Chapter 270 Crowns and Chaos

Envy

I wake like I’ve been struck by lightning. One second I’m dreaming of quiet forests and the next I’m sitting bolt upright, gasping so hard

it rips the air from the room. My hand flies to my chest. Power still crackles in the air around me, silver and gold threads flickering across

the walls. Four groggy voices answer at once.

“What-”

“Who hurt you?”

“Where’s the threat?”

“Do I need to kill someone?”

I blink down at the very naked, very alarmed men in my bed. Xavier’s already halfway to shifting, Haiden’s reaching for his knife, Noah’s

glaring daggers at the curtains, and Levi–bless him–is still tangled in the blankets, blinking like a confused puppy. And me?

I throw my fists in the air and shout, “FUCK YES!”

The guys freeze. Haiden lowers his knife slowly. “Uh. Fuck what, exactly?”

I grin so wide my cheeks hurt. “Selene!”

Noah blinks. “The moon goddess?“‘

“Yes, the moon goddess,” I say, bouncing on the bed like a child on too much sugar. “She just visited me!”

Xavier groans and flops back against the pillows. “Please tell me this isn’t another impending–doom visit.”

“It’s not doom!” I say, nearly shouting. “It’s joy!”

Haiden squints at me. “That’s… suspicious.”

Levi finally manages to sit up, hair sticking out in every direction. “Start from the top, love. You woke us all up yelling obscenities, and

now you’re glowing. Details, please.”

I clap my hands together. “Okay, so Selene appeared–right here, in this room, but you know, in my dream–and she told me that because

Macey and Elliot have officially marked and mated, it’s time for a formal coronation!”

There’s a beat of silence. Then Noah says flatly, “That’s it? We’re screaming ‘fuck yes‘ over a ceremony?”

I throw a pillow at his face. “Not just a ceremony, the ceremony. The official crowning of the new King and Queen of the Underworld. Do

you understand what that means?”

Haiden leans back on his elbows. “That you get to boss everyone around again?”

I gasp, offended. “Exactly!”

They all groan in unison.

Levi rubs his jaw, trying not to laugh. “Did Selene say anything about… you know, whether we keep our powers? Or are we retiring as

washed–up mortals now?”

I punch his arm lightly. “That stuff doesn’t matter, Levi. What matters is that the actual moon goddess just personally asked me to help

plan the coronation!”

Haiden mutters, “Gods save us all.”

I point at him. “You hush. I’m already picturing it: the throne hall bathed in light, the crowns gleaming, maybe the river of souls running clear beside them–oh, and the feast afterwards! We’ll need banners, music, something celestial yet ominous…”

Xavier groans again and drags a pillow over his face. “It’s too early for celestial yet ominous.”

1 ignore him completely, but his point is mute right now. “We’ll have to invite the pack, of course, and the royal part of the family, it

would be rude not to. Oh! And Lyra’s going to sing–she just doesn’t know it yet.”

Levi chuckles. “You’ve gone full mum mode again.”

“I prefer visionary event coordinator‘, thank you very much.”

Noah reaches for my wrist and tugs me gently back down into the tangle of sheets. “Can we maybe be visionary event coordinators after

coffee?”

I shake my head, still buzzing. “No time! Selene said the alignment happens in three nights!. The Veil’s pulse will be strongest then its

symbolic! Everything has to be perfect.”

Haiden rolls over, one eye open. “So we have seventy–two hours to pull together a divine coronation for two people who probably don’t

even care about formality?”

“Exactly.”

He sighs. “We’re doomed.”

Levi’s already laughing, pulling me against his chest. “You love it when she gets like this,” he teases the others. “Remember the soul- ‘rebirth festival? She turned a funeral pyre into a light show.”

“That was art,” I protest.

“It singed my eyebrows,” Noah deadpans.

“You look better without them,” I shoot back.

That earns a bark of laughter from Haiden. “Okay, I’ll admit, I’ve missed this side of the ‘visionary event coordinator.”

The tension in the room breaks completely. Xavier finally sits up, rubbing his face, smiling despite himself. “Alright, General Goddess.

What do you need us to do?”

I grin. “Everything.”

They groan again, but I can see the fondness in their eyes. It hits me all at once: this is what peace looks like for us. No armies, no blood, no screaming. Just me, too excited to breathe, and four overgrown warriors pretending they’re annoyed while secretly plotting how to make it perfect. I slide off the bed, grab the notebook from my bedside table, and start scribbling. “Okay, we’ll need fabrics – black silk for the Underworld, silver for the moon. Flowers that glow under candlelight. And we should probably make sure Elliot doesn’t wear something tragic and brooding again—”

“Good luck with that,” Noah mutters.

“-and Macey needs something worthy of a goddess. Maybe something with starlight thread-”

Levi hums thoughtfully. “You still have some from the kids‘ first birthdays. It would fit.”

I pause, blinking back a sudden sting in my eyes. “It would, wouldn’t it?”

Xavier crosses the room and wraps an arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my temple. “You deserve this moment, Envy. You gave the realms so much. Now you get to celebrate watching it stand.”

I swallow hard and nod, smiling through it. “Yeah,” I whisper. “I guess I do.”

Haiden claps his hands. “Then it’s settled. The Goddess of the Underworld throws the coronation of the century.”

Noah groans. “With her poor mates as unpaid staff.”

I spin toward him, grinning wickedly. “Oh, no. ‘Royal advisors.‘ Much fancier title.”

Levi laughs so hard he nearly falls off the bed. “Oh gods, we’re doomed.”

But they’re smiling. All of them. And as the early light filters through the window, it hits me, for the first time in forever, we’re not planning for war or survival. We’re planning for joy again, and this time, it’s theirs, Macey and Elliott’s.