Chapter 29 #3
The Ancient Masters remove their masks. All three bow their heads. "Our queen." The words echo across Arcana.
My body smiles. Inside, I scream. Aurelia extends my hand.
The remnants of the academy's wards rise from the ground in silver strands. She gathers them into her palm, pulling every protection, every oath, every branch enchantment into the sovereign heart. Arcana is becoming hers, not conquered. Rewritten.
A new tower rises from the shattered central observatory, white stone growing from rubble, shaped by Starfire. The crown above my head brightens. The sky turns black behind it. Dead stars appear. The same sky beyond the gate. Aurelia is bringing her world into mine.
The first Ancient Master looks toward the fountain. "Shadowbound blood remains."
Aurelia turns my head. Valerius lies beneath broken stone.
Blood spreads under him. The bond is still silent.
The locked girl inside me stops screaming.
Aurelia descends slowly. The Eternal Flame carries us toward him.
Students and professors remain kneeling around the courtyard. Some cry. Some stare at me with terror.
My mother tries to crawl forward despite the old law crushing her down. "Valentina!"
Aurelia ignores her. We land beside the ruined fountain. Valerius doesn't move. His face is turned toward the sky. Blood runs from his temple into his black hair. His chest is still. I search the bond. Nothing.
Aurelia's satisfaction enters my body. "The final barrier is gone."
The locked door fractures completely. Pain floods through me uncontrolled. "Valerius." My voice screams in terror.
Aurelia's head jerks. "He is dead."
I drop to my knees beside him. My hand reaches for his face. "No."
Aurelia stops it halfway. "You killed him."
My fingers tremble above his skin. "No."
Aurelia laughs inside me. "Accept it."
The sovereign heart tightens. The emotionless silence tries to return.
I fight. I remember his smile in the dining hall.
His arm around me. His mouth against mine.
His voice saying 'I don't know how to leave you anymore.'
His hand reaching for mine every time the world asked us to separate.
I remember him hanging in chains. I remember turning away.
I remember him still following. Still believing. Still choosing me.
"No." My hand reaches his cheek. His skin is still warm. The bond remains silent.
Aurelia pushes deeper. "Let him go."
"I won't." My mouth speaks the words out loud.
The first Ancient Master raises his head.
Voss looks up. My mother stops struggling.
Hope moves through the courtyard. Aurelia takes control of my hand.
White-gold fire gathers in my palm. She intends to finish what I began.
Kill him and remove Shadowbound. Secure the vessel. My hand rises over his heart.
"No." I shout. The fire descends. A black hand catches my wrist. Valerius's eyes open. His grip is weak but unbreakable.
Aurelia freezes.
The bond slams open. Pain. Love. Defiance. Valerius. He inhales raggedly. "You throw badly." A sob rises inside me. My mouth almost smiles. Mine. Aurelia tears control back. My expression goes cold.
Valerius sees the change but he doesn't release my wrist. The old law presses down on him. He pushes himself upright anyway. Every movement costs blood.
The first Master rises from his knees. "Shadowbound." Valerius turns his head. The Master lifts one hand. "Kneel." The command strikes.
Valerius's body shakes. One knee bends. He stops it. Shadowflame bursts around his leg, bracing him against the old law. The courtyard watches.
Aurelia rises in my body, towering over him in white-gold fire. "Your ancestors knelt."
Valerius wipes blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "They weren't in love with her."
The words crack through Aurelia. Through me.
Through the academy. His Shadowflame erupts.
One final black-red blaze wrapping around his body as he stands beneath the weight of every ward in Arcana.
The Ancient Masters rise. Remnants lift their faceless heads.
Voss stares. Aurelia's crown burns brighter.
Valerius looks only at me. Not at the queen wearing my face. Me. "I already chose her." The locked girl inside me reaches for him. Aurelia feels it. Her control slips. My fingers twitch toward his. Valerius sees. His smile is broken. "There you are, fight Valentina. Fight." He screams.
Aurelia screams through my mouth. The Eternal Flame explodes behind us. White-gold fire swallows the sky. The central tower collapses upward, stone and flame twisting into a crown over Arcana. The Ancient Masters throw their hands toward me, feeding old law into the sovereign heart.
Valerius steps closer. Shadowflame burns away beneath the pressure. He keeps moving. Aurelia lifts my hand to kill him. My arm trembles. I fight from inside. Valerius stops directly in front of me. White fire burns against his skin. Black flame rises to meet it.
His eyes hold mine through Aurelia's silver-gold glow. "Come home." The words enter the last place inside me that still belongs only to us.
Aurelia strikes. Starfire explodes from my palm. Valerius doesn't move. The blast hits his chest.