Aria's POV
"Breathe," Kael commanded, pulling me back inside the palace as explosions rocked the barriers. "Just breathe."
I couldn't. My hands shook violently. That shadow version of me—with my face, my voice, my eyes—kept replaying in my mind.
"She's going into shock," Moira said, appearing beside us. "The shadow manifestation was designed to break her spirit."
"It's working," I gasped. "Did you see her? That was ME. That's what I'm going to become!"
"No." Kael grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him. "That was a trick. Malachar showing you your fears."
"But what if it's not?" Tears burned my eyes. "What if the darkness is already inside me? When I think about my family, about what they did—I want them to hurt. I want them to suffer. That's not light. That's darkness!"
"That's human," Lyra said gently, kneeling beside me. "Anger at injustice doesn't make you evil, little seedling. It makes you real."
Another explosion shook the palace. Dust rained from the ceiling.
"The barriers won't hold much longer," Zane reported, running into the hall. "Malachar's throwing everything he has at us. We have maybe thirty minutes before they breach."
Thirty minutes. Half an hour until shadow monsters flooded the palace.
"We need to evacuate the civilians," Kael said immediately. "Get them to the inner sanctum. Zane, gather our best fighters. We'll make our stand at the main gates."
"Wait." I stood up shakily. "What about me? What am I supposed to do?"
Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably.
"You stay in the inner sanctum," Kael said. "Protected. Safe."
"While everyone else fights?" Anger flared in my chest. "While people die protecting me?"
"You just learned how to use your powers," Finn argued. "You need more training before—"
"There IS no more time!" I shouted. "Malachar is HERE. The barriers are FALLING. When exactly do you think I'll get this training?"
"She's right," Moira said quietly. "Ready or not, this is her trial. The moment the prophecy spoke of."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I won't risk her."
"It's not your choice." I met his silver eyes. "I have my mother's memories. Her knowledge. I know how to fight. Let me help."
"No."
"Kael—"
"I SAID NO!" His shout echoed through the hall. The shadows around him writhed violently. "I watched your mother die protecting you. I won't watch you die too. I won't—" His voice broke. "I can't."
The raw emotion in his voice shocked me. This wasn't just about a promise to my mother. This was personal for him.
"Then fight beside me," I said softly. "Don't make me hide while everyone else risks their lives. Fight with me. Protect me if you have to. But please—don't make me sit in a room doing nothing while people die because of me."
Kael stared at me for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. "You stay within ten feet of me at all times. If I tell you to run, you run. Understood?"
"Understood."
"This is a terrible idea," Finn muttered, but he didn't argue further.
"Everyone to your positions!" Kael's voice rang with authority. "We hold the main gates until the civilians are evacuated. No one gets through. No one."
The palace erupted into organized chaos. Supernatural beings rushed to defensive positions. Children and those who couldn't fight were herded toward the inner sanctum. Weapons were distributed.
And I stood in the middle of it all, power humming under my skin, terrified but determined.
"Here." Lyra pressed something into my hand. "Your mother's pendant. I saved it from your old house."
I looked down at the silver necklace—a flower with a crystal center. I remembered my mother wearing it always.
"She told me once," Lyra continued, "that this pendant was a focus. It helps channel a Guardian's power. Makes it more stable."
I clasped it around my neck. Immediately, I felt the chaotic energy inside me calm slightly.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Make her proud," Lyra said, then hurried off to help with the evacuation.
A massive BOOM shook the entire palace. Through the windows, I saw the barriers flicker and fade.
They'd broken through.
"THEY'RE COMING!" someone shouted.
Kael grabbed my hand. "Stay close. Remember what I taught you."
"You didn't teach me anything. I got my mother's memories like an hour ago."
Despite everything, Kael's lips twitched. "Then remember what your mother knew."
We ran to the main gates with Finn and Zane. Dozens of supernatural warriors joined us—wolves, fairies, spirits, beings I couldn't even name. All ready to fight.
The palace doors exploded inward.
Shadow creatures poured through like a black wave. Behind them came my possessed family, their red eyes glowing with malice.
