The corridor shook again—
dust falling like snow,
shouts echoing off the marble,
and somewhere within the chaos—
"PROTECT THE KING!"
My blood went cold.
Father.
Kael grabbed my wrist again. "Aura—please—"
But the shadow-man was already moving, melting from one patch of darkness to the next, faster than any human should be able to move.
I didn't hesitate.
I ran after him.
The halls blurred around me—
torchlight smearing,
servants screaming,
guards shouting commands that barely made sense.
Kael followed behind us, but farther, slower. He was strong, but human.
We were running with something else entirely.
The closer we got to the throne room, the heavier the air became.
Magic— thick, metallic, humming like a thousand unseen strings pulled tight.
And beneath it—
fear.
As we reached the last turn, the shadow-man stopped so suddenly I nearly collided into him.
He held out an arm, blocking me.
"Wait."
"I can't wait—my father—"
He didn't look at me. His eyes were fixed ahead, glowing faintly through the dimness.
"There are traps," he said. "Not meant for me. Meant for you."
My heart hammered painfully. "What kind of traps?"
"Magical," he murmured. "Crude. Desperate. But deadly."
The flash of recognition hit me like a blade.
Arcelia.
Impossible—
and yet—
She knew I was growing stronger.
She heard me say "wrong sister."
She knew her time was shrinking.
And the moment she panicked, she acted.
I pushed past the shadow-man, ignoring his warning. "I'm going."
He didn't stop me this time.
Just said quietly—
"Then you must learn to sense the danger yourself."
I didn't know what that meant. Not fully. Not yet.
But the throne room was ahead—
the door cracked open,
light flickering violently,
voices screaming inside.
Something inside me ripped open.
My father was in there.
I sprinted.
As I approached the doorway, the world sharpened—
sounds louder,
light brighter,
my heartbeat echoing like war drums.
I reached the door—
—and the moment my hand touched it—
Silver flashed beneath my skin.
I yanked my hand back instinctively.
"What—"
"You sense it now," the shadow-man murmured behind me. "Good."
The wood of the door shimmered faintly—
a thin layer of invisible magic coating it like poison.
A trap.
A spell meant to kill.
If I'd pushed it open, I would've walked straight into it.
My chest heaved.
"Arcelia," I whispered.
"Not alone," the shadow-man said. "She is too frightened to work cleanly. Someone else set this trap for her."
Who?
The palace had too many enemies with too many faces.
But there wasn't time to think.
I lifted my hand again—
silver light swirling around my fingertips.
The shadow-man watched me with something like approval.
"You're learning faster than expected."
I didn't look at him.
I didn't need approval.
I needed my father alive.
I pressed my palm to the shimmering magic coating the door—
and it broke
like cracking ice.
Silver threads shattered outward, dissolving into air.
I pushed the door open.
The scene inside punched the air from my lungs.
The Throne Room.
Destroyed.
Shattered marble.
Broken banners.
Guards strewn across the floor—some groaning, some frighteningly still.
And in the center—
My father,
half-kneeling,
sword drawn,
blood dripping from a cut above his eye.
Above him—
that same creature from the corridor.
No—
not the same.
Bigger.
Stronger.
Eyes glowing an awful, hungry red.
And worse—
three more smaller ones crawled along the pillars, hissing.
Father was surrounded.
A guard threw himself at one—
and was thrown across the room like a discarded rag.
Father staggered backward.
"NO!" I screamed.
The creature turned.
It saw me.
Every nightmare I never remembered hit me in one instant.
The death.
The marble.
The blood.
I ran forward—
but Kael suddenly appeared beside me, grabbing my arm.
"Aura—don't—!"
"LET GO!"
"I won't let you die!" he roared.
"I'm NOT dying," I snapped.
Magic rose inside me like a tidal wave.
The creature lunged for my father—
and the world narrowed to a single point of violence.
Not again.
Not again.
NOT AGAIN—
My scream tore from my throat, raw and full of power.
"STOP!"
Silver light exploded outward from my body—
a shockwave that hurled Kael back against the wall
and sent every creature skidding across the marble.
The large one slammed into the far pillar, cracking it.
The smaller ones shrieked, writhing.
My father gasped. "Aura…?"
I stepped forward.
My hands glowed brighter—
silver flames dancing across my skin.
Light climbed my arms, my shoulders, my throat—
as though I were wearing the moon itself.
The shadow-man appeared beside me, but did not touch me.
He whispered:
"Good. Now choose."
I didn't understand at first.
"Choose what?"
The largest creature was rising again, snarling—
broken bones snapping together,
skin stretching tight across its unnatural jaw.
"Choose," he said softly, "whether this creature lives…"
His eyes glowed brighter.
"…or dies."
My breath hitched.
Kael, still recovering, sat up against the wall, staring in terror. "Aura—stop—don't do this—"
My father whispered, "Aura… child… calm yourself—"
But I wasn't listening to them.
Not this time.
I raised my hand.
Silver light gathered in my palm—
a swirling vortex of moonfire.
The creature lunged again—
straight at my father.
And something inside me snapped.
My choice was made.
I thrust my hand forward—
Moonfire erupted,
bright enough to burn shadows from the walls,
bright enough to blind the creature mid-lunge.
It shrieked—
and the light tore through it.
When it hit the ground
it didn't rise again.
Silence.
Smoke curled from the creature's ruined form.
My father stared at me, trembling.
Kael stared at me like he'd never seen me before.
Arcelia—who had been hiding behind a pillar—pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide, terrified.
Only the shadow-man looked calm.
He stepped closer.
"Aura."
The way he said my name sent a shiver through me.
"You are awakening perfectly."
Kael staggered to his feet.
"What are you?" he whispered.
I turned to him—
silver still flickering under my skin,
magic humming in my veins.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "Not yet."
Father dropped his sword, eyes soft and fearful.
"Aura… how… how did you…?"
Arcelia recovered her expression quickly—too quickly.
"Aura must have been blessed," she said sweetly, though her voice shook. "Maybe the moon granted her power to save us."
The shadow-man's lips curved.
"No," he said. "This was no blessing."
His violet eyes locked onto mine.
"This was a warning."
A cold wind rushed through the broken windows behind us.
My pulse hammered.
"A warning about what?" I asked softly.
He stepped close enough that only I could hear the answer.
"About who will betray you next."
My blood froze.
He leaned in—
and whispered the name.