

Silence returned.

For a moment, all I could hear was my own heartbeat.

Lyra stood still, eyes locked on me. “Adrian… your power is already beyond what they expected.”

“Is that good?” I asked weakly.

“It terrifies them.”

She stepped close.

“And it will save us.”

Before I could respond, she grabbed my hand.

“We need to leave the city. Now.”

“But where are we going?”

She squeezed my fingers slightly.

“To your people.”

“My… people?”

She nodded. “The hidden survivors of the Dominion Empire. They have been waiting for you for years.”

I felt a lump in my throat.

“Why didn’t they come before?”

“They weren’t allowed,” she whispered. “Your grandfather gave strict orders to hide you from the Council. But now that they’ve found you…” She shook her head. “They will hunt you without mercy.”

“And these people… they’ll accept me?”

Lyra’s expression softened in a way I didn’t expect.

“They will kneel for you.”

The rooftop wind blew her hair back. Her silver eyes locked onto mine, intense and unyielding.

“You are their King.”

I swallowed hard. “This is insane.”

“No,” she said gently. “This is your destiny.”

The sound of sirens echoed far below us.

Lyra grabbed my shoulders. “Adrian. You need to trust me.”

I hesitated. “Why? Why do you care what happens to me?”

She looked at me for a long time before speaking.

“Because I vowed to your grandfather that I would protect you with my life.” Her voice dropped. “And because… the empire will collapse without you.”

I froze.

“I’m just one man.”

“No.” Her fingers brushed my cheek lightly. “You are the one man who was born to decide the fate of nations.”

The rooftop door suddenly burst open below us.

Voices shouted, “Search the upper floors! Don’t let them escape!”

Lyra grabbed my wrist. “It’s time.”

“Time for what?” I asked.

She smiled faintly.

“To go home.”

The air around us shimmered, twisting like a whirlpool. Color swirled. Light bent. My stomach flipped as the world dissolved.

“Lyra—what’s happening?!” I shouted.

“A portal,” she answered. “Don’t resist it.”

The rooftop vanished.

We shot through a tunnel of swirling colors. My skin tingled like static electricity. Lyra held onto me tightly, her hand steady against mine.

Within seconds, the tunnel burst open into blinding white.

Then

Green.

Sky.

Wind.

Mountains.

We landed on soft grass.

I staggered, breath catching.

The landscape stretched endlessly—floating islands, waterfalls suspended in air, sunlight bending in impossible ways.

It was unreal.

Lyra stepped beside me.

“Adrian… welcome to the Outer Sanctuary.”

I stared in awe. “This place… it doesn’t even feel real.”

“It’s hidden from the world,” she explained. “Only Dominion blood can open the gateway.”

I slowly turned.

A large gathering of people stood at the valley entrance, men and women dressed in silver and black armor, each carrying weapons that looked like they came out of myth. They stared at me with shock, then awe, then reverence.

One stepped forward, dropping to one knee.

“Your Majesty… you have finally returned.”

A wave moved through the crowd—hundreds kneeling in perfect unison, bowing their heads.

“We pledge ourselves to the heir of Dominion,” they chanted. “We pledge ourselves to our King.”

My breath caught.

I turned to Lyra.

“This is real,” she whispered. “All of it.”

I didn’t feel ready.

I didn’t feel worthy.

But every pair of eyes stayed on me—waiting.

Lyra leaned close. “Speak, Adrian.”

I swallowed, he

art pounding.

“What do I say?”

She whispered, “Say… ‘Rise.’”

I nodded slowly.

Turned to the kneeling crowd.

And spoke the one word that changed everything:

“Rise.”

The valley shook with the sound of hundreds of warriors standing at once.

Lyra smiled proudly.

“Now,” she said softly, “your true life begins.”

And just like that

my life, again, changed violently.