Elara's POV
The curse magic slams into me from every direction.
It's too much. Way too much.
My body tries to absorb it all at once the curse from the walls, the floor, the air, from every dying person in the citadel. It pours into me like a river trying to flow through a straw.
I'm being torn apart.
Stop! Kaelen's voice sounds distant, like he's underwater. Elara, you can't absorb it all! You'll die!
But I can't stop. People are dying. That young servant girl. The old guard. Even Corvus is on his knees, darkness spreading across his skin.
I have to save them.
I pull harder, absorbing faster, and the pain becomes unbearable. My bones feel like they're cracking. My blood feels like fire.
Then hands grip my shoulders.
Kaelen spins me around to face him. His silver eyes burn with intensity.
Listen to me, he says, his voice cutting through the chaos. You can't save everyone. Not like this. You're trying to drink an ocean, and it's going to drown you.
I have to I gasp.
No. You have to survive. His hands move to cup my face. Focus. Don't try to absorb everything at once. Take it slow. Piece by piece. Let me help you.
How?
Trust me.
He pulls me against his chest. His arms wrap around me, and I feel his power dragon fire, ancient and strong flow into me.
It's warm where the curse is cold. Bright where the curse is dark.
And somehow, it gives me something to anchor to.
I stop trying to swallow everything at once. Instead, I focus on one source of curse magic at a time. Absorb it. Transform it. Move to the next.
Kaelen's power feeds mine, giving me strength when I start to falter.
Slowly so slowly the screaming stops.
The dark veins on people's skin begin to fade.
The servant girl gasps and sits up. The old guard's breathing steadies. Corvus's silver eyes clear.
One by one, the dying start to recover.
Morganna's scream of rage shakes the walls. No! This isn't how it's supposed to work! You should be dead!
But I'm not dead. I'm still standing.
Though barely.
When the last of the curse magic is absorbed, my legs give out. Kaelen catches me before I hit the floor.
I've got you, he murmurs. You're safe.
I look up at Morganna. She's still standing there, fury twisting her beautiful face into something ugly.
You ruined everything! she snarls at me. All my planning, all my patience, and you just She stops. Takes a breath. Forces her expression back to calm. No matter. This was just the first attempt. I have centuries of practice at patience. I can wait.
Wait for what? I ask weakly.
For you to realize the truth. She smiles, cold and cruel. You just absorbed curse magic from hundreds of people. All that darkness is inside you now. And curse magic doesn't just disappear, granddaughter. It transforms, yes. But it also corrupts. Give it time, and you'll become just like me hungry for power, willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to get it.
That's not true, I say.
Isn't it? You already chose to absorb lethal amounts of magic even though the King warned you it would kill you. You risked your life for people you don't even know. That's not heroism, darling. That's addiction. You liked the feeling of all that power flowing through you. Admit it.
I want to deny it. Want to tell her she's wrong.
But there's a tiny voice in my head that whispers: She's right. For those few moments when I was absorbing all that magic, I felt incredible. Powerful. Like I could do anything.
And part of me wants to feel that way again.
I see the truth in your eyes, Morganna purrs. You're already becoming what you were always meant to be my weapon. My tool. My legacy. She starts to fade into smoke. Enjoy your little victory, granddaughter. But remember: the more curse magic you absorb, the more you become like the curse itself. And when you finally transform completely... She smiles. I'll be waiting.
Then she's gone.
The throne room falls silent except for the sound of people slowly recovering.
Kaelen still has his arms around me. I realize I'm shaking.
She's wrong, he says quietly, like he can read my thoughts. You're nothing like her.
How do you know? I whisper. I can feel the curse magic inside me. It's changed into something else, but it's still there. Dark and hungry and wanting more.
Because I've carried curse magic for three hundred years, Kaelen says. And I know the difference between someone who's consumed by darkness and someone who's fighting it. You're fighting, Elara. That's what matters.
Theron approaches, looking shaken but alive. My King, the citadel is secure. Morganna is gone. And everyone she tried to kill... He looks at me with something like awe. They're all alive. Every single one.
Because of her, Kaelen says.
People start gathering around us. Servants, guards, workers all the people I saved. They stare at me with wonder and gratitude.
Thank you, the young servant girl whispers, tears streaming down her face. You saved my life.
We thought we were dead, the old guard adds. But you... you pulled the curse right out of us.
More voices join in, thanking me, praising me.
And I feel that dark hunger inside me stir.
It likes being praised. Likes being needed. Likes the power.
I pull away from Kaelen, suddenly terrified of myself.
I need to be alone, I say.
Elara
Please. I just... I need space.
Kaelen studies my face for a long moment, then nods. Theron, show her to the guest chambers. Make sure she has everything she needs.
Theron leads me through the citadel. The hallways feel different now cleaner, lighter. Like pulling out all that curse magic changed the whole fortress.
We reach a beautiful room with a huge bed and a balcony overlooking the volcano.
Rest, Theron says gently. You've been through a lot tonight.
He leaves, closing the door behind him.
I walk to the balcony and stare at the stars, trying to quiet the darkness stirring inside me.
But I can't shake Morganna's words: You're already becoming what you were always meant to be.
She's wrong, I say out loud, trying to convince myself. I'm not like her. I won't become like her.
Are you sure about that?
I spin around.
My mother stands in the doorway.
Not a ghost. Not a vision. She looks solid and real, wearing the same dress from her portrait in my father's study.
Mom? My voice breaks. But you're... you're dead.
I am, she agrees, stepping into the room. This is just a magical echo a message I left for you in case you ever awakened your power. And Elara, there are things you need to know. Things about our family. About what you really are.
