Chapter 21 #3
The woman smiles faintly. "So you do."
The bond warms. I barely feel it over the pounding of my heart. "What do you want?" I ask.
The woman's gaze returns to mine. "To warn you." Another tremor passes through the chamber, but this one comes from below. Deep below. As if the academy's roots are shaking. "The Remnant was only a scout," she says.
My blood turns cold. My mother covers her mouth. Professor Thorne mutters a curse.
The queen's echo lifts one glowing hand.
In the air above the basin, an image forms.
Arcana Academy from above. Black towers.
Silver bridges. The winter garden. The observatory.
Then beyond it, far outside the warded grounds, three points of darkness ignite in the surrounding mountains.
Each burns with the same symbol we saw inside the Remnant's mouth.
Three circles around a black star. Ancient Masters.
"They felt you," the queen says. My knees nearly give. Valerius holds me upright.
The image shifts. The three dark points begin moving toward Arcana. The queen's voice lowers. "When the sovereign wakes, the old law comes to finish what it began."
Valerius's Shadowflame roars. This time, I don't stop him because the fear rising in me is not only mine. It belongs to everyone in the room. Seren's hand finds mine. My mother's eyes are full of horror. Professor Thorne looks like a man watching history crawl out of a grave.
I stare at the moving dark points. "How long?" I ask.
The queen's echo looks at me. "Three nights."
The chamber goes cold. Three nights. Three nights until the Ancient Masters reach Arcana. Three nights to learn a magic I didn't know I had. Three nights to understand a title I don't want. Three nights before whatever murdered the last queen comes for me.
Valerius turns toward the image, face carved from wrath. "Then we kill them before they reach her."
The queen looks at him sadly. "You cannot kill old law with rage, Shadowbound."
His eyes darken. "Watch me."
For a moment, the echo almost smiles. Then her gaze moves to our joined hands. "Rage will not save her. Devotion alone will not save her either." Her eyes lift to mine. "The Starborne survives only when she stops choosing between love and power."
My throat tightens. "What does that mean?" The queen begins to fade. "No," I step forward. "Wait. What does that mean?"
Her voice becomes softer. "Your mother saved your life by sealing your fire."
My mother breaks. A sob escapes her. The queen's gaze holds mine.
"But a sealed star cannot lead the dark away."
The image above the basin flickers. The three dark points move closer.
"Learn quickly, little flame." The echo fades until only her silver-gold eyes remain.
Then one final whisper fills the chamber.
"Because the first thing they will do is try to make you sacrifice the boy."
The flame goes out. Darkness crashes down. For one heartbeat, no one speaks. No one moves. Then every torch in the chamber reignites at once. Valerius's hand is locked around mine so tightly it hurts. I don't pull away because the queen's words are still ringing.
Sacrifice the boy.
My stomach turns. Valerius looks at me. I look at him. The bond opens, wide and raw.
He sends immediately and terrified.
No.
I feel the fear beneath it. His and mine because if the Ancient Masters know what we are, if they know Starborne and Shadowbound are tied, if they know his magic wakes mine and mine steadies his. Then the easiest way to destroy me may not be killing me. It may be taking him.
Seren whispers, "What do we do now?"
No one answers. For once, not even Thorne. Valerius steps closer to me. His hand comes to my face, heedless of everyone watching. His thumb brushes my cheek. "They will not have me," he says quietly.
It's meant to comfort me. It does the opposite because for the first time, I see the shape of the war coming. Not council hearings. Not whispers. Not Mira's cruelty. Not even shadows at my bed. A war built around the one thing that can break me.
Him.
I cover his hand with mine. "I will burn the world before they even try," I whisper. The bond burns. A vow. A warning. A prayer.
Professor Thorne exhales slowly. "Then we begin."
I don't look away from Valerius. "Training?"
Thorne's voice is grim. "War preparation."
The word should scare me. It does but beneath the fear, Starfire lifts again. Listening. Valerius's Shadowflame curls at our feet, protective and dark.
His eyes stay on mine. He sends through the bond warmly.
Together,
I answer without hesitation.
Together.
Above us, somewhere in the academy, council bells still ring. Outside the walls, the Ancient Masters have begun moving and beneath Arcana, in a chamber hidden by starlight and shadow, I stand with Valerius Draven's hand in mine and a queen's warning burning through my blood.
They are coming for him first. Which means they have already made their first mistake because I'm done being the girl people protect by taking pieces from her. This time, if the world reaches for what is mine, I will burn back.