ELARA POV
I've been running for three hours and I can't feel my legs anymore.
Snow whips into my face, blinding me. Wind howls like a living thing trying to tear us apart. Somewhere behind us, the King's army hunts through the storm.
We're going to die out here.
"Keep moving!" Cassian shouts over the wind. His hand grips mine so tight it hurts, but it's the only thing keeping me upright.
One of our soldiers collapses face-first into the snow.
"Get up!" Seren yells, backtracking to haul him to his feet. "We're almost there!"
Almost where? I can't see anything but white.
Then suddenly—lights.
Torches blazing through the storm. Walls rising out of the darkness. Gates made of iron and wood, carved with symbols I don't recognize.
"The Free Cities," Cassian gasps. "We made it."
Guards appear on the walls, bows drawn and pointed at us.
"Halt!" one shouts. "State your business!"
"Asylum!" Cassian calls back. "We seek sanctuary under the Ancient Laws!"
The guards exchange glances. One disappears from view.
We stand in the snow, shaking from cold and exhaustion, while they decide if we live or die.
Finally, the gates creak open.
A woman steps out—tall, dark-skinned, wearing armor that looks foreign and beautiful. Gray streaks her black hair, but her eyes are sharp as knives.
"Commander Blackthorn," she says with surprise. "I heard you were dead."
"Not yet, Captain Rhea." Cassian manages a tired smile. "Though the night is young."
Rhea's gaze sweeps over our group, counting survivors. When her eyes land on me, they widen slightly.
"Starborn," she breathes. "By the gods, you actually found one."
"Can we discuss this inside?" Cassian asks. "Before the King's army catches up?"
As if summoned by his words, war horns echo through the storm.
Rhea doesn't hesitate. "Inside! Now! Close the gates!"
We stumble through into warmth and light and safety. The gates boom shut behind us just as arrows start thudding into the wood from outside.
I collapse against the nearest wall, legs finally giving out.
We're alive. Somehow, impossibly, we're alive.
The city beyond the gates is nothing like Ironhold Palace. No marble, no gold, no rigid hierarchy. People of every kind move through the streets—soldiers in mismatched armor, merchants with foreign accents, families cooking over open fires.
It's chaos. Beautiful, messy, free chaos.
"This way," Rhea says, leading us through narrow streets. "The Council will want to see you immediately."
"Council?" I ask Cassian.
"The Free Cities are governed by elected representatives. No kings, no nobles. Just people choosing their own leaders."
The idea is so foreign it makes my head spin. Choose their leaders? Without bloodlines or divine right?
We enter a large building—part fortress, part meeting hall. Inside, five people sit around a circular table. All different ages, different backgrounds, watching us with varying expressions of curiosity and concern.
"Councilors," Rhea announces. "Commander Cassian Blackthorn requests sanctuary. And he brings... well. See for yourselves."
I step forward, still wearing my torn servant's rags, covered in ice and blood. My white hair hangs in tangles. My violet eyes probably look wild.
One of the Councilors—an elderly man with kind eyes—gasps. "Starcrown white. Starcrown violet. Child, what is your name?"
"Elara." My voice shakes. "Elara Starcrown."
The room erupts.
Councilors shouting over each other. Guards whispering. Someone actually faints.
"Impossible!" a woman Councilor exclaims. "The Starcrowns were all killed in the Purge!"
"Almost all," Cassian corrects. "Elara survived. She's been hidden in the palace for twenty-three years."
"And now she's here," the elderly Councilor says slowly, "bringing King Aldric's wrath to our doorstep."
The reality of what we've done settles over the room.
By fleeing here, we've put the Free Cities in danger. The King won't just let us disappear. He'll demand our return. And if they refuse...
"We'll leave," I say quickly. "We won't put you at risk—"
"No," Rhea interrupts. "The Ancient Laws are clear. Anyone seeking sanctuary cannot be turned away. To refuse is to dishonor our entire nation."
"Even if it means war with Valdrath?" the woman Councilor asks.
"Especially then. The Free Cities exist because we refused to bow to tyrants. We're not starting now."
The elderly Councilor stands. "I am Elder Finn, head of this Council. Lady Elara, we grant you and your companions sanctuary. You are under our protection."
Relief floods through me. "Thank you."
"Don't thank us yet," Finn says grimly. "Outside those gates, King Aldric's army waits. He'll demand your return. We'll refuse. Then..." He spreads his hands. "War. Siege. Death."
