ELARA POV
"He's dead."
I stare at Lord Maddox's body, my mind refusing to accept what just happened. One moment he was speaking with the King's voice. The next, he crumpled like a puppet with cut strings.
"The magic killed him," Seren says, kneeling beside the corpse. "The King used him as a vessel, then discarded him."
I feel sick. Maddox saved me as a baby. Carried that guilt for twenty-three years. And this is how he died—as a puppet for the man who destroyed everything.
"We need to move," Cassian says, already gathering supplies. "If the King knows where we are—"
"He knows everything." My voice sounds hollow. "He heard us talking. Saw my magic awaken. He knows exactly what I can do."
"Then we use that." Cassian grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "He's afraid of you, Elara. That's why he's rushing his attack. He wanted three days to prepare, but now he's throwing everything at us tonight."
"How is that good?"
"Because fear makes people sloppy. And Aldric has never been afraid of anything in twenty-five years." His gray eyes burn with intensity. "You're his nightmare come to life. The one Starborn heir who survived. The one with pure magic he can't control."
"I can't control it either!"
"Not yet. But you will."
Outside, a sound splits the night.
War drums.
Every soldier in the cave freezes, listening to the rhythmic thunder echoing off the mountains.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
"They're here," Seren whispers.
Cassian moves to the cave entrance, peering into the darkness. "Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty. That's how long we have before they find these caves."
"We're trapped," a soldier says, voice tight with fear. "They'll surround the mountain. We can't fight two hundred men."
"No," Cassian agrees. "We can't."
He turns back to us, and I've never seen him look so dangerous. Like a wolf backed into a corner, calculating which enemy to take down first.
"New plan," he says. "We split up. Seren, take twenty soldiers and head west through the high pass. Make noise, leave tracks. Make them think you're escorting Elara."
"A decoy," Seren realizes.
"Exactly. I'll take the remaining soldiers and Elara east, through the ice caves. It's treacherous, but if we move fast—"
"The ice caves haven't been used in fifty years," one of his men interrupts. "They could collapse at any moment."
"So could we if we stay here." Cassian's jaw sets. "I need volunteers. Anyone who comes with me might die. No shame in choosing the decoy route instead."
Silence.
Then, one by one, every soldier steps forward.
"We follow you, Commander," Seren says simply. "Wherever that leads."
Something flickers in Cassian's expression—gratitude, pride, maybe even love for these people who trust him completely.
"Then let's make sure we survive to tell this story." He hands packs to each soldier. "Light loads. Weapons only. Move silent, move fast."
He grabs my hand. "Stay close to me. If the magic tries to surface again, tell me immediately."
"What if I can't stop it?"
"Then you burn our enemies instead of us." He almost smiles. "Every weapon has two edges. We just need to point yours in the right direction."
We leave through a back tunnel, single file, while Seren's decoy group exits loudly through the front. I can hear them shouting, making their horses whinny, creating the illusion of a panicked escape.
The King's soldiers will chase them.
At least, that's the hope.
We descend into darkness so complete I can't see my own hands. Cassian leads, one hand on the cave wall, the other gripping mine. His soldiers follow by touch and trust.
The temperature drops. My breath forms clouds. Ice coats the walls, reflecting what little light filters from above.
"Careful," Cassian whispers. "One wrong step and you'll fall forever."
Comforting.
We edge along a narrow path carved into the cliff face. On one side, solid ice. On the other, black emptiness. I don't look down.
Behind us, faint sounds of pursuit. Shouts. The clash of steel.
Seren's group made contact.
"Keep moving," Cassian urges.
We push deeper into the ice caves. The path widens into a chamber filled with frozen waterfalls and columns of solid ice. It's beautiful and deadly—one torch could make the whole thing unstable.
"Almost through," Cassian says. "The exit is—"
Ice cracks.
Not from us.
From above.
I look up and see them—soldiers rappelling down from holes in the cave ceiling. At least fifty men, dropping into the chamber like spiders.
"Ambush!" Cassian roars, drawing his sword.
We were betrayed. The King didn't fall for the decoy.
He split his forces and surrounded both groups.
Cassian's soldiers form a protective circle around me, weapons ready. But we're outnumbered and trapped in a frozen death trap.
A figure drops down last, landing with predatory grace. He's tall, wearing black armor decorated with gold. His face is sharp, cruel, handsome in a way that makes my skin crawl.
