Lyra's POV
I'm frozen, staring at the figure that looks exactly like Fate.
The Court explodes around me fighting, screaming, fire spreading but all I can see is her.
Fate. The goddess who's supposed to be dead. Standing in the shadows. Watching.
Lyra! Kairos shouts over the chaos. We have to go now!
But I can't move. Can't think. Can't
An explosion right beside us throws me to the floor. My ears ring. Smoke burns my lungs.
Strong hands grab me, pulling me up. Not Kairos. Someone else.
Come on, you stubborn fool! A young man with messy dark hair and ink-stained fingers drags me toward a side door. Move!
Solon? I gasp.
Yes, it's me! Now run!
He pulls me through the door just as another explosion rocks the Court. We stumble into a narrow hallway. Behind us, I hear Domitius screaming orders, guards shouting, weapons clashing.
Solon locks the door and leans against it, breathing hard.
You just made some very powerful people very, very angry, he says, but he's grinning. Good.
Good? I stare at him. Solon, what's happening? The resistance, the attack did you know about this?
Some of it. He grabs my arm, pulling me deeper into the hallway. But we need to talk fast. Before they find us.
We reach a small preparation chamber. Solon locks this door too, then moves to the window, checking outside.
You're part of the resistance, I say slowly. It's not a question.
Smart girl. He turns back to me, his usual playful expression gone. I've been working as the Court Scribe for three years. Recording everything. Documenting every corrupt decision, every illegal order, every lie.
He pulls a folder from inside his jacket. And I found something you need to see.
My hands shake as I take the folder. Inside is a document old, yellowed with age. The heading makes my blood run cold.
DIVINE WEAPON PROGRAM - CLASSIFIED
That's dated twenty-three years ago, Solon says quietly. Right before you were born.
I read, my vision blurring with tears.
Proposal: Create a being capable of executing ancient gods. Method: Implant divine essence into mortal infant. Result: Perfect weapon, controllable and expendable.
My name is right there. Lyra Caine. Subject One.
They planned this, I whisper. Before I was even born.
Look at the signatures, Solon says.
I flip to the last page. My stomach drops.
Domitius. Head of Council.
Theron's father. Senior Prosecutor.
And my mother. Mira Caine. Lead Scientist.
They created you specifically for Kairos's trial, Solon explains. But here's the part they didn't expect look at this.
He shows me another document, hidden beneath the first.
THE RESET - EYES ONLY
I read quickly, horror building with each word.
A plan to eliminate Fate. Frame Kairos. Use me to execute him legally. Then seize control of all destiny, all futures, all cosmic power.
The Council wouldn't just rule the Celestial Realm. They'd control everything. Forever.
They killed Fate, I breathe.
And blamed the one god powerful enough to stop them, Solon finishes. They need you to execute Kairos legally. Without your judgment, the other gods won't accept it. The whole plan falls apart.
I sink into a chair, the documents falling from my hands.
Why are you helping me? I ask. You could be killed for this.
Solon sits across from me, his expression serious. Because I'm tired of watching innocent people die. Because the Council has corrupted everything they touch. And because... He pauses. Because you're the first person with real power who's actually questioned them. That makes you dangerous. But it also makes you our only hope.
Our?
The resistance. Mortals and minor gods who oppose Council corruption. We've been waiting for someone like you someone with access, with power, with the courage to fight back.
A massive crash shakes the building. Voices getting closer.
They're searching for you, Solon says urgently. You have maybe five minutes before they find us. So I need to know will you help us? Will you stand against the Council?
I look at the documents scattered on the floor. Evidence of everything they did. Everything they took from me.
My childhood. My parents. My choices. My life.
They made me a weapon. Told me I was serving justice. Used me to condemn hundreds of people.
And now they expect me to murder an innocent god.
Yes, I say. I'll help you. But I need to know
The door explodes inward.
Guards flood in, weapons drawn. Domitius pushes through them, his face twisted with rage.
Solon, he says coldly. I should have known you were the leak.
Solon stands, putting himself between me and the guards. Run, Lyra!
There's nowhere to run, Domitius says. He snaps his fingers.
Magic wraps around both of us invisible chains that freeze our bodies. I can't move. Can't speak. Can only watch helplessly.
Take them both, Domitius orders. The scribe goes to the dungeons. Judge Lyra... His smile is cruel. She has an execution to perform.
Guards grab us. I struggle against the magic, but it's too strong.
Wait! I manage to choke out. I saw her! I saw Fate! She's alive!
Domitius goes very still. For just a moment, fear flashes across his face.
Then he laughs. The stress has broken her mind. How unfortunate. He leans close to me. No one will believe a word you say, weapon. You're mine. You've always been mine.
They drag us away in different directions. I watch Solon disappear down one hallway while I'm pulled toward another.
My mind races. Fate is alive. Kairos knew. The whole trial was staged.
But why? Why fake her death? Why frame Kairos? Why let all of this happen?
We reach a heavily guarded door. The guards throw it open.
Inside is a chamber I've never seen before. Dark. Cold. And in the center
A ritual circle. Glowing with ancient power.
Kairos kneels in the center, chained again. But these chains are different. Pulsing with energy that makes my skin crawl.
Welcome, Judge Lyra, Domitius says, pushing me forward. To your true purpose.
My mother stands beside the circle, her face emotionless.
The weapon is ready, she says clinically. Begin the ritual.
Domitius hands me a blade. It feels wrong in my hand too heavy, too cold, humming with dark magic.
Kill him, Domitius commands. Fulfill your purpose. Execute Kairos, and the Council's new order begins.
I stare at the blade. At Kairos. At my mother's empty eyes.
And if I refuse? I whisper.
Domitius smiles. Then we activate the failsafe we built into you twenty-three years ago.
He snaps his fingers.
Pain explodes through my head. My body moves without my permission, walking toward Kairos, raising the blade.
No! I scream. Stop! I don't want
But my body doesn't listen. The programming takes over.
Kairos looks up at me, chains glowing around him. He doesn't look afraid. Just... sad.
It's all right, Lyra, he says quietly. Fate knew this might happen. She planned for this too.
What? I gasp, fighting the control with everything I have.
Kairos smiles. Look closely at your mother.
I manage to turn my head slightly. My mother stands perfectly still, watching.
But her shadow is wrong.
It's moving. Shifting. Growing.
And then it speaks with a voice I recognize.
Hello, daughter, the shadow says in Nyx's voice. Ready to learn the real truth?
The shadow explodes outward and everything I thought I knew shatters completely.