Prologue

Elysia

Every witch, no matter their origin, carries the marks of their craft; glowing eyes, hair flowing like a waterfall, and porcelain skin. Deep in Mount Everstrike’s belly, the Matriarchs of all Covenkind circled the cavern’s hollow. The pure power that flowed through them intensified these witches’ magical features. Their eyes lit the darkness, dispelling the need for torches.

A single woman stood in the center. Her ebony hair hung around her heart shaped face, obscuring her ocean blue eyes. Her shoulders slumped as she stared at the ground. Elysia stood on trial and she knew there was only one way it could end.

Sabel waved her hand dismissively. "Seriously?" she scoffed. "You expect me to see our beloved sister—" Pointing at Elysia, her voice rose in disbelief. "—as a villain?" 

Indistinct voices murmured among the women as they scrutinized her with a variety of expressions ranging from pity to accusation. Elysia fought the urge to call out to them for compassion. She could beg them to remember their shared memories, all that they knew of her. She wouldn’t have done what they accuse without good reason. But after what she had done, they would never understand.

Marona’s voice trembled like a leaf caught in a breeze. "Of course we are. The luna stone… its light is gone. Snuffed out." Her voice quivered, weakened by years of doubt, silver-streaked hair falling like a curtain around her wrinkled cheeks. "We… we’re exposed without the talisman." 

Elysia wrapped her arms around her tightening chest. They thought the stone destroyed. If only it were that simple… The Moon Goddess had come to her, her words carrying on the wind through the night. And she knew she had no choice. She had to protect her daughter, her husband, and the rest of the world.

And for her faithfulness, she would never see her daughter or her husband again. Would lyra grow up thinking her mother had abandoned her? The questions she imagined her daughter asking tore at her: Why didn’t you stay? All she had done, every sacrifice, had been for lyra—for a future Elysia would never live to see. And the truth would be lost to time.

May the goddess watch over you, my sweet daughter, for you carry our hopes and dreams. She prayed silently.

"You betrayed us," Cassandra’s red glare matched the condemnation in her tone. "Don’t you know what’s coming? What we’ve all been keeping at bay?"

Elysia knew. She had been preparing the defenses with them. Had seen the darkness amassing on the horizon. The end was drawing near, the prophecy’s signs unfolding one by one.

“The moon goddess commanded.” Elysia spoke with conviction. “I only obeyed.”

Steely gazes locked onto her, jealousy and blame bearing into her. Cassandra’s growl trembled through the rocks of the cavern.

“You still betrayed us!” Calyne snarled, her usually composed demeanor lost in a fiery storm. “Your excuses do not matter!”

She stomped up to Elysia, fists ready to strike. Calyne’s fury pulsed through her veins, her wild curls like a fiery halo. Elysia didn’t move. She would take their anger, their abuse if it kept her baby safe.

Tears in her eyes, she whispered, “The stone’s time is over. The world will have to survive what comes next.”

A sudden chill swept through the room as two glowing purple eyes pierced the gloom. Vespera stepped forward, centuries of magical mastery bending the years around her. Her voluptuous form swayed beneath robes of utter black. 

Vespera’s serene, cruel smile carried into her response. “You have broken the natural order, Elysia. Do you understand what that means?” 

Elysia nodded.

“Do not think we are the only ones watching.” Vespera continued, cool as ice. “They will come for us now. We cannot afford mercy. You should have known better."

Elysia’s mind screamed in turmoil but she remained still as stone. She refused to look away, as if meeting Vespera’s scrutiny could ward off her fate. 

Vespera never wavered, motioning toward the guards. “Seize her.” Her finality settling over Elysia like a thick, stifling fog. “Take her to the cells. We will decide what to do with her soon.”

The sour taste of consequences rose in Elysia’s mouth. Lyra. A future of missed moments and unshared milestones. Her daughter would grow up without her and it splintered her heart. Would Lyra even remember her embrace?

The price of love, Elysia thought, sighing with mournful resignation. 

The guards grabbed her. As they dragged her away, she wondered if her husband would ever understand what had happened. The question left a blistering ache deep within her. 

Forgive me, my loves, she silently pleaded. I’m not coming home. Grow happy and strong, my precious child. The sound of their laughter, and the warmth of their love would remain with her until the end.

The doors slammed shut behind her with a deafening thud, an unseen harbinger encroached ever closer. The world bent to forces no mortal could predict. A certainty sank into her gut: there was no turning back. The darkness would come, and this time, there would be no stone to hold it at bay.