She moves closer, and I see sadness in her eyes.
The absorption magic isn't a gift, she says. It's a curse. Every woman in our bloodline who's awakened it has eventually been consumed by it. They become so hungry for power that they lose themselves. They become monsters.
My blood runs cold. All of them?
All of them. Including me. She touches my cheek, and her hand is warm despite being made of magic. I died giving birth to you because the absorption magic activated to protect you from the trauma. It drained my life force, converted it to pure magic, and fed it into your infant body to keep you alive.
So I killed you, I whisper.
No. I chose to let the magic take me so you could live. But Elara, you have to understand the magic doesn't care about right or wrong. It only cares about consuming more power. And the more you use it, the stronger the hunger becomes. Her expression turns desperate. There's only one way to break the curse on our bloodline. Only one way to use absorption magic without being consumed by it.
What?
You have to find someone whose power balances yours. Someone who's magic is creation instead of consumption. Dragon fire creates. Absorption magic destroys. Together, they could balance each other. Cancel each other out. She glances toward the door. Kaelen could be that person. His dragon fire could keep your absorption magic from consuming you completely.
Hope flares in my chest. So if I stay close to him
You'll survive. Maybe. But there's a cost. My mother's face fills with sorrow. To truly balance the magic, you'd have to bond with him. A complete magical bond. And that means if he dies, you die. If you're corrupted, he's corrupted. Your fates become one.
Is that really so bad?
It is when the Dragon King is cursed to destroy everyone he cares about, my mother says gently. The closer you get to him, the harder Morganna will try to kill you. And even if you survive her, the curse itself will target you. You'll be fighting for your life every single day.
I slump onto the bed. So my choices are: become a monster like Morganna, or bond myself to a cursed king and fight for survival forever?
Or run, my mother says. Leave this place. Hide. Never use your magic again. Let it sleep. You could live a normal, quiet life.
While everyone else dies because I was too afraid to fight.
Better to be a living coward than a dead hero.
I look at my mother this magical echo of the woman who died to save me and I understand.
She's not really here. This is just a message, probably triggered by me absorbing so much curse magic at once.
But her warning is real.
I can't run, I say quietly. You taught me that, even if you didn't mean to. You gave your life for mine. How can I waste that sacrifice by hiding?
My mother smiles sadly. You're braver than I ever was. Just... be careful. The road you're choosing is dangerous beyond measure.
She starts to fade.
Wait! I reach for her. Will I see you again?
Maybe. If you survive long enough. Her voice grows distant. One more thing, Elara. The book I left you read it carefully. The final pages only appear when you're ready. And what they reveal will change everything.
Then she's gone.
I'm alone in the beautiful room, the weight of impossible choices crushing my chest.
I should sleep. I should rest.
Instead, I pull out my mother's book.
The pages flip open on their own to a section near the end. Words appear that weren't there before, glowing with soft light:
When two magic's bond creation and consumption, fire and absorption third magic is born. Something neither light nor dark. Something that has never existed before. This is both our greatest hope and our deepest fear. Because no one knows what such a magic could become.
Below the words is a drawing.
A dragon and a woman, their powers intertwined, creating something that looks like a star.
Or a weapon.
Or both.
A knock on my door makes me jump.
Elara? Kaelen's voice. May I come in?
I shove the book under my pillow. It's your citadel.
He enters, and for the first time, he's not wearing armor. Just simple clothes that make him look less like a terrifying king and more like a tired man who's carried too much for too long.
I wanted to make sure you were alright, he says.
I'm fine.
You're lying. He sits on the edge of my bed carefully, like he's afraid he'll break something. What Morganna said about the curse corrupting you... it's not true? I would know. I've lived with this curse for three hundred years.
But what if she's right? I whisper. What if I'm already changing into something dark?
Kaelen reaches out and takes my hand. His touch is warm, steady.
Then we'll fight it together, he says simply. You saved everyone in this citadel tonight. That's not what a dark person does.
Or maybe I just wanted the power.
Maybe you did. But you used that power to save lives, not take them. That's what matters. His silver eyes hold mine. Elara, I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone. The curse... it doesn't just kill people I care about. It feeds on my guilt and isolation. The more alone I am, the stronger it gets. That's why it's grown so powerful over three centuries.
So connecting with people would weaken it?
Yes. But I've been too afraid to try because everyone I've ever connected with has died. He squeezes my hand gently. Until you. You're the first person who might actually survive me. And if we work together if we combine our powers like we did tonight maybe we could finally break this curse.
Or doom each other, I say quietly.
Or that, he agrees. But I'm tired of being alone. Tired of watching people die. Tired of being a monster. He looks at me with raw honesty. Stay, Elara. Help me fight this. And I'll help you fight whatever darkness is inside you. We'll save each other.
It's a beautiful offer.
A terrible offer.
An offer that could save us both or destroy us completely.
I open my mouth to answer
And every torch in the citadel explodes.
Not goes out. Explodes. Fire erupts in all directions, turning the entire fortress into an inferno.
Kaelen swears and pulls me against him, shielding me with his body.
Through the windows, I see something impossible.
The volcano is erupting.
But that's not the worst part.
Written in the lava flowing down the mountain, glowing letters spell out a message:
THREE DAYS, GRANDDAUGHTER. YOU HAVE THREE DAYS TO GIVE YOURSELF TO ME WILLINGLY. OR I BURN THIS ENTIRE KINGDOM TO ASH.
Kaelen's arms tighten around me.
She's declared war, he says grimly.
And I realize with absolute certainty: there's no running from this.
No hiding.
No escape.
In three days, I'll have to face my grandmother.
And one of us won't survive.