Kieran's POV
The light was blinding.
I couldn't see Aria anymore. Couldn't see the Shadow King. Couldn't see anything except pure silver radiance that burned brighter than a thousand suns.
The shadow chains holding me shattered like glass.
I fell to my knees, shielding my eyes with my arm. Through the bond, I felt Aria's emotions exploding—confusion, fear, power, and something else.
Recognition.
Like she was remembering something she'd always known but had forgotten.
"What's happening to her?" I shouted over the roar of magic filling the chamber.
Queen Seraphina's ghost—because that's what she was, Aria's dead mother somehow returned—stood calmly in the center of the light storm.
"She's awakening," the Queen said. "Truly awakening. Not just her powers, but her purpose. Her destiny."
"You're supposed to be dead!" the Shadow King screamed. "I killed you! I watched you die!"
"Death is not the end for those who serve the Light." Seraphina's ghost turned to face him, and even though she was translucent, even though she was just a spirit, the power radiating from her made the Shadow King stumble backward. "Did you really think I would abandon my daughter to face you alone?"
The light began to fade.
And when I could finally see again, my breath caught in my throat.
Aria stood in the center of the ritual circle, but she looked different.
Her silver-blonde hair floated around her like she was underwater. Her violet eyes glowed with inner light. Her skin seemed to shimmer, and I could see faint silver markings appearing on her arms—ancient Luminae symbols that marked her as royalty.
She was transforming into her true form.
And she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"Aria?" I called out hesitantly.
She turned to look at me, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if she even recognized me.
Then her expression softened. "Kieran. You're okay."
Her voice sounded the same. Still gentle. Still her.
Relief flooded through me.
"What did you do to her?" I demanded, looking at Queen Seraphina's ghost.
"I gave her what was stolen," the Queen replied. "Moira's suppression spell didn't just hide Aria's powers. It also suppressed her memories. Everything her father and I taught her before we died. Everything she needed to know about being Luminae."
"You mean she remembers now?" Obsidian asked, picking himself up from where he'd been thrown. "She remembers you?"
Aria's eyes filled with tears. "Mom. You're really here."
"Not for long, little light." Seraphina's form was already starting to fade. "I used the last of my spirit energy to break through the Veil and find you. I only have minutes left."
"No!" Aria reached for her mother. "You just got here. I just found you. You can't leave again—"
"I never left, sweetheart. I've been watching over you every day for eighteen years." Seraphina cupped Aria's glowing face. "I'm so proud of the person you've become. Kind. Compassionate. Strong."
"I'm not strong. I'm scared. I don't know what I'm doing—"
"Being scared doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're smart enough to understand the danger." Seraphina glanced at the Shadow King, who was gathering his power for an attack. "Listen carefully. The ritual he wants to perform—it won't work the way he thinks."
"What do you mean?" I stepped closer, ready to defend Aria if the Shadow King made a move.
"He needs Luminae blood to open the Gateway. That much is true." Seraphina's voice was urgent. "But what he doesn't know is that Luminae blood can also seal the Gateway permanently. Forever. So it can never be opened again."
The Shadow King's face went pale. "You're lying."
"Am I? Tell me, Malachar, why do you think my husband and I were so desperate to protect our daughter? Why we died rather than let you have her?" Seraphina smiled coldly. "Because Aria isn't just the key to opening your prison. She's the key to locking you away forever. And once the Gateway is sealed with royal Luminae blood, nothing—not even death—will ever free you."
"NO!" The Shadow King's roar shook the chamber. "I've waited too long! Suffered too long! I will be FREE!"
He threw a massive wave of dark magic at Aria.
I shadow-traveled in front of her, raising my hands to block it—
But I didn't need to.
Aria raised her glowing hand, and a shield of pure silver light appeared. The Shadow King's attack hit it and dissolved like smoke in the wind.
She looked at her hand in amazement. "I did that. I actually did that."
"You're a Luminae queen," her mother said proudly. "This is only the beginning of what you can do."
The Shadow King snarled and summoned more power. The symbols on the floor began glowing red. The ritual chamber started to shake.
"He's trying to force the ritual," I realized. "He's going to tear open the Gateway by force."
"He can't," Seraphina said. "Not without Aria's blood. But he'll destroy this entire stronghold trying. Everyone here will die."
I looked at the Midnight Court—Zara, Marcus, and Finn still chained against the wall. Looked at Obsidian struggling to stand. Looked at Aria, who'd just learned her mother was dead and magic was real, all in the same night.
"We need to get out of here," I said. "Now."
"No." Aria's voice was steady. Determined. "We need to end this."
"What?" I stared at her. "Aria, you've been awakened for less than an hour. You can't fight him—"
"I'm not going to fight him." She looked at her mother's fading ghost. "I'm going to seal the Gateway. Permanently. Isn't that right, Mom?"
Seraphina's smile was sad. "Yes. But Aria, the ritual to seal it—it requires a sacrifice. Royal Luminae blood given willingly, with full knowledge of what it costs."
"What does it cost?" Aria asked quietly.
"Your mortality," Seraphina whispered. "You'll be bound to the Gateway forever. Immortal like your Protector. But you'll spend eternity guarding the seal, making sure it never breaks. You'll never be able to leave. Never have a normal life. Never—"
"I never had a normal life anyway," Aria interrupted. "And if I don't do this, the Shadow King will keep trying to escape. He'll hurt more people. Destroy more families."
"Aria, no." I grabbed her hand. "There has to be another way. Let me do it. Let me be the sacrifice—"
"It has to be Luminae blood, Kieran. You know that." She squeezed my hand. "Besides, you've already given up eighteen years of your life searching for me. Suffering for me. It's my turn to protect you."
Through our bond, I felt her determination. Her acceptance. Her courage.
And underneath it all, a quiet sadness that broke my heart.
She was eighteen years old. And she was choosing to give up everything—freedom, a future, happiness—to save the world.
"Your father and I are so proud of you," Seraphina said, tears streaming down her ghostly face. "You are everything we hoped you'd be."
"I love you, Mom," Aria whispered.
"I love you too, little light. Now and forever." Seraphina's form was almost completely transparent now. "Kieran?"
I looked at the Queen's ghost.
"Protect her. Even in immortality, even as a Guardian of the Gateway, she'll need someone who understands. Someone who cares." Her eyes met mine. "Love her the way her father loved me. With everything you are."
My throat went tight. "I swear it."
Seraphina smiled. Then she faded away completely, like morning mist in sunlight.
Aria stood alone in the circle, glowing with power, facing the raging Shadow King.
"I'm ready," she said quietly. "Tell me what I need to do."
But before anyone could answer, the chamber doors exploded inward.
And Moira walked in, holding a knife to Ethan's throat.
"Hello, dear niece," she said with a vicious smile. "Let's talk about who's really in control here. Because if you seal that Gateway, this boy dies. And I know how much you hate seeing innocent people suffer."
Aria's face went white.
Ethan—the spy, the boy who'd been sent to betray her—looked at Aria with desperate, pleading eyes.
"I'm sorry," he choked out. "Aria, I'm so sorry. I didn't know they were going to—I thought they were good—please, I'm sorry—"
Moira pressed the knife harder against his throat, drawing blood.
"Choose, princess," she hissed. "Seal the Gateway and watch him die. Or give us your blood and save his worthless life."
And Aria, who'd just agreed to sacrifice everything, now had to choose between saving the world and saving the boy who'd betrayed her.