Lyra POVLyra stirred, the first hints of morning light filtering through the heavy curtains. The warmth against her skin wasn’t just from the sunlight - it was from the solid form beside her, his arm draped over her waist, holding her close.Kane.For a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of stillness. Of breathing him in - the scent of pine and embers clinging to his skin, the slow, steady rhythm of his breath against her shoulder.Last night had been… intense. Not just in the way their bodies had tangled in heat and need, but in the way the world had seemed to fade beyond these walls. For the first time in what felt like forever, she hadn’t been a warrior, a queen, or a daughter carrying the weight of prophecy.She had just been his.And he had been hers.But the moment couldn’t last forever.Lyra shifted, careful not to wake him as she sat up, the sheets pooling at her waist. The stone at her chest pulsed lightly, a reminder of everything they had uncovered.The Grand Stone. Th
Drevon POVDrevon stood at the edge of the ruins, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something older - something raw. The remnants of stone archways loomed around him, shadows stretching long under the weight of the dying sun. This place had once been a stronghold, a temple, a prison. Now, it was a graveyard of forgotten power.And yet, power still lingered.He ran his fingers over the deep etchings in the stone, the ancient runes humming beneath his touch. The magic here was fractured but not broken. It could be reforged, reshaped. Used.A low hiss slithered through the silence.“They know.”Drevon did not turn immediately. He had felt the presence before it spoke, before it even arrived. It moved like smoke - silent, fluid, insidious.“They were always going to know,” he murmured, his voice calm despite the storm beneath his ribs. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting the piercing silver gaze of Aelindra.She stepped closer, the folds of her dark cloak whispering against
Lyra was drowning.Not in water, but in darkness - vast, endless, pressing in from all sides. It clung to her like thick fog, swallowing every breath, every sound, every thought. The silence was oppressive, stretching infinitely, until the first whisper curled through the void.Soft at first. Then another. And another.The whispers layered upon each other, some frantic, others coaxing, all slipping between her fingers like water whenever she tried to grasp their meaning. A language lost to time, a song of secrets too old to understand.Then came the pulse.A slow, rhythmic thrum beneath her feet, like a heartbeat. But it wasn’t hers. It was something else - something buried deep beneath the earth, trapped, waiting.Lyra turned, though the darkness gave her no bearings. There was no up, no down, no horizon. Just the pulsing presence ahead of her.A pressure built in her chest, cold and unrelenting. It squeezed the air from her lungs, as if invisible hands were reaching through the void
The castle groaned around them like a living thing.Lyra stood frozen in the dim torchlight, her pulse hammering in her ears. The stone beneath her feet pulsed in time with her heartbeat, sending waves of unseen energy spiraling outward. It was wrong - all of it - the way the air had thickened, the way the walls trembled as if something deep within them had stirred.Kane was already moving.His golden eyes flicked toward her, sharp and assessing. “Lyra...”“I know,” she breathed, her fingers curling around the still-glowing stone at her chest.Another tremor rippled through the castle. This time, it wasn’t subtle. The walls shuddered, dust raining from the ancient beams overhead. Down the corridor, doors slammed open, and distant voices rose in confusion. The guards were waking, warriors roused from their slumber by something they couldn’t yet name.But Lyra knew.The Grand Stone.It had called to her in her dreams, in her visions, and now, its power was bleeding into the world.“We
A roar like thunder shook the chamber, rolling through the stone walls with the force of a storm. Dust and shards of ancient rock rained from the ceiling as the Grand Stone split wide open, its veins of silver light shattering into a storm of wild energy.Lyra barely had time to react before a pulse of darkness surged outward, slamming into her chest like a tidal wave.Pain lanced through her, sharp and raw, as the force sent her skidding backward across the cold floor. Kane was already on his feet, sword in hand, snarling as he planted himself between her and the widening rift in the Grand Stone.From within its depths, something moved.A hand - black as the void, etched with burning runes of crimson and gold - tore through the opening, gripping the jagged edges of the stone as if climbing out of a grave.Then, it emerged.The Demon God.It was neither fully corporeal nor entirely shadow, its form shifting between muscle and smoke. Black tendrils of darkness coiled from its shoulders
