The world didn't return gently.
It slammed back into existence—
hard
cold
too bright.
The Sanctuary walls pulsed violently, runes flickering like dying embers.
Cracks shot across the stone floor, split by violet lightning.
Owain held me in a crushing embrace.
"Kanah—hey—look at me—are you here? Are you—"
His voice broke.
Yllas pressed a hand against the barrier still humming from the Queen's presence, jaw tight.
His wings flared slightly, as if preparing for another attack.
Gerrin staggered to his feet, staff vibrating in his grip.
Helion muttered, "Well… everything's going to shit."
The Sanctuary groaned.
Magic surged around me like a tidal wave—silver, gold, blue, violet—clashing violently inside my chest.
"It hurts," I whispered, clutching my ribs.
Owain's grip tightened. "I've got you. I've got you."
"No," Yllas said sharply. "You don't."
Owain snarled. "Say that again—"
Yllas stormed toward us, fire cracking across his arms.
"You don't have her. Not this time."
Owain almost lunged—
but Gerrin shoved himself between them, markings blazing silver.
"STOP!"
Both froze.
Gerrin's voice shook.
"Her magic is destabilizing the Sanctuary. If you fight, it will collapse."
Owain's breathing turned erratic.
"I don't care about the Sanctuary—"
"You should," Helion said flatly. "Because if it collapses, it kills her first."
Owain paled.
Lightning flashed through the walls again.
The ground trembled beneath us.
Yllas's gaze locked onto me.
"Kanah," he said, surprisingly gentle, "what happened in the void? Tell us."
I swallowed hard.
"He… he called himself my father."
Owain flinched, agony twisting his features.
Yllas exhaled slowly. "We heard enough to guess, but hearing it from you…"
"It's true," I whispered.
Helion whistled softly. "Gods."
Gerrin raised a hand toward me. "Kanah—may I?"
Owain growled. "No."
"I need to sense her aura," Gerrin said urgently. "The seal is unstable."
Owain held me closer, nostrils flaring.
"If you hurt her—"
"I won't," Gerrin said softly. "But if I don't help her, she'll die."
My heart hammered.
"I can handle it," I whispered.
Owain hesitated—
then slowly loosened his grip, still keeping a protective arm around me.
Gerrin stepped closer, placing two fingers near my sternum—just above the glowing mark.
The moment he touched my aura—
Violent magic surged out of me.
Gerrin flew backward, slamming into a pillar.
"Gerrin!" I gasped.
He coughed, magic crackling over his skin. "She's… she's a live conduit. Two opposing forces. Both trying to dominate."
Owain snarled, "Get away from her—"
"No," Yllas cut in. "We need to understand this."
Owain stood between me and everyone else.
"You don't TOUCH her again until I say so."
Lightning struck the ceiling.
Magic erupted around us.
The Sanctuary groaned.
The violet seal inside my chest pulsed violently; each throb sent pain shooting through my ribs.
Yllas stepped toward me, eyes burning gold.
"Kanah. What else did he tell you?"
"He said…"
My breath hitched.
"He said a prophecy."
The room stilled.
Gerrin forced himself up. "What prophecy?"
I closed my eyes.
"'She will burn the world or save it. No middle path.'"
Owain inhaled sharply.
Yllas whispered, "That… explains everything."
Helion muttered, "Fantastic. Love a good doom prophecy to spice things up."
Gerrin approached carefully. "Kanah, listen to me. The Queen's Seal was never meant to merge with the Beast King's bloodline. It wasn't just forbidden—it was impossible."
"Then how…?" I whispered.
Gerrin swallowed. "A child of both bloodlines would be catastrophic. A living paradox. It shouldn't be possible at all."
My chest tightened painfully.
"But I exist."
"Yes," Gerrin said quietly.
"And that means the laws of magic can't contain you."
The Sanctuary shook violently.
"You're breaking the wards," Yllas murmured.
Owain pulled me closer. "Then we leave."
"No," Gerrin said sharply. "If we take her out right now—she'll explode."
I froze.
"You're kidding," Helion said.
Gerrin didn't look like he was kidding.
"Trying to suppress that much unstable magic will cause a complete collapse. She needs to stabilize inside the Sanctuary first."
Owain's voice cracked.
"Tell me how."
Gerrin swallowed.
"You're not going to like it."
Helion smirked. "Say it."
Gerrin hesitated.
"The Queen's Seal reacts to emotion," Gerrin said carefully.
"And bloodline magic reacts to identity."
Owain frowned. "Meaning?"
Yllas stepped closer, voice low.
"She has to accept what she is."
My stomach dropped.
"No," I whispered.
"It's the only way to stabilize the conflicting energies," Gerrin insisted.
Owain snarled. "She doesn't have to accept anything!"
"She does," Yllas said. "If she rejects the Beast King's bloodline, the seal fractures. If she rejects the Queen's bloodline, the wards collapse."
"And if she rejects both?" Helion asked.
Gerrin went pale. "She'll die."
