Lyria's POV
"Hello, daughter."
Viktor's voice drips with false warmth. He stands between me and the fallen star, one hand resting possessively on its glowing surface.
"Get away from it," I say, my voice shaking with rage. "That star is mine. It belonged to my mother—my real mother. The one you murdered."
He laughs. Actually laughs.
"Ah, so you know the truth now. How delightful." He circles the star slowly, never taking his eyes off me. "Tell me, did Cassian fill your head with stories? Or was it your dead mother's ghost whispering lies?"
"They weren't lies." My hands clench into fists. "You killed her. You stole me. You've been planning to hand me over to the Shadow Sovereign since I was a baby."
"Planning?" Viktor's smile widens. "My dear child, I've been doing far more than planning. Why do you think your magic never worked properly? Why do you think you were always weak, always pathetic?"
The mark on my chest burns hotter.
"You bound my powers," I whisper.
"From the day I took you. A binding ritual that suppressed everything you were meant to be." He pats the fallen star like it's a pet. "I couldn't kill you—the stars would have known and struck me dead. But I could keep you weak. Keep you controllable. Raise you to doubt yourself so completely that when the time came, you'd be easy to manipulate."
Every word is a knife to my heart. Twenty-two years. My entire life has been a lie.
"And it worked beautifully," Viktor continues. "You actually believed you were worthless. Defective. Even now, standing there with power literally glowing from your skin, part of you still thinks you're not good enough."
He's right. Even after everything, part of me still feels like that failed girl in the arena.
Cassian's hand finds mine. Through our blood oath, I feel his steady strength flowing into me.
"She's more than good enough," Cassian says coldly. "She saved my life. She jumped out of a window rather than leave me behind. She faced the Shadow Sovereign himself and survived. What have you done except hide behind other people's power?"
Viktor's smile vanishes. "Careful, cursed knight. I'm the one who arranged for that curse to be placed on you. One word from me and it consumes you completely."
Cassian's grip tightens on his sword but he doesn't move.
"Why?" I ask. "Why did you do all this? What do you gain from helping the Shadow Sovereign?"
"Everything." Viktor's eyes gleam with greed. "When he devours the celestial magic and plunges this world into eternal darkness, I'll be his right hand. I'll rule kingdoms. I'll have more power than any Celestial Queen ever dreamed of. And all I had to do was deliver one insignificant girl."
"I'm not insignificant," I say quietly. "And I'm not yours to deliver."
I take a step forward. The Forest itself seems to move with me, branches reaching toward Viktor.
He notices and his confidence falters slightly. "The Forest recognizes you. I see that now. But it doesn't matter. You're still too weak to fight me. I've been practicing dark magic for twenty-three years. You've had your powers for what, a few hours?"
"Long enough to know what I am." Another step. "Long enough to know that star doesn't belong to you."
"It belongs to whoever claims it first." His hand tightens on the star. "And I'm already touching it."
"But you can't absorb it, can you?" I realize suddenly. "That's why you're still standing here talking. The star won't accept you. It's waiting for the true heir."
Viktor's face twists with rage. "I deserve this power! I worked for it! I sacrificed everything!"
"You sacrificed my mother. You sacrificed me. You sacrificed your own humanity." My voice grows stronger. "But you can't sacrifice yourself, can you? That's what the star requires—a willing sacrifice of self. And you're too selfish to give up anything."
"ENOUGH!" Viktor raises his free hand and dark energy crackles around his fingers. "If I can't have the star, neither can you. I'll destroy it. Destroy you. Destroy everything!"
He blasts dark magic at me.
Cassian moves to block it but I'm faster. Silver light erupts from my palms, meeting his darkness halfway.
The two forces collide in an explosion that shakes the entire forest.
We're locked in a stalemate—his darkness pushing against my light, neither of us giving ground.
"You can't win!" Viktor snarls. "I'm stronger! I've trained for this!"
"You've trained to steal power." My light grows brighter. "I've trained my whole life to survive people like you."
Through our bond, I feel Cassian's support. His strength flows into me, amplifying my own.
And something else flows through me too—the blood oath we made. Shadow and light, working together instead of fighting.
"Cassian," I gasp. "Your shadow magic. Give it to me!"
"What? It's cursed—"
"Trust me!"
For one heartbeat, he hesitates. Then I feel it—his shadow power joining with my starlight, creating something new. Something that's never existed before.
Twilight magic. Light and shadow perfectly balanced.
The combined power smashes through Viktor's defenses like they're made of paper. He screams and flies backward, crashing into the trees.
I don't wait. I run to the fallen star and place both hands on its surface.
The moment I touch it, the world explodes into light.
Visions flood my mind—my mother's memories, her power, her love. Everything she was pours into me. I see my birth. See Viktor's betrayal. See my mother's final moments as she hid her essence in this star, knowing that someday I'd return to claim it.
"I love you," her voice echoes. "You were always strong enough. You just needed to believe it."
The star dissolves into pure light and flows into my chest, merging with the mark already there.
Power. So much power. Not overwhelming like before. This feels right. Complete.
