Lorcan's parting words echoed in my empty chamber, a cold counterpoint to the raging heat of my residual magic. He hadn't just threatened my life; he had threatened my very essence. Being bound to him, alive but magically nullified, was a fate worse than death. It was the absolute submission he craved.
The Sunstone was now the only thing standing between me and that fate.
I didn't have to wait long. Early the next morning, Vesper arrived with the stone, and the gravity of the artifact was immediate.
It wasn't presented in a velvet box or on a pedestal. Vesper simply held it in her gloved hands as she entered the Obsidian Pit. It was a perfectly smooth sphere, roughly the size of a plum, and it seemed to absorb all the weak light in the chamber, focusing it inward until the stone glowed with an unnervingly pure, self-contained yellow light. It wasn't aggressive like a flame; it was steady, ancient, and blindingly potent.
"The Sunstone," Vesper announced, her voice subdued. "It is older than the Nightshade Court itself. Forged by the Solar Fae as a focusing lens. It can capture and stabilize raw Solar energy without volatile release."
"And it's what Lorcan will use to turn me into a magical eunuch if I fail," I said, walking closer to examine it. The stone felt warm even from a distance, humming with the familiar energy of my ancestors.
"Precisely," Vesper confirmed, showing no emotion. "It is a tether. If you can learn to channel your Sun-Fire into it, you will have the control he requires. If you fail, Lorcan will hold it during the ceremony. The stone will absorb your power, preventing the explosion, but it will trap the Sun-Fire in a dormant state for the duration of the bond. You will be powerless, and thus permanently dependent on him."
"So, train the power or lose the power. Got it." I moved to the cracked marble circle. "What's the technique?"
Vesper placed the Sunstone in the center of the largest crack in the marble, where the stone would draw the most energy from the weak point I created.
"Yesterday, you pushed outwards, trying to smash the seal. That resulted in an uncontrolled discharge," Vesper explained. "Today, you will use the Sunstone as a filter. Imagine your magic—the hot, explosive energy—as a torrent of river water. The Sunstone is a needle-eye opening. You must force the torrent into the needle-eye. It requires precision, not volume."
She handed me a plain, iron-linked chain. "You will sit on the floor, cross-legged, holding this chain. The iron will act as a mild natural conductor. When the energy begins to flow, direct the heat down the chain and into the stone. The Sun-Fire must pass through you, not out of you."
I sat down, the cold stone seeping through my thin trousers. I took the chain. It was surprisingly heavy and cold in my hands. The sight of the Sunstone, radiating its soft, hopeful light just a few feet away, was both motivating and terrifying.
I closed my eyes, seeking the furious, buzzing core of my power. Lorcan's threat had settled the panic, replacing it with a cold, focused resolve. I will not be a pawn.
I began to pull on the energy, not with a demanding shout, but with a deliberate, slow suction. I imagined my core opening, letting the hot current flow. The heat surged, but this time, I visualized the iron chain as a siphon, drawing the heat down my arms.
The instant the power hit the iron, it was agonizing. The chain heated instantly, blistering my palms through the thin cotton gloves Vesper had given me. A plume of steam rose from the chain.
"Too much!" Vesper yelled. "Slow the flow! The point is not to melt the chain, but to guide the energy!"
I gasped, fighting the instinct to drop the chain, which was now vibrating violently. The heat was immense, searing hot, and entirely too powerful for my mortal shell. My focus snapped. The energy recoiled, and with a sickening rush, it shot back up into my chest, leaving me dizzy and nauseous.
"Failure," Vesper stated, walking over to inspect the chain. It was glowing faintly red. "You have no discipline, Seraphina. You approach this like a runaway mule, not a conduit."
"Easy for you to say," I managed, rubbing my stinging palms. "You aren't filled with boiling sunlight. It wants out! It's fighting the containment."
Vesper knelt beside me, her expression finally softening slightly with recognition.
"It is fighting. Because Solar Fae are fundamentally unbalanced by nature," she admitted quietly. "You are pure heat, pure light. You must find the balance point. Think of the King's curse. Think of the cold, dense shadow he exudes. It is the perfect counterpoint to your power."
I looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"The Shadow-Curse is an active force of negative energy, Seraphina. It's what you felt when you touched him, a cold void," Vesper explained. "You are afraid of it because it's a terrifying darkness, but that shadow is also the purest form of containment. When you feel the heat rising, do not fight it with more force. Balance it by reaching for the void. Pull on the cold. It may be the only thing that teaches your fire discipline."
It was the most radical suggestion yet. Use the King's curse, the thing meant to destroy me, as my balance?
I picked up the iron chain again, the burn mark from the previous attempt stinging on my palm. I closed my eyes, not seeking the fire this time, but the cold.
I reached out my senses, past the dense obsidian walls, past the guards, toward the cold, ancient presence of King Lorcan in his distant keep. I reached for the radiating chill of his power, the dark, dense, controlling stillness.
As I did, I felt a terrible, sharp cold slice through the heat in my chest, rushing down my arms alongside the Sun-Fire. The chain instantly settled. The heat still flowed, but it was tempered. The cold acted like a lens, focusing the energy.
I opened my eyes and watched, mesmerized, as a tiny, steady beam of yellow-gold light traveled down the iron links, struck the Sunstone, and vanished inside. The stone flared for only a moment. It was a gentle, stable pulse and then settled back to its steady, pure glow.
I had done it. It wasn't a flash or an explosion. It was precise.
Vesper was staring, her mouth slightly parted. She quickly recovered, snatching a ledger and stylus to jot down notes.
"A controlled channel," she murmured, her voice filled with professional awe. "Remarkable. Your power is inherently drawn to his counter-magic. The prophecy holds more truth than we knew."
I dropped the chain, my heart hammering. I hadn't just controlled the Sun-Fire; I had relied on Lorcan's shadow to do it. The very thing I hated, the very thing that was enslaving me, was now necessary for my own survival.
I felt a terrifying, deep-seated connection to the Shadow King, a bond far more potent than the magical oath awaiting us. We do not need to be enemies in all things. His words from the dinner returned, chilling me to the core.