The castle's old foundations groaned, a faraway battle shaking dust from the high ceilings. Her physical body lay still on the fancy bed, a prisoner of the Elders' malefic magic. Her arms and legs could not move, but her mind fought back.
Inside the chamber, Halodor lost his calm. She watched him through a haze of fear, sweat forming on his forehead as he paced. His reflection broke into pieces on the mirrored walls. Each loud crash from outside Elderglade shook the rare items on the shelves, the special cups dancing and chiming.
His eyes looked wildly around the room at the swaying lights and shaking furniture. The air itself seemed to shake with a fear that matched the fast beat of his heart.
"No," he snarled. His voice was tight with fear.
"I've waited too long for this moment." His hands balled into fists.
"I am meant to be king. No one will take this from me. No one!"
His words were a bitter echo of the betrayal that clung to her being. Her soul was thrashing into the void, recoiling as it clutched its hands to her chest.
If only I had been stronger...
She trembled, a motion only her soul could make. Her mind screamed as Halodor came closer.
His shadow fell over her like dark fog.
Someone... anyone... Her thoughts hit the walls of her mind's jail. Through the window, she saw the clouds eclipsed above Elderglade.
Halodor stood over her. His face, once known to her, was twisted and strange. His hand reached for her face, a grotesque gesture of ownership. Halodor's touch sent waves of sickness through her frozen body.
Leo... Her mind whispered into the void.
A hopeless cry for help.
Help me...
The castle shook again, much harder this time. Far below, sounds of breaking wood and stone echoed in the old halls. It was the sound of ruin, like an answer to her silent cry.
The shaking stopped. The sudden quiet felt heavier than the noise before it. Then, armored feet running hard through the halls outside.
She saw Halodor look quickly at the door, a frown creasing his face. But as he turned back to her, something unbelievable happened.
A sudden, burning heat bloomed on her chest. A light, intense and pure, erupted from her. It grew so bright it hurt to even perceive. She saw Halodor throw his arm over his face, his features washed out by the blinding glare.
"Guards!" he screamed. His voice cracked with panic. "To me!"
The huge doors burst open. But before anyone could step inside, raw power exploded from her. The blast hit like a real wall. Through the blinding light, she saw Halodor sent flying back, hitting something—or someone—that felt more like stone than a person.
"So," a deep voice rumbled above the ringing in her ears, "the old words speak true after all."
The light subsided just enough for her to see. The Earth Elder stood where Halodor had been. His enormous hands grabbed Halodor, who was pressed against his chest, and tossed him aside like a broken toy. Halodor crashed into a group of soldiers, and they all fell onto the floor.
The Earth Elder dropped to one knee. His immense body bowed with an odd grace.
"My Queen," he breathed.
A strange lightness claimed her. Her body rose from the bed, no longer a prisoner. A light, warm and brilliant, washed away the darkness on her face. She felt herself turn slowly in the air, her hair floating around her like a crown of starlight. The rune on her chest pulsed with power, a sensation like a second, stronger heartbeat.
Then, a pillar of pure light came down from the sky and wrapped all around her. It didn't burn.
It felt like, awakening.
The air sang like a thousand-voiced choir, as if someone of utmost importance is coming. Each note whispered of old words coming true.
Her vision shifted, sharpened. The world snapped into a new, terrifying focus. She could see the Elder, the cowering soldiers, Halodor—not just their forms, but the faint, flickering lights of their souls.
The sight was scary.
And beautiful.
From her floating body, waves of pure white power continued to pulse out. Each wave flowed like her new heartbeat, spreading through the room. The cursed necklace on her chest shook hard, its dark magic fighting. For a moment, it held on. Then she felt it dissolve. Black mist seeped from it and vanished into nothing, crumbling into motes of dust.
The waves of power grew stronger. She could feel them reach past the chamber walls, touching every corner of Elderglade. Each pulse moved through the old forest, carrying more than just power. It felt like warmth spreading into a place that had been frozen for eons. The kind of love that could heal deep wounds and fix broken hearts.
A new sensation flooded her.
A connection to thousands.
She felt the weakening of tough warriors' knees, the softening of rigid postures as the true meaning of protection returned to their hearts.
One by one, all over the kingdom, she sensed a dark mist rising from the elves, like morning fog burning off in the sun. She felt their affliction lift. She felt their locked memories come free, a rush of joy and sadness that was not her own. She felt the lightness in elflings who had never been free.
Through it all, she continued to float in the pillar of light, a beacon of change that she was only just beginning to understand.