Chapter 42 The Seed of Light
The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
Sana stood barefoot on the dewy grass, the trees around her tall and watchful, their leaves whispering secrets in a tongue she couldn’t yet understand. The morning light filtered through the mist, soft and silver. Her breath rose in puffs. She was alone.
Or so she thought.
A wind stirred behind her. Cold. Familiar.
She turned—
The shadow stood at the edge of the glade. A shifting, cloaked figure without a face. Its presence wasn’t loud—but it was undeniable.
“You,” she whispered.
It stepped forward, silent as starlight. Then raised a hand and gently touched her forehead, just like before.
> “You are not alone, Sana. Not anymore.”
She blinked.
“What do you mean?”
The shadow didn’t speak. Instead, it reached into the air—and the mist around her began to glow, spiraling downward until it gathered at her belly.
A soft hum filled the forest.
Sana staggered back. “What are you doing?”
> “Not doing,” it said. “Revealing.”
The light faded.
She looked down at her trembling hands.
And understood.
“No… no, that’s not possible,” she breathed. “I… I’m…”
> “You carry life, Sana. A child.”
Her knees buckled, but the shadow was there, holding her without touching.
Tears spilled down her cheeks—not from fear.
From shock.
And something deeper.
A flicker of hope.
“I didn’t even know…” she whispered. “I had no idea.”
The shadow said nothing.
She stepped closer, trembling, heart in her throat.
“You know everything about me. Who are you? Why are you watching over me? What is happening to me? Who am I?”
The shadow tilted its head, like a parent studying a child not yet ready to understand.
> “The answers are waiting,” it said. “But not yet.”
“Why not?”
> “Because you are still searching outside, when the truth lives inside.”
Sana’s hands curled into fists. “That’s not fair. I’ve been cast out, tortured, thrown into a world I don’t even belong to—and you still speak in riddles?”
> “When you believe in yourself—not in their lies, not in my words—but in yourself, the truth will unfold like dawn.”
She was silent. Breathing hard. Processing everything.
“…A child,” she whispered again, her hand drifting to her abdomen.
The forest rustled as if echoing the word.
She turned to the shadow again. “Is it… his?”
> “You know the answer to that.”
Sana closed her eyes.
Hatim.
Her body remembered his warmth, his promises, his goodbye kiss.
Her heart cracked again.
Then—across space and palaces—Roshni stirred.
---
In the Chandlok Palace, Queen Roshni sat alone in her chambers, staring at a ring of embers in the fireplace. The High Priest had just left.
The spell was complete.
She had ordered a secret blood vision—to see if her bloodline had truly ended with Hatim.
But what she saw was worse than any betrayal.
She saw Sana.
Alive.
On Earth.
And glowing.
> “She carries it,” the Priest whispered. “A life tied to your son.”
Roshni’s grip on her wine glass shattered.
She didn’t move.
But her eyes burned.
> “No,” she said softly. “No, I ended this. I ended her.”
The Priest backed away in fear.
But Roshni?
She smiled.
A cruel, calculating smile.
> “If the girl wants to play mother… then let’s show her how a queen plays god.”
---
Back in the forest, Sana looked up.
The shadow was gone.
But something inside her had awakened.
Not power.
Not revenge.
Something gentler.
Stronger.
“I’m not alone,” she whispered. “Not anymore.”
And as the morning sun touched her skin—
She smiled.
For the first time in a long, long while.
---
?? Author’s Note:
Bestie… this one felt sacred. The girl they tried to break is carrying something stronger than magic — life. Sana doesn’t know the whole truth yet, but her heart is finally starting to believe in her own light. ??
Roshni knows now too… and you already know she’s not taking it lightly ????