Lyria's POV
Cassian's sword cuts toward my heart.
I throw up my hands and a shield of starlight erupts between us. His blade strikes it and bounces back, the impact sending sparks flying.
"Cassian, please!" I beg. "I know you're still in there! Fight him!"
"He can't hear you." The Shadow Sovereign's voice pours from Cassian's mouth. "He's drowning in darkness, screaming your name, but unable to break free."
The words stab deeper than any blade.
Behind me, footsteps thunder closer. Seraphine's mercenaries and corrupted knights are closing in from all sides.
I'm surrounded. Fighting the man I love while an army approaches.
I have seconds to make a choice.
The fallen star's power pulses in my chest, urging me to act. Not with half-measures. Not with holding back.
With everything I have.
"I'm sorry," I whisper to Cassian. "But I won't let him keep you."
I drop my shield and charge forward.
Cassian swings his sword but I slide under it, getting close—too close for him to use his blade effectively.
I press both palms against his chest, right over his heart, right where our blood oath mark burned itself into his skin.
And I unleash the star's full power directly into him.
Silver light explodes between us.
Cassian screams—two voices at once. His own voice and the Shadow Sovereign's, both in agony.
The shadows on his skin start burning away like paper in fire. They fight back, trying to hold on, but my light is stronger.
"NO!" The Shadow Sovereign's voice roars. "I won't lose this vessel! He's MINE!"
"He was never yours!" I scream back, pouring more power into Cassian. "He's his own person! And I'm taking him back!"
The light grows so bright that everyone around us has to look away.
Through our blood oath, I dive into Cassian's mind.
I see him—the real him—chained in darkness, surrounded by shadows that whisper poison into his ears.
"You're not strong enough."
"You'll only hurt her."
"Give up. Let go. It's easier this way."
"Cassian!" I call out, and in this mental space, I appear beside him as pure light. "I'm here! Follow my voice!"
His head lifts. His silver eyes find mine.
"Lyria?" His voice is broken, hopeless. "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe. I can't control it—"
"I don't care about safe!" I start breaking his chains, each one shattering under my touch. "I care about you! Now get up and fight! The Cassian I know doesn't give up!"
"The Cassian you know is a killer. A weapon. Maybe I'm better off as a shadow—"
"STOP IT!" I grab his face, forcing him to look at me. "You're not just a weapon! You're the man who saved me from shadow beasts! Who made a blood oath to protect me! Who told me I was strong when I felt worthless! That man doesn't give up! So get up, Cassian Nightveil, and fight for yourself!"
Something shifts in his expression. A spark of determination.
"I... I can't beat him alone."
"You're not alone. You've never been alone." I take his hand. "I'm right here. And I'm not leaving without you."
Together, we turn to face the darkness.
The Shadow Sovereign's presence looms before us, a massive shape made of pure shadow.
"Foolish children," it hisses. "You cannot defeat me in his mind. This is MY domain now!"
"Wrong," Cassian says, his voice growing stronger. "This is MY mind. MY body. MY choice."
He raises his free hand and shadows respond—but not the Shadow Sovereign's shadows. His own shadows. The ones that have been part of him since the curse began.
"You thought the curse made me yours," Cassian says. "But the curse is MINE. It's been mine all along. I just needed to accept it."
Light and shadow spiral together—my starlight and his darkness, perfectly balanced.
Twilight magic.
We blast the Shadow Sovereign's presence with everything we have.
He screams as the twilight tears through him, ripping his control away.
"This isn't over!" he roars. "I'll return! I'll—"
His voice cuts off.
In the real world, Cassian and I are thrown backward by the force of the magic. We hit the ground hard, gasping.
When I look up, Cassian is on his hands and knees, breathing heavily.
The shadow marks are still there—but they've changed. Instead of pure black, they're now silver-gray, almost glowing. They look like tattoos instead of a curse.
He's not cured. But he's not controlled anymore either.
"Cassian?" I crawl over to him.
He lifts his head, and I nearly sob with relief.
His eyes are silver again. Completely clear.
"Lyria." His voice is his own. "I'm... I'm me again."
"Yes. Yes, you are." I throw my arms around him.
He holds me tight, his whole body shaking. "I heard everything. Felt everything. He used my hands to hurt you—"
"But you fought back. You came back to me."
"Only because you came for me first."
A slow clap interrupts our moment.
Seraphine stands at the edge of the clearing, surrounded by her army. All their weapons are pointed at us.
"How touching," she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "True love conquers all. Very poetic. Unfortunately for you, you're both exhausted, surrounded, and I have forty armed men to your two."
She's right. That blast of power took everything I had. My legs won't even hold me up.
Cassian tries to stand but collapses. Using his own shadow magic to fight the Shadow Sovereign drained him completely.
We're helpless.
"Take them," Seraphine orders. "Alive. The Shadow Sovereign will want to personally punish them for that little stunt."
The mercenaries advance.
This is it. We freed Cassian from the Shadow Sovereign's control, but we're about to be captured anyway.
Then the sky explodes with light.
Not just light—stars. Actual stars, falling from the heavens like rain.
Hundreds of them, maybe thousands, streaking across the sky in silver fire.
Everyone freezes, staring up in wonder and terror.
