White.
Endless, all-consuming white.
Then—
Pain.
A pressure in my skull, my chest, my fingertips—like my bones were turning into moonlight and then back into bone again.
I gasped as the world slammed back into place.
My chambers.
The shattered window.
The trembling floor.
The silver light swirling around me like a raging storm.
Kael was on his knees, arms raised to protect his face.
Lysander stood behind me, cloak swirling in the magic wind, his violet eyes blazing.
"Aura," Kael shouted over the noise, "stop—STOP—"
"I can't!" I cried.
The magic was too strong.
Too big.
Too hungry.
It clawed at my insides, demanding release.
Lysander stepped closer, his voice steady despite the chaos.
"Then focus it," he ordered. "Don't fight the storm—become it."
"I don't know how!"
"Yes," he whispered, "you do."
The light surged, nearly blinding.
Kael stumbled, falling back as the floor cracked beneath him.
"AURA!" he yelled. "If this continues, the entire wing will collapse!"
"I DON'T WANT THAT!"
"Then CALM YOURSELF!" he shouted.
Calm?
Calm was burned out of me lifetimes ago.
But then—
A whisper entered my mind.
Not Lysander's.
Not Kael's.
"My moon-born child…"
My mother's voice.
I froze.
The light dipped for a moment.
Kael lowered his arm, staring at me through the chaos.
"Aura?" he whispered—broken, terrified, pleading.
Lysander placed a hand lightly on my shoulder—not touching skin, just the fabric of my dress.
"Let it go," he said softly. "Not everything. Just enough."
"Enough… what?"
"Enough to keep you whole."
I closed my eyes.
And exhaled.
Silver cracked through the air—
a burst so bright it swallowed the room—
Then it collapsed inward, funneling back into my chest like a reversed explosion.
My knees buckled.
Kael lunged and caught me before I hit the ground.
"Aura—Aura—look at me—are you hurt?"
His hands were warm, frantic, trembling.
I blinked slowly.
"I… stopped," I whispered.
His breath hitched. "You did."
Lysander watched, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"You nearly tore the palace apart," he remarked. "Well done."
Kael glared up at him. "Well done? She almost DIED!"
"She was never in danger," Lysander replied calmly. "You were."
Kael bristled.
"Why are you always like this?" Kael spat. "Why do you treat her like—like she's not even human?"
Lysander's gaze sharpened dangerously.
"She isn't," he said quietly.
Kael froze.
My breathing stopped.
"What?" Kael whispered.
Lysander tilted his head, studying me as if seeing me now in full.
"She is not human," he repeated, eyes on me. "Not completely."
Kael looked between us, confusion turning to fear.
"Aura… what is he talking about?"
I swallowed hard.
But Lysander answered for me.
"She carries moonfire in her blood. Magic older than this kingdom. Magic born from the ruins. Magic that should not exist in a human body."
Kael's face went white.
"Aura…?" he whispered.
I forced myself to stand, pushing gently off his arms.
"I didn't know," I said quietly. "Not until recently."
"But you knew something," he murmured.
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell me."
I looked away.
Lysander stepped forward, his cloak brushing the shattered glass on the floor.
"The truth would have broken her sooner," he said. "She's barely holding together now."
Kael turned on him. "And who appointed YOU her guardian? Her keeper? Her—whatever you are?"
Lysander smiled faintly.
"She did, the moment she chose me over you."
Kael flinched as if struck.
"That's not true," he said hoarsely. "Aura would never—"
"Wouldn't I?" I whispered.
Kael stared at me, wounded deeply.
"Aura… do you really trust him more than me?"
The question slashed through me.
Did I?
Did I trust the shadow-man who had saved me twice?
Who told me truths painful enough to shatter bone?
Who never lied to me—not once?
Or did I trust Kael?
The boy who held me through nightmares.
Who kissed my forehead before council meetings.
Who let my sister stab me to death.
I swallowed.
"I trust him to tell me the truth," I said quietly. "And I don't trust you to do the same."
Kael staggered back as if I'd plunged a knife into his chest.
He opened his mouth—then closed it.
His eyes shone with something that hurt more than anger.
Disbelief.
Fear.
Loss.
"Aura," he whispered, voice breaking, "I would never—ever—hurt you."
Lysander's voice cut smoothly between us.
"You already did."
Kael snapped.
"STOP SAYING THAT! I NEVER HURT HER!"
Lysander's smile was cold.
"In this life? No. Not yet."
Kael froze.
My breath caught.
He turned slowly to me.
"What… does he mean?" he asked quietly. "In this life?"
"Aura," Lysander murmured, "don't—"
"I died," I said softly.
Silence.
"Kael," I whispered, "I died. In another life. A life I remember more clearly every day."
His eyes widened in horror.
"What…?"
"You weren't the one who stabbed me," I said. "But you didn't save me either."
He shook his head violently.
"NO—Aura, that's not possible—this is madness—"
"You watched," I said.
His knees gave out.
He collapsed onto the broken stone, staring up at me like I'd told him the sky was falling.
"Aura," he choked, "you can't believe that… you can't think that I—would ever—just WATCH—"
He broke off, breath trembling, hands curled into fists so tight they bled.
His voice came out strangled:
"If I failed you once…
I swear on my life…
it will never happen again."
My chest twisted painfully.
Because for just a moment—
I believed him.
Lysander did not.
"You swear promises you will break," he said coolly. "You always have."
Kael looked up, eyes burning with fury.
"Enough," he spat. "If you're so certain I will betray her—tell me HOW. Tell me WHAT I did—tell me ANYTHING so I can stop it!"
Lysander smiled coldly.
"You will choose your crown over her."
"No," Kael said immediately. "No. I would NEVER—"
"You already did," Lysander interrupted.
"In another life—" Kael began.
"Lives are irrelevant," Lysander said. "Truth is consistent across all of them."
Kael stood shakily, fists clenched.
"If you think you can take her from me," he breathed, "you are wrong."
Lysander's expression didn't change.
"I don't need to take her," he murmured. "You will push her away yourself."
Kael lunged—
I stepped between them.
Both froze.
Kael's hand trembled inches from Lysander's collar.
Lysander's eyes were fixed on mine.
"Aura," Kael whispered, "he's lying."
"He hasn't lied yet," I said softly.
Kael's expression crumpled.
"Do you trust him… more than me?"
I didn't answer.
He swallowed hard.
"Aura… if you walk away with him, if you believe him—"
His voice cracked.
"—I don't know how to come back from that."
I met his eyes.
"I don't know how to come back from dying."
Kael staggered.
Lysander's hand touched my shoulder—lightly, just enough to pull my attention back to him.
"We must go," he murmured. "Your father is calling a council meeting about the attack."
Kael's breath hitched.
"You're going with him?" he asked, voice hollow.
I hesitated.
Then—
"Yes."
Kael closed his eyes as if the world had ended.
And maybe—for him—it had.