A low growl vibrated through the stone walls, deep and guttural, like the sound of mountains breaking apart. The Demon God loomed over them, a shifting mass of darkness, its form twisting between monstrous and spectral, never fully solid, never fully real.But its presence was undeniable - a weight in the air, a suffocating pull of power that made even the walls of the ancient chamber tremble.And then there was the word Aelindra had spoken.“Father.”The name hung between them like a curse, but there was no time to question it.The Demon God moved.A surge of darkness lashed out, an expanding force that swallowed light as it ripped toward them. Lyra felt the weight of it, an overwhelming tide of void magic meant to consume everything in its path.She threw herself sideways, barely avoiding the attack as the ground where she stood moments before was obliterated, cracked apart like dry earth under a hammer. Shards of broken stone exploded outward, and the air filled with the acrid scen
Aelindra wiped blood from her lips, silver eyes still gleaming with amusement despite the golden energy that had sent her sprawling. Her dark cloak was tattered, the edges burned from Lyra’s magic, yet she moved with a predator’s grace as she pushed herself back onto her feet.Lyra staggered, her chest heaving, body burning with raw power. The remnants of the Grand Stone inside her pulsed like a second heartbeat, reacting to the chaos surrounding them. Every nerve in her body screamed, every muscle ached, but she couldn’t stop now.Not when the chamber trembled with the force of an ancient, awakening wrath.The Demon God loomed behind Aelindra, its form a shifting void of shadows and agony, pulsing with black energy that twisted and churned like a storm with no end. Its presence pressed down on the room, suffocating, a living nightmare made of hunger and hate. The sheer weight of it made even the warriors stumble, forcing them to brace themselves against the shaking stone floor.But A
The chamber exploded with fury.The castle itself screamed, the magic woven into its very foundation fracturing under the sheer weight of the entity’s rage.Towers above them cracked, the stone splitting apart as if the very bones of the fortress could no longer withstand the force of what had been unleashed. The great warning horns of the city rang out, a desperate call for warriors to take up arms, for the innocent to run, flee, escape before it was too late.But in this chamber, there was no escape.The Demon God’s form twisted, its shadowed body shifting, growing impossibly large, expanding until the darkness swallowed the last remaining torches, leaving only the faint, pulsing glow of the shattered Grand Stone to illuminate the void.It no longer shifted like a specter in the dark.It had taken shape.A monstrous being, its body formed of writhing shadows and endless malice.Its head was crowned with jagged horns, piercing through the air like the twisted roots of a cursed tree.
Lyra POV Ekreth was gone again. For a long moment, she simply sat there, the weight of the world pressing down on her shoulders. Duty waited outside that door. An entire kingdom will look to her now - broken, battered, but victorious. They had won the war. The Harbinger was gone. The seal was locked and nothing should get through to this world.And Kane… Kane was gone too.The thought carved another raw wound through her heart. She pressed a trembling hand against her chest, as if she could hold the pieces of herself together a little longer. She was Queen. There was no one else. She can't hide here.The heavy cloak of authority settled around her shoulders. She did not look at Nyxar. She couldn’t. Not yet.A soft knock stirred the heavy silence.Lyra blinked slowly, pulling herself out of the half-daze she'd sunk into. Her fingers still curled around Nyxar’s, reluctant to let go. She didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to face whatever waited beyond this quiet, broken moment.Th
Lyra POV The door clicked softly shut behind Ekreth, leaving her alone with Nyxar and the sound of her own heartbeat.For a long time, she didn't move.She sat there, hands folded on her lap, staring at the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest beneath the blanket. Each breath was a fragile miracle. A proof that he still lived - that he hadn't slipped away entirely into whatever place gods went when they died."You stayed", Thalia murmured inside her, voice warm and thick with emotion."I had to."Lyra answered numbly."No, Lyra. You chose to."Lyra's chest ached at the words.She hadn't thought about it. Not really. When Nyxar’s light began to break apart, when the world had turned inside out - she had moved without hesitation. Without calculation. As if something inside her had already decided long before she knew it herself.But that didn't mean she understood it. Or that she wanted to.A heavy silence filled her mind."He matters to you", Thalia said softly, without accusation.