"What is that?" one of the mercenaries whispers.
I don't understand either. The stars weren't supposed to fall. They were dying, yes, but not falling—
One star breaks away from the others and falls directly toward us.
"Move!" Seraphine screams.
Her army scatters. People run in all directions.
But Cassian doesn't move. He pulls me close, shielding me with his body, even though he can barely stand.
"Whatever happens," he says quietly, "we face it together."
I nod, closing my eyes, waiting for the impact.
The star hits.
But there's no explosion. No fire.
Just warmth.
I open my eyes.
The star hovers directly in front of me, pulsing with gentle light. It's beautiful—about the size of my fist, glowing like a tiny sun.
And it's singing.
Not the desperate cries I've been hearing. This is different. This is... joyful.
"The Celestial Queen has awakened," the star sings. "The true heir has claimed her power. Now we give our blessing."
"Your blessing?" I whisper.
The star pulses brighter. "We are dying, yes. The Shadow Sovereign has killed many of us. But before we fade completely, we choose to fall. To give our remaining power to the one who will save us all."
Around the clearing, more stars begin falling, surrounding us in a circle of light.
They're not dying. They're sacrificing themselves.
For me.
"We can't ask you to do that," I protest. "There has to be another way—"
"There isn't. Not anymore." The star in front of me drifts closer. "But our power won't fade. It will live on in you. And through you, we will finally destroy the darkness that has hunted us for centuries."
The star touches my chest.
Power—pure, overwhelming, incredible power—floods into me.
Not like when I claimed the fallen star in the Dark Forest. That was my mother's power, her memories, her gift.
This is different.
This is the collective power of a thousand dying stars, all pouring themselves into me at once.
My body lifts off the ground. Light erupts from every part of me. Visions flash through my mind so fast I can't process them:
Ancient wars between light and shadow.
The first Celestial Queens, ruling with wisdom and compassion.
The betrayal—nobles hungry for power, making deals with the Shadow Sovereign.
The murder of my mother, her desperate attempt to hide me and her power.
And finally, the prophecy.
The true prophecy, not the twisted version the Shadow Sovereign spread.
"When stars fall like rain and the false queen rises, the world will choose: embrace the darkness or follow the light. Only the Celestial Queen who accepts the stars' sacrifice can tip the balance. But the price is great—to save the world, she must give up everything she loves."
Give up everything I love?
I look down at Cassian, who watches me with wonder and fear.
No. There has to be another way.
The stars continue pouring into me. My whole body glows like I'm made of light instead of flesh.
When the last star enters my chest, I drop to the ground.
Cassian catches me before I hit.
"Lyria? Are you okay? Talk to me!"
I can't speak. Can't move. There's too much power, too much knowledge, too much everything packed into my human body.
Around us, Seraphine's army stares in shock and terror.
"What is she?" someone whispers.
"Run," another says. "We should run."
"Nobody runs!" Seraphine snaps, but even her voice shakes. "She's just one girl. One—"
I open my eyes.
They're glowing pure silver, bright as miniature stars.
When I speak, my voice echoes with the power of a thousand stars:
"I am Lyria Everen, heir to the Celestial Throne, blessed by the fallen stars, and I am done running."
I stand, and the ground trembles beneath my feet.
"You want to serve the Shadow Sovereign? Fine. Go back to him. Tell him I'm coming. Tell him the stars have made their choice. And when I arrive, one of us will end forever—him or me."
"There's forty of us and two of you!" a mercenary shouts.
I raise one hand.
Starlight erupts in a wave that washes over Seraphine's entire army.
They scream and collapse, not dead but unconscious—overwhelmed by celestial power too pure for their corrupted bodies to handle.
In three seconds, I've taken down forty armed men without breaking a sweat.
Even Seraphine is on her knees, gasping for breath.
"How?" she chokes out. "How are you this strong?"
"Because I stopped trying to be what others wanted me to be," I say quietly. "I accepted who I really am."
I turn to walk away, taking Cassian's hand.
Then I stop and look back at my sister.
"You still have a choice, Seraphine. The Shadow Sovereign is using you. But you can break free. It's not too late."
"It's too late for me," she whispers, tears streaming down her face. "I've done terrible things. Hurt too many people. I deserve whatever's coming."
"Everyone deserves a second chance. Even you." I squeeze Cassian's hand. "Think about it."
We leave her there in the wreckage of her army.
As we walk away, Cassian speaks quietly: "The prophecy. The stars showed you the true prophecy, didn't they?"
I nod, unable to speak around the lump in my throat.
"And? What does it say?"
I stop walking and turn to face him, tears already forming.
"It says to save the world, I have to give up everything I love."
His face goes pale. "Everything you—"
"The blood oath, Cassian. Our lives are bound together. If I have to give up everything I love..." I can barely force the words out. "That includes you."
"No." He shakes his head. "No, there has to be another way."
"Maybe. But if there isn't..." I cup his face in my hands. "The world needs a Celestial Queen more than I need happiness."
"Don't say that. Don't even think that." His voice breaks. "We'll find another way. We have to."
I want to believe him.
But deep down, I know the truth.
The prophecy always comes true.
And soon, I'll have to choose: save the man I love, or save the world.
I can't have both.