Suddenly, a blinding light swallows the town whole.
Everything—people, buildings, even the distant hum of life—vanishes in an instant. The restless crowd falls silent, their voices cut off mid-breath as they turn skyward in awe. And then—nothing.
Not destruction. Not distortion.
Just… absence.
Silence.
The town doesn't feel abandoned. It feels as if it never existed at all.
Only four of us remain: me, Scarlette, and the two Love Fairies—Eris and Lucien—trapped in the unnatural stillness.
The brilliance of the light sears into my vision, unbearable agony drilling into my skull. My dark magic recoils violently, writhing against the overwhelming radiance as if it's trying to escape my body entirely. I gasp, breath catching, limbs locking under the crushing weight of an unseen force.
Then—Scarlette's hand finds mine. A grounding touch in the chaos.
"Charlotte?" My voice comes out strangled, barely a whisper against the suffocating light. Pain twists through me, sharp and relentless, making it nearly impossible to focus.
No answer—just her steady grip. Then, in a voice too composed for the situation, she murmurs, "It's me. Relax."
And that's when I feel it: a warm mist forming behind me, dulling the light's oppressive grip. Her magic. No question.
A voice rings out, detached and cold. "What's with him?"
Scarlette—Charlotte—responds instantly, too smoothly. "My boyfriend is blind."
Boyfriend? Blind?
The way she says it makes me pause. I know it's just a cover—a necessary lie. But why does hearing her call me her boyfriend send a warmth through me? A strange comfort. Like some part of me wants it to be true.
No. Not me, Veravos.
Ravos likes it—the disguise, the persona, the role I'm forced to play.
I stiffen, barely hiding my reaction. Right—we're pretending to be a mixed fairy couple. But there's something unsettling about how effortlessly she says it.
Have I influenced her? Or… is she serious?
I squeeze her hand, testing her reaction.
"Charlotte—" I begin, but a voice cuts through the suffocating light.
"What do you want, and why are you in my kingdom?"
It isn't just powerful—it's absolute.
The weight of it reverberates through my bones, locking me in place despite the torment gnawing at my senses. Scarlette's grip tightens—just slightly. A warning or reassurance, I can't tell.
Then, in a mockingly sweet tone, she leans in, her breath brushing my ear. "Ravos, dear, the Light Fairy King, King Luxeron, is asking you a question."
I swallow hard, forcing my breath to steady. Crap. This is the infamous Light Fairy King? Luxeron?
His light hits my skin like ultraviolet fire. The pain is relentless, seeping into my core. Is this why so few Dark Fairies ever stand before him? His mere presence is suffocating—like inhaling sulfur, like drowning in radiance too pure for creatures like me.
And I have to answer. Carefully.
"We are a mixed fairy couple seeking refuge in a land where we would not be rejected, Your Majesty," I say, my voice steady despite the crushing weight on my chest.
The light pulses—heavier this time, searing through the air like judgment. It's more than illumination. It's scrutiny. Dissection. It weighs the truth in my words, searching for cracks.
I can't see King Luxeron directly, but I feel him.
Looming. Omnipresent. A presence that demands reverence by existing.
Then his voice cuts through the silence, sharp and cold.
"And why would you cause a disturbance in my town's marketplace?"
Every syllable drips with authority—the kind that knows it can end me with a flick of its wrist.
I force my breath even. One wrong word. One misstep.
And everything collapses.
"Fellow Love Fairies have been casting spells on the townsfolk, Your Majesty," I say carefully. The words taste heavy with unease.
Beside me, Eris and Lucien tremble. Their former arrogance has crumbled, stripped away by the king's suffocating presence.
A long, unbearable silence stretches.
Then—
"Very well." A beat. "And your name?"
I hesitate briefly. "Ravos, Your Majesty."
His unseen gaze lingers, dissecting me. Then he shifts.
"And yours?"
"Charlotte," Scarlette answers smoothly, unreadable.
Eris and Lucien flinch at the names. I shoot them a warning glare.
They look away.
They better not blow our cover.
King Luxeron's presence deepens, stretching toward us like an unseen tide. "Ravos and Charlotte—are these the other two Love Fairies causing trouble in my kingdom?"
Scarlette nods without hesitation.
"Yes, Your Majesty," I confirm.
The Light Fairy King turns to Eris and Lucien, who remain bowed and trembling. His voice thunders through the empty void.
"Love Fairies, what do you say about these accusations?"
Eris flinches. "It… it was for a good reason, Your Majesty."
Lucien lifts his head slightly, desperation thick in his voice. "We only sought to ensure the survival of Light Fairies. Without our magic, they would vanish."
A bold claim. A dangerous one.
Will the king believe them? Or have they sealed their fate?
"You must know—lying to the king is a punishable offense."
His voice carries no anger. No impatience. Only quiet, unshakable certainty.
The chamber holds its breath.
A hum of consideration follows, stretching into an agonizing pause. Then, with casual cruelty, he declares—
"You will all remain here until a desirable outcome is reached. If you wish to make a request, you must offer payment. What will you sacrifice?"
The weight of his words settles over us like a death sentence.
He steps closer—slow, deliberate. Though my vision remains clouded by the suffocating light, I feel his attention shift.
It lands on what I'm holding.