Owain's roar shook the Sanctuary.
He grabbed me by the shoulders, eyes pleading, glowing amber.
"You don't have to accept him," Owain whispered. "You don't have to accept ANY of it."
I trembled.
"I want to believe you."
"Believe me," he begged.
"Kanah—believe me."
"I do," I whispered.
But pain ripped through my body—
And I screamed.
The mark burned silver-hot.
The rune burned violet.
The two forces collided again—
And the ground beneath us shattered.
A Violent Surge
Owain grabbed me—
but the surge threw him backward, slamming him into a wall.
"Owain!" I cried.
Yllas flew upward, wings flaring to absorb the shockwave.
Gerrin braced himself with magic.
Helion dug claws into stone to stay upright.
Violet lightning exploded outward—
forming a circle around me.
No one could reach me.
Owain roared, trying to break through.
"LET ME IN—LET ME IN!"
But the magic burned his hands.
He didn't stop.
"Owain!" I screamed, "STOP—"
"No—no—NO—your pain is mine—I won't let you—"
His voice cracked as violet magic seared him.
Yllas grabbed him from behind, pulling him back.
"Owain—stop—"
"LET. ME. GO!"
"You'll kill yourself—"
"GOOD!"
Gerrin shouted over them:
"She's entering shock—her body can't sustain both energies—"
Helion spat a curse. "Then FIX HER!"
"I can't," Gerrin snapped. "She has to choose something to anchor to!"
Owain froze.
"Anchor…?" he repeated.
Gerrin nodded quickly. "Something emotional. Something constant. Something stronger than both bloodlines."
Owain's eyes snapped to me instantly.
Then he shoved Yllas off him, sprinting to the glowing circle.
"KANAH—LOOK AT ME!"
I blinked through tears and light.
"O–Owain—"
His voice broke.
"ANCHOR TO ME!"
The room stilled.
Yllas' wings froze mid-flap.
Gerrin stared.
Helion's tail twitched.
Owain pressed a hand to the barrier, trembling violently.
"You love me," he whispered.
My breath caught.
"You love me. I know you do. Even if you haven't said it. Even if you're scared."
He pressed his forehead to the glowing barrier.
"I'm your anchor."
Lightning crashed overhead.
"I'm the one who carried you out of that forest."
Another crash.
"I'm the one who held you every time you almost died."
He swallowed hard.
"I'm the one who fights for you—even when it kills me."
Tears burned my eyes.
Owain's voice dropped to a trembling whisper.
"Choose me."
The magic flickered violently.
"Kanah," he whispered, "choose me. Choose US. Choose the life you want—not the blood in your veins."
My heartbeat thundered.
Pain tore through my chest again.
The circle trembled.
Yllas stepped forward, voice low.
"Kanah."
I turned slightly, sobbing.
Yllas' eyes softened—not fiery, not furious—soft.
"You are not his," Yllas whispered.
"You are not a mistake. You are not doomed. You are not defined by him."
He took another step.
"You can choose strength. And dignity. And a future that is yours."
Gerrin added softly, voice shaking.
"You can choose family. You can choose love. You can choose us."
Helion smirked—but the expression fell almost immediately.
"You can choose whoever you want," he muttered. "Even me."
His ears flattened.
"I'd choose you."
My heart broke open.
My chest burned.
My body trembled.
The barrier rippled.
Owain's voice came again—raw, devastated, desperate:
"Choose anything but HIM."
The seal pulsed.
The mark pulsed.
The world cracked.
And then—
Everything exploded.
The Barrier Breaks
The violet ring shattered—
flinging everyone backward.
I fell forward into Owain's arms.
He caught me instantly—
sobbing into my neck
hands shaking around my body
pressing desperate kisses to my hairline.
"Kanah—Kanah—sweetheart—please—don't do that again—don't—"
But before I could answer—
The Sanctuary went silent.
Too silent.
Gerrin froze mid-step.
Yllas stiffened.
Helion looked up sharply, tail rigid.
"Owain…" Gerrin whispered.
"Step back."
Owain snarled.
"No."
The air changed.
Cold.
Sharp.
Wrong.
A voice whispered—
Not the Beast King.
Something else.
She awakens.
Yllas' eyes widened.
"That voice—"
Open the gate.
Gerrin paled. "That's impossible—"
Let her inherit.
Helion whispered, "Oh gods."
Let her claim what sleeps.
The Sanctuary floor cracked open.
Violet light poured upward.
A second chamber stirred beneath us—
sealed for a thousand years.
Owain tightened his grip on me.
"Kanah—don't look—DON'T LOOK—"
But it was too late.
The ground split completely—
and something rose from the depths.
A throne.
Made of crystal.
Violet fire.
And bone.
Empty.
Waiting.
Yllas whispered, "That's… the Queen's Throne."
Gerrin swallowed. "No. Not hers."
Helion backed up. "Oh hell."
Owain stared in horror as the throne pulsed with silver.
"That's HIS."
And the voice whispered—
Come, daughter.
Sit.