Lyra POV The silence that followed didn’t feel like peace. It felt like the world had forgotten how to breathe.Stone dust hung in the air like smoke, fine and pale, drifting slowly down in spirals from the vaulted ceiling above. Runes that had once blazed with ancient light were now dark and broken, their power spent. Cracks split the floor like veins across a dead heart.And at the center of it all, Lyra sat on her knees in the ruins of the seal - her hands tangled in Nyxar’s coat, her breath coming in ragged, uneven pulls.He was warm. That was the only thing she could hold onto.He was warm.His chest rose and fell beneath her fingers, slow but steady. His body, usually tense with power, now felt strangely soft in her arms - boneless, weighty. And his face…His face looked peaceful.Not serene. Not untouched. There were shadows under his eyes, ash on his skin, and gold still faintly glowing at the corners of his mouth. But there was no pain now. No fight left in him.Just… peace
Nyxar POVThe earth still quaked when the light began to fade. Not with the blinding fury of battle, nor with the blood-red chaos of war - but with something quieter. Heavier. Like the echo of a heartbeat after it stops.A sacred breath held too long… finally exhaled.Nyxar stood at the heart of the chamber beneath the castle - boots braced against fractured stone, the runes beneath his feet flickering like dying stars. The seal pulsed in front of him, threads of gold and shadow unraveling into the dark like veins torn open.Ekreth stood beside him, tall and monstrous in his truest form - wrought of shadow and old bone, his wings hunched tight against the low ceiling, scraping stone as they twitched.The air thrummed with old power. The kind that didn’t belong to the world above.Nyxar didn’t flinch.And before them in one moment the gate was gone. No fire. No rupture. No tearing in the fabric of the world. Just… closed. Like it had never been there at all.Nyxar’s chest was a war dru
Lyra POV - Dawn The sky held no warmth when morning came.It broke over the horizon like a blade - pale and cold, slicing through the hush that had settled over the city. No birds sang. No bells rang. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.Lyra stood alone in the highest tower, watching the first light seep into the edges of the world. The city still slept below, curled into itself like a creature trying to heal. She could see the rooftops where ivy climbed, the market square where sweetbread had been shared, the fountains where pups had splashed. All the places that had made her heart ache the night before.Her eyes were dry now. Her chest hollowed and quiet, the way it always felt after grief had burned itself down to embers.The shirt she’d held all night was gone. Folded. Left behind. Like a prayer she couldn’t take with her.She wasn’t bringing Kane into this. This was hers to carry. This was her moment to end what First Queen couldn't. Gave up what gods turn her into.The rit
Lyra POVThe city pulsed like a living thing.Not with war drums or warning horns, not with screams or smoke. But with something gentler. Steadier. Like a heartbeat finding its rhythm again after the chaos had passed.She walked its cobbled streets alone, the sky soft and bruised with dusk, her cloak drawn close against the cool wind.She didn’t want to be recognized.Tonight, she wasn’t the Queen. Not the warrior. Not the widow.She was just a woman - a ghost, maybe - drifting through the bones of a city that had outlived too much death.The streets were cracked and uneven where the stone had split from the last quake. Ivy had begun to creep over the ruins. Not the kind born of darkness and shadow like before - but living ivy. Green. Hopeful. Unafraid.It clung to burned-out walls, softening them. Claiming them.And everywhere she looked, life had begun again.A child ran past her, barefoot and shrieking with laughter, trailing a cloth banner behind her like it was a cape. Another pu
Lyra POVThe embers still glowed behind her.Lyra didn’t look back.The scent of ash clung to her skin, tangled in her hair, curled in the back of her throat. Kane’s name lingered there, unspoken. His memory pulsed with every breath.But she did not allow it to take her. Not yet.Later, she told herself, jaw locked so tight it ached. I will mourn him later. When the war is done. When I am alone. When I am allowed to shatter.But not now.Now, there were still choices to be made. Kingdom to hold together. Monsters to face.And one of them waited for her in human form - standing beside another creature just as ancient, just as terrifying.She found them where the Hollow Grounds bled into the broken remnants of the forest - where the warded stones gave way to open earth and the burnt sky cracked with thin threads of gold.Ekreth stood with arms crossed, tall and impossibly still. The last rays of dusk caught the edges of him, casting long, sharp shadows at his feet.He had taken a human
Lyra POV The pyre stood at the edge of the Hollow Grounds, where even shadows seemed afraid to linger.Smoke curled upward in slow, lazy spirals, black against a bruised sky. The earth beneath Lyra’s boots felt scorched, barren - like it remembered too. The scent of charred wood, old blood, and unspoken goodbyes clung to the air, suffocating.She stood alone.The others waited behind the circle of warded stones, where the barrier shimmered like a ghost in the dying light. Not one of them crossed it. Not Nyxar, not Elara, not the witches who still whispered her name like a half-broken prayer. They knew this was not a moment meant to be witnessed.Grief, Lyra had learned, wasn’t something that could be comforted. It wasn’t something you wrapped in soft words or shared through tears. It was a blade, and she had been holding it for days - bleeding quietly from the inside.Now it was buried in her chest, where no one could see it but her.Kane’s body lay wrapped in his old wolfhide cloak
Lyra POV The battlefield had gone silent. Smoke drifted in slow spirals, carrying the scent of charred magic and iron. The fires were still burning, but no one moved to put them out. The witches stood frozen in their circles, eyes wide. Warriors clutched weapons they would never raise. Because all eyes were on her and on him. Kane knelt at the heart of the broken ring, cracked stone glowing with sigils that no longer pulsed. His hands dug into the earth, breath coming in ragged gasps, and his back arched in pain as the Harbinger’s presence writhed inside him - like a second heartbeat made of shadows and fire. But it was still Kane’s face. Still his eyes. Lyra stepped forward slowly. She couldn’t feel her feet. Couldn’t feel her hands. Only the pulsing ache in her chest - the last thread of their bond, frayed and bleeding. Ekreth stood to her right, arms folded, waiting like a vulture made of smoke and starlight. His wings curled inward as if to shield her from what came