"I see you carry an emerald," King Luxeron muses, voice lighter now, almost amused. "A fitting prize for a request… wouldn't you agree?"
Beside me, Scarlette tenses.
Her hand is still wrapped around mine—I feel the shift in her breathing, the slight tightening of her fingers.
She doesn't like this.
Neither do I.
The Light Fairy King smiles—a thin, knowing thing I feel more than see. His tone, though playful, is edged with finality.
"Did you know… I can make your dreams come true? Or erase you from existence entirely? Everything is negotiable… if you simply hand it over."
A chill curls in my gut.
He isn't asking. He's demanding.
"Your Majesty!"
Eris and Lucien's voices ring out, urgent.
"Is this scroll important to you?"
The king turns toward them, his aura shifting with him.
Then I see it—
The Light Guardian Scroll. Ancient. Close, yet impossibly far.
I signal Scarlette. Her gaze lands on it—and her face falls.
If King Luxeron obtains both the scroll and the Baltimorean Emerald, he only needs the Light Guardian to activate them.
The so-called noble Light Fairy King is nothing more than a corrupt charlatan, seeking bribes instead of truth. Nothing good will come of this.
And yet, no matter how deceitful he is, I can't hope to fight him. A royal fairy's power is unquestionable—untouchable.
"That settles it," the king declares brightly, plucking the scroll from its resting place.
With a flick of his wrist, he commands, "Forget everything and return to the town."
Before I can react, Eris and Lucien vanish—gone as if they never existed.
The king steps closer. His presence suffocates.
I still can't meet his gaze directly, but I see the scroll in his hand now, held with casual possession. Is he truly going to alter reality once he has everything?
He never intends to stop the chaos.
He wants to use it.
"Now, the emerald?" he prompts, expectation sharpening his glow. "If you wish to leave, like the other two."
His voice darkens.
"Or… I can make you disappear just as easily."
"No."
Scarlette's voice snaps like steel.
His glow flares. "What do you mean, no?" His calm tone hides a storm beneath. "You dare refuse the Light Fairy King?"
Eyes still closed, I step between them. "Your Majesty, the emerald—it's just a trinket, a forgotten stone. Surely we can negotiate—"
But Scarlette isn't listening. She is seething with rage.
"Hypocrites in ivory towers," she mutters. Then louder: "I've killed one king before. I can do the same to another. Easily."
My stomach plummets.
What does she mean she killed a king? The Love Fairy King—Baltimore? That was her doing?
I thought she only removed his healing.
Is that why the Love Fairy armies hunt her?
Scarlette, no.
The king's gaze sharpens, curiosity flickering beneath his anger.
"Dark Fairy," he says slowly, intrigued. "You do not seem affected by my light."
But Scarlette is no Dark Fairy.
His eyes shift—to me.
Cold weight lodges in my chest.
"Your boyfriend, on the other hand…"
Before I can react, the world erupts in searing white.
Pain.
Light tears through me, merciless and raw. My magic convulses, twisting violently, trying to resist—but the radiance is too strong. It burns through every fiber, unraveling me from the inside out.
I gasp, choking on nothing, on everything.
"Just as I thought—you are Veravos," King Luxeron muses, satisfaction thick in his voice. "Of course you're the Dark Fairy."
I can't breathe. His light is erasing me.
"What a privilege to meet and destroy the notorious boogeyman," he laughs. "Unable to recharge your dark power in a kingdom of with no night? You should have just played nice in my territory."
I struggle for breath.
I should have trusted my instincts. I never should have come here. If I had known this would be my fate, I wouldn't have been so arrogant—hiding behind Ravos, thinking it could shield me. Luxeron sensed me from the start, and now he's erasing me.
Is this it? Darkness fading into light—a tale as old as time.
Then—a roar.
Not mine.
Scarlette's.
A violent force slams into me, knocking me back—but before I collapse, arms catch me.
Her arms.
The agony doesn't stop, but it dulls. Scarlette's magical red mists curl around me, dark and unyielding, pushing back against the king's assault.
"Enough!" she snarls.
The blinding light wavers. The crushing heat retracts just enough for me to drag in a ragged breath.
Scarlette's grip on me is ironclad.
Her fury ripples through the chamber like a storm ready to break.
And for the first time—
King Luxeron hesitates.
I tremble, vision scorched white, pain pulsing—but I'm breathing.
Scarlette's fingers tighten around my wrist.
Her fury is alive. Breathing.
"You dare attack him?"
Her voice is lethal, dripping with rage.
"I will burn your kingdom to the ground."
Her power surges, responding to her wrath. Terrifying. Beautiful.
Red mist coils from the ground, writhing like living tendrils. My own dark magic, bleeding from my wounds, seeps into hers, merging—twisting into something raw and unstoppable.
King Luxeron's glow falters.
Through my blurred vision, I see what happens next.
He writhes—choking.
Scarlette forces a crimson orb into his throat, red and black mist surging in, devouring the light. His radiance flickers, twisting in protest, but her magic digs deeper, suffocating it—dimming it.
"I will not be your puppet. You will not hurt my Dark Fairy!" she roars.
My heart clenches.
"Scarlette… no…" My voice is weak, barely a breath.
Did she really say my Dark Fairy?
The red mists swallow me—
Before I can find out if I mean to her what she now means to me.