I wasn't sure what death would feel like—but this wasn't it.
No pain. No breath. No heartbeat.
Just... weightlessness.
My body felt like mist, drifting in a place that wasn't dark or light. The world around me shimmered with shifting hues—silver and violet skies above a mirror-flat lake that reflected not the heavens, but memories.
Flickers of my past danced across the surface—my mother's face, Kane's hands pulling me from the river, Talon's lopsided grin. All fractured, echoing versions of my life. But this wasn't about me.
I'd come here for her.
"Mom?" I whispered.
At first, silence answered me.
Then the lake rippled, and wind stirred. From the fog rose a shape—graceful, robed in flowing silver that caught the nonexistent light.
"Hello, Elara."
Her voice wrapped around me like a lullaby from a forgotten dream.
I ran to her. Or floated—I wasn't sure. But suddenly, I was in her arms, sobbing against her shoulder like I had when I was small.
"I'm sorry," I cried. "I should've asked more. Should've listened. I didn't know..."
She cupped my face, her fingers weightless but warm. "You were never meant to carry this burden alone."
"But I am carrying it. Malric—he's alive. And he's trying to break the Gate. He said you sealed it with your final breath—using my blood as the key. Is it true?"
She nodded, a shadow passing over her face. "When I faced him all those years ago, I knew killing him wasn't enough. So I used the bond between us—my blood, my life force—and tethered it to yours. It kept him trapped, but it also meant if he ever found you, he could unlock the Gate from the inside."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because knowing it too soon would've awakened the tether. You had to find your strength first. Your fire. And now you have."
I swallowed, tears drying on my cheeks. "How do I break it?"
She stepped back and the lake beneath us began to glow. "The bond can't be destroyed by force. Only by choice. You must accept your inheritance—and then choose who you are beyond it."
"I don't understand."
"You will." Her form began to fade. "But you must hurry. He's nearly opened the Gate."
"Wait—please! Don't go!"
She smiled softly. "You are my fire, Elara. Let it burn for what's right, not just what hurts. And remember—your light is not your father's shadow."
Her voice became wind.
The sky shattered like glass.
I jolted upright with a gasp.
Hands steadied me—Kane's hands. Warm. Real.
"You did it," he said, eyes wide. "You came back."
Talon let out a breath beside him. "About damn time."
I blinked. We were in the sacred glade again, the moon full above us, the air humming with power.
The Gate was pulsing at the far end, like a heartbeat made of magic. And in front of it—
Malric.
Cloaked in flame and shadow, his arms raised high as he chanted in an ancient tongue. The stone pillars around the Gate cracked and groaned. The sky above was splitting.
The world was ending.
I stood, no longer afraid.
"I know what to do," I said.
Fire sparked to life around me—silver and gold now, not just white. It didn't burn my skin. It welcomed me. Like an old friend.
Kane looked at me, wonder in his eyes. "What changed?"
"I accepted it," I said. "I'm not running from what I am anymore."
Malric turned at that.
Our eyes met.
"You're too late," he sneered.
"Maybe," I said. "But you made one mistake."
"Oh?"
"You forgot whose daughter I am."
And then I let go.
Fire erupted from my hands—pure and ancient. It wasn't just flame. It was my mother's love, my own will, and the strength of every soul Malric had tried to crush.
It hit the Gate with a roar.
Malric screamed.
The world shuddered.
And somewhere deep inside, I felt the tether between us begin to tear.
Not with violence.
With choice.
I no longer belonged to him.
And he would never control me again.