"FOR THE VEIL!" Zane shouted, and the battle began.
It was chaos. Pure, violent chaos. Kael's shadows tore through enemies. Finn's silver light destroyed monsters. Zane's ice magic froze creatures mid-attack. All around me, supernatural beings fought with everything they had.
And I stood there, frozen, watching the violence.
"Aria!" Kael destroyed three creatures that lunged at me. "Focus! Use your power!"
Right. My power. I had my mother's knowledge—I knew how to do this.
I raised my hands, and golden light blazed from my palms. When it hit the shadow creatures, they screamed and dissolved. It actually worked!
"That's it!" Finn shouted encouragingly. "Keep going!"
I destroyed creature after creature, the power flowing more naturally now. I could do this. I could actually help!
Then Victoria-thing broke through the defensive line, heading straight for me.
"Hello, stepdaughter," she hissed, dark magic crackling around her hands. "Time to come home."
She shot black lightning at me. I threw up a shield of light—my mother's instincts guiding me—and the attack bounced off.
"You can't hide behind that shield forever," Victoria-thing taunted.
She was right. I could feel my energy draining. Holding the shield took enormous effort.
"Aria, drop the shield on my mark," Kael said, suddenly beside me. "Trust me."
"Okay," I breathed.
"NOW!"
I dropped the shield. Victoria-thing's eyes widened in triumph as she shot another blast of dark magic—
Kael's shadows intercepted it, wrapping around the attack and crushing it. Then his shadows wrapped around Victoria-thing herself, pinning her in place.
"You dare—" she started.
"Sleep," Kael commanded, and darkness covered her face. Victoria-thing's body went limp, unconscious but alive.
"You didn't kill her," I said, surprised.
"That's still your stepmother's body. An innocent woman being used by Malachar." Kael's expression was grim. "We'll free her if we can."
Something warm bloomed in my chest. Even in battle, even against enemies, Kael tried to protect the innocent.
Marcus-thing and Ryan-thing saw their ally fall and attacked together. Zane intercepted Marcus while Finn took Ryan.
But more shadow creatures kept coming. So many. Too many.
"We can't hold them!" someone shouted.
"Fall back to the second line!" Kael ordered.
We retreated deeper into the palace, fighting every step. I was getting tired. My arms shook from using so much power. But I couldn't stop. Couldn't give up.
Then—silence.
The shadow creatures suddenly stopped attacking. They parted like a curtain, forming a path.
Through that path walked Malachar. Not his giant shadow form, but a human-sized version—tall, elegant, with burning red eyes and a smile that promised pain.
"Enough," he said, his voice echoing unnaturally. "I've seen what I needed to see."
"And what's that?" Kael demanded, positioning himself in front of me.
"That the girl has spirit. Power. Potential." Malachar's smile widened. "And that she's exactly as broken as I need her to be."
"I'm not broken," I said, trying to sound brave.
"Aren't you?" Malachar tilted his head. "Your family betrayed you. Your boyfriend used you. Your entire life was a lie. And now you've seen your own darkness—the shadow version of yourself, growing stronger every moment you feel rage or pain."
"That was a trick," I insisted, but my voice wavered.
"Was it?" Malachar raised his hand, and shadows swirled around him. "Let me show you something, little Guardian. A truth you're not ready to face."
The shadows formed into images—memories that weren't mine.
I saw myself from an outside perspective. Saw my face when Victoria announced I'd stolen money. The expression wasn't just hurt—it was murderous rage, quickly hidden.
Saw myself signing those papers, and for just a split second, my eyes had flickered with red light.
Saw myself watching Ryan with Celeste, and shadows had literally leaked from my clenched fists before disappearing.
"No," I whispered. "That's not—those aren't real—"
"They're very real," Malachar purred. "You've been manifesting darkness since the moment your power awakened. You just didn't notice. Every angry thought. Every vengeful impulse. Every moment of hate—it feeds the shadow growing inside you."
"Stop it," Kael growled.