"Commander Blackthorn," he says with a mocking bow. "I am Lord Vex, the King's champion. He sends his regards."
"Tell Aldric he can deliver his regards personally," Cassian snarls.
"Oh, he will. Once I bring him the girl." Vex's eyes find me, hungry and cold. "Princess Elara Starcrown. You look so much like your mother. I remember her screams when we burned her alive."
Rage explodes in my chest.
Silver fire erupts across my skin before I can stop it.
"Elara, no!" Cassian shouts. "The ice—"
Too late.
My magic blasts outward in a wave of pure heat. It strikes the nearest soldiers, throwing them backward. But it also hits the ice.
The entire chamber groans.
Cracks spider-web across every surface. The frozen waterfalls shudder.
"You fool!" Vex screams. "You'll kill us all!"
The ceiling breaks apart.
Tons of ice crash down, huge chunks the size of houses. Soldiers scatter, screaming. Some aren't fast enough.
Cassian tackles me, rolling us behind a pillar as the world explodes into chaos.
Ice. Bodies. Darkness.
Then—silence.
I'm pinned under something heavy. Can't breathe. Can't move.
"Cassian?" My voice is barely a whisper.
No answer.
I try to use magic to blast free, but I'm too weak. Too drained. The awakening took everything I had.
I'm going to die here, buried in ice, never knowing if Cassian survived.
Never getting revenge for my mother.
Never becoming more than the frightened servant girl I've always been.
No.
I refuse.
I close my eyes and reach for the magic deep inside me. Not the wild explosion from before. Something controlled. Focused.
Heat blooms in my chest. Gentle. Steady.
The ice around me begins to melt.
I push harder. The heat spreads to my hands, my arms. More ice melts.
Finally, I can move.
I crawl out from under the debris, gasping for air. The chamber is destroyed—half collapsed, filled with bodies and broken ice.
I search frantically for Cassian.
There—a hand protruding from the rubble.
I dig with bare hands, ignoring the cold that burns my skin. I clear away ice and rock until I reach his face.
He's unconscious but breathing.
"Wake up," I beg, shaking him. "Please wake up."
His eyes flutter open. "Elara?"
"I'm here. You're alive."
"Your magic—you controlled it."
"A little. Enough." I help him sit up. "Can you walk?"
He tests his legs, wincing. "Nothing broken. You?"
"I'm fine."
We're not fine. We're battered, exhausted, surrounded by enemy soldiers who might be unconscious or dead.
But we're alive.
Cassian pulls me close, his forehead resting against mine. "You saved us."
"I almost killed us."
"But you didn't. You learned. That's what matters."
A groan nearby makes us freeze.
Lord Vex crawls from the rubble, bloodied but very much alive. His eyes lock onto us with pure hatred.
"You destroyed my men," he rasps. "The King will have your head for this."
He raises his hand.
Dark magic—not Starborn, but something twisted and wrong—gathers in his palm. Black flames that smell like death.
"The King's gift," Vex smiles through broken teeth. "Stolen Starborn magic, refined and weaponized. Let's see how your raw power compares to his mastery."
He throws the black fire at us.
I raise my hands instinctively.
Silver meets black in midair.
The collision creates a shockwave that throws everyone backward. When I open my eyes, I'm standing in a circle of melted ice. My magic protected us.
But Vex is gone.
And in the distance, I hear more war drums.
The main army is coming.
"We can't fight them all," I say.
"No," Cassian agrees, helping me to my feet. "But we don't have to. We just need to reach the border."
"Border? What border?"
He points through a gap in the collapsed ceiling. Beyond the mountains, I see lights. Lots of them.
A city.
"The Free Cities," Cassian says. "Independent territories that answer to no king. If we can reach them, Aldric can't touch us. They'll grant us asylum."
"How far?"
"Ten miles. Through enemy territory. In a snowstorm."
I look at him. At his battered face and determined eyes. At this man who kidnapped me, told me I'm a princess, and is now asking me to run ten miles through hell.
"Let's go," I say.
We gather our surviving soldiers—only twelve left—and slip out through the hole in the ceiling.
Into the storm.
Into war.
Into whatever comes next.
Behind us, the drums grow louder.
But ahead, freedom waits.
If we can survive long enough to reach it.