When I open my eyes, I'm floating a foot off the ground. Silver light radiates from my skin. My hair flows as if I'm underwater.
I am whole.
I am the Celestial Queen.
Viktor pulls himself up from the wreckage of trees, blood running down his face. "No," he whispers. "This can't be happening."
"It already happened." My voice echoes with power. "You failed, Viktor. The star chose me, just like Mother knew it would."
"Then I'll take it from your corpse!" He gathers his remaining dark magic, preparing for one final attack.
But before he can launch it, the ground beneath him opens up.
Shadow tentacles burst from the earth, wrapping around his body. He screams as they drag him down.
"What—what is this?!"
A familiar, terrible voice answers from the darkness:
"You failed me, Viktor. You had one task—deliver the girl before she claimed her power. And you FAILED."
The Shadow Sovereign's voice comes from everywhere.
"No! Please! I can still—"
"You are no longer useful to me."
The tentacles pull Viktor underground. His screams echo and then cut off abruptly.
He's gone.
Silence falls over the forest.
Then the tentacles turn toward me and Cassian.
"Well done, little queen," the Shadow Sovereign's voice purrs. "You've claimed your mother's power. Now you're strong enough to be worth consuming personally."
The tentacles lunge at us.
Cassian and I move together, our blood oath making us fight as one. His sword cuts through shadow while my light burns them away.
But there are too many. For every tentacle we destroy, three more appear.
"He's too strong!" Cassian shouts. "Even with the star's power—"
"I know!" I blast another wave of light but it barely slows them down. "He's been absorbing dying stars for weeks. He's nearly at full strength!"
A tentacle wraps around Cassian's leg, yanking him off his feet. More coil around his arms, his chest.
"Cassian!"
I try to reach him but tentacles grab me too. They're everywhere, pulling us apart, squeezing tighter.
Through our bond, I feel his pain. Feel his fear—not for himself, but for me.
"Lyria," he gasps. "The oath. Break it. Save yourself—"
"Never!"
"You have to! If I die, you die! Break it now!"
"I SAID NEVER!"
The tentacles squeeze harder. Black spots dance in my vision. I can't breathe.
This is it. We survived everything—Viktor, the Shadow Knights, the journey—only to die here, so close to victory.
"I'm sorry, Mother," I whisper. "I wasn't strong enough after all."
Then I hear it.
Singing.
The stars above—the ones that haven't died yet—begin singing. Their voices join together in a harmony so beautiful it makes me want to cry.
And they're singing to me.
"You are not alone, Celestial Queen."
"We are with you."
"We have always been with you."
"Now rise."
Power floods into me from above. Not just from the fallen star in my chest, but from every star in the sky. They're lending me their strength.
The tentacles around me start to burn.
"What—" The Shadow Sovereign's voice sounds surprised. "Impossible! The stars are dying! They don't have this much power left!"
"They're not dying anymore," I realize. "They're fighting back. Because now they have a Celestial Queen to fight for."
I close my eyes and reach up with my magic, touching each star individually. Thanking them. Loving them.
And they love me back.
Their combined power creates a column of light so bright it can probably be seen from the castle. It burns away every shadow tentacle. The Shadow Sovereign screams—actually screams in pain.
The light grows stronger, pushing him back, forcing him to retreat.
"This isn't over!" his voice roars from the darkness. "I'll return with my full army! I'll bring darkness that no light can pierce! You've won this battle, little queen, but the war has only begun!"
His presence vanishes.
The forest falls silent.
I drop to the ground, exhausted. The stars' song fades to gentle whispers.
Cassian crawls over to me. The shadow marks on his face have receded significantly—my power must have pushed back the curse.
"You did it," he breathes. "You actually did it."
"We did it." I take his hand. "Together."
He helps me stand. We're both battered, bloody, exhausted.
But alive.
And I have my mother's power now. The full power of a Celestial Queen.
"What do we do now?" Cassian asks.
I look up at the stars, and they whisper the answer:
"Go home. Face those who betrayed you. Take your throne."
I turn to Cassian, determination burning in my chest.
"We go back to the castle," I say. "We face my family. We stop the Shadow Sovereign. And we save this world."
"In that order?" A ghost of a smile crosses his face.
"In exactly that order."
We start walking back through the Dark Forest. It parts before us like we're royalty.
Which I guess I am now.
Behind us, deep in the shadows where Cassian can't hear, a voice whispers:
"Enjoy your victory, Celestial Queen. You've claimed your mother's power. But there's one thing you don't know yet. One secret that will destroy everything."
I freeze.
"The curse on your precious knight? I didn't create it. Your mother did."
My heart stops.
"That's right. She cursed him before she died, knowing he'd one day protect her daughter. Knowing you'd form a blood oath with him. And when the time comes—when he needs you most—the curse will activate its true purpose."
No. No, this can't be—
"He won't just become a shadow creature. He'll become MY shadow creature. Bound to obey my every command. Including the order to kill you."
The voice laughs, cold and cruel.
"Sleep well, little queen. Your greatest enemy is already standing beside you."