"Unless we give him what he wants," the woman Councilor says. "One girl in exchange for peace."
"We just said we don't bow to tyrants, Councilor Vera," Rhea snaps.
"I'm being practical! We have families here. Children. Is one girl's life worth risking them all?"
"Yes," Cassian says quietly but firmly. "Because that one girl is the only person who can stop Aldric permanently. If we give her back, he drains her magic and becomes unstoppable. Then he'll conquer the Free Cities anyway, and all those children will be slaves."
The Council falls silent, weighing his words.
Elder Finn sighs. "We'll vote at dawn. Until then, you'll be our guests. Rhea, find them quarters and food."
"This way," Rhea says, leading us out.
She takes us to a building near the city center—simple but warm, with beds and a roaring fire. My soldiers collapse immediately, too exhausted to even eat.
Cassian and I stand by the fire, neither of us able to relax.
"They might vote to turn us over," I whisper.
"They might."
"And if they do?"
"Then we run again. But we're running out of places to hide." He runs a hand through his dark hair. "Elara, I need to tell you something. About your magic."
"What about it?"
"When you used it in the ice caves, when you saved us—I felt it. The power. It's stronger than anything recorded in history. Stronger than even your mother's magic."
"How do you know about my mother's magic?"
His jaw tightens. "Because I was there the night she died."
Everything stops.
"What?"
"I was seventeen. A soldier in the King's army, before I knew what kind of monster he was. I was ordered to help raid Starborn homes during the Purge." His voice is rough with old guilt. "I watched your mother fight. Watched her use magic to protect you as an infant. She held off twenty soldiers long enough for someone to escape with you."
Tears burn my eyes. "You were there."
"I tried to stop it. Tried to help her. But I was just one soldier, and there were so many—" He breaks off. "I failed her. I've been trying to make up for that failure ever since."
"Is that why you searched for me? Guilt?"
"At first, yes. But now..." He meets my eyes. "Now it's because I believe you can finish what your mother started. You can end this. End him."
Before I can respond, Rhea bursts through the door.
"We have a problem," she says. "A big one."
We follow her to the walls. Below, the King's army has surrounded the city. Hundreds of soldiers, siege weapons, war machines.
And standing at the front, on a white horse, is a figure in golden armor.
King Aldric himself.
"He came personally," Cassian breathes. "He never comes to battles personally."
"He's desperate," I realize. "He needs my magic that badly."
Aldric's voice booms across the field, enhanced by magic: "People of the Free Cities! I come in peace, seeking only the return of stolen property. Give me the girl called Elara, and I will withdraw. Refuse, and I will turn your city to ash and salt!"
The streets fill with frightened people. Parents clutching children. Elders whispering prayers.
Elder Finn appears on the wall beside us, his face grave.
"The Council is voting now," he says. "But I suspect the outcome."
"They'll give me up to save themselves," I finish.
"Can you blame them?"
No. I can't. They have families to protect. I'm a stranger who brought death to their door.
"There might be another way," Cassian says suddenly. "A challenge."
"What kind of challenge?" Rhea asks.
"Trial by combat. Ancient law, even older than sanctuary rights. If Elara defeats the King's champion in single combat, he must withdraw and never return."
"She's never even held a sword!" Finn protests.
"She has magic."
"That she can barely control!"
"Then I'll teach her. We have until dawn."
It's insane. Impossible. A servant girl with one night of training facing the King's deadliest warrior.
But it's the only choice that doesn't end in innocent people dying.
"I'll do it," I say.
Everyone turns to stare at me.
"Elara—" Cassian starts.
"I said I'll do it. Those people down there—they didn't ask for this war. I won't let them suffer for me." I square my shoulders. "Teach me to fight. I'll face the King's champion."
Cassian studies my face for a long moment. Then he nods.
"We start now. Every second counts."
As we turn to leave, Elder Finn calls out: "Child, who do you think the King will send as his champion?"
I pause. "His best warrior?"
"No," Finn says grimly. "He'll send Lord Vex. The man you buried in ice. The man who killed your mother."
My blood runs cold.
"He survived?"
"Oh, he survived. And he's been waiting twenty-three years for revenge against the Starcrown bloodline."
I look at Cassian. "Can I beat him?"
"Honestly? I don't know. But we're going to find out."
We descend from the walls as night deepens. Somewhere in the enem
y camp, Lord Vex sharpens his blades and dreams of my death.
And I have eight hours to learn how to kill him first.