"Why? I'm simply showing her the truth." Malachar looked at me with mock sympathy. "The prophecy says you'll choose, dear Guardian. But what if darkness has already chosen you?"
"She is NOT yours," Kael snarled.
"Not yet," Malachar agreed. "But soon. Very soon." He gestured, and the shadow creatures began retreating. "I'm not even going to force her to come with me. Do you know why?"
"Why?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Because you're going to come to me willingly. When you finally accept what you're becoming, when the darkness inside you grows too strong to fight—you'll seek me out. You'll beg me to teach you to control it." His smile was terrible. "I'll be waiting, Aria Chen. And when you come to me, broken and desperate, I'll welcome you with open arms."
"That will never happen," I said, but even I heard the uncertainty in my voice.
"We'll see." Malachar dissolved into shadows. "Oh, and one more thing—enjoy the next three days. That's how long you have before the darkness inside you becomes impossible to ignore. Tick tock, little Guardian. Tick tock."
He vanished, taking his army with him. The possessed family members collapsed, unconscious but breathing.
The battle was over.
We'd won.
So why did it feel like we'd lost?
"Aria." Kael touched my arm gently. "Don't listen to him. He's manipulating you."
"But what if he's right?" I looked down at my hands. "What if there IS darkness inside me? What if I'm already turning into that shadow version?"
"Then we'll fight it," Finn said firmly. "Together."
"But how do you fight yourself?" My voice broke. "How do you fight your own darkness?"
Moira appeared, her expression grave. "That, child, is the question every Guardian must answer. And you have three days to find yours."
Three days until the darkness took over. Three days until I became the monster Malachar wanted me to be.
I looked around at the damaged palace, at the wounded warriors, at the people who'd risked everything to protect me.
"I need to be alone," I whispered.
"Aria—" Kael started.
"Please. Just... give me some time to think."
I pulled away from him and walked toward my quarters, feeling everyone's worried eyes on my back.
When I reached my room, I closed the door and leaned against it, sliding down to sit on the floor.
My hands were shaking. I stared at them, looking for signs of darkness. Looking for proof that Malachar was right.
And then I saw it.
A thin black line, like a vein, running under the skin of my left wrist. As I watched, it pulsed once, then faded.
But it had been there. Real. Visible.
The darkness inside me wasn't just emotional. It was physical. Growing. Spreading.
I had three days before it consumed me completely.
A knock at my door made me jump.
"Aria?" Kael's voice was soft. "Can I come in?"
I quickly pulled my sleeve down, hiding the mark. "I said I wanted to be alone."
"I know. But I also know that being alone with dark thoughts is dangerous." He paused. "Please. Let me in."
I stood and opened the door. Kael stood there, concern written all over his face.
"I saw it too," he said quietly. "The black mark on your wrist. I saw it before you covered it."
My breath caught. "You did?"
He nodded. "And I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you from the beginning."
"What?"
Kael's silver eyes met mine, and I saw fear in them. Actual fear.
"There's a reason I knew your mother so well. A reason I made that promise to protect you." He took a breath. "Elena wasn't just a Guardian who saved my life. She was my sister."
The world tilted. "What?"
"Your mother was my half-sister. Which means—" Kael's voice was barely a whisper. "—you're my niece, Aria. You're family. The only family I have left."
I stared at him, unable to process this new bombshell.
"And there's something else you need to know," he continued, his expression anguished. "About what really killed your mother. About why Malachar is so obsessed with you specifically."
"Tell me."
"Your mother died sealing your power, yes. But she was also sealing something else—something dark that was already growing inside you, even as a child." Kael's hands clenched. "Malachar didn't just attack your family randomly. He attacked because he sensed what you are. What you've always been."
"What do you mean?"
Kael looked at me with devastated eyes.
"You're not just a Guardian, Aria. You're something that's never existed before—a Guardian born with both light AND darkness inside you. You're not becoming dark. You've always had darkness within you. Your mother spent your entire childhood trying to suppress it, trying to keep the balance. But now that the seal is broken—"
"The darkness is free," I finished numbly.
"Yes." Kael's voice cracked. "And I don't know how to save you from yourself."