Aria's POV
"One hour," I repeated numbly, staring at the crystal showing Malachar's massive shadow form. "He wants me to surrender in one hour or he'll destroy everything."
"You're not surrendering." Kael's voice was absolute. "I don't care if he brings ten thousand armies. You're not going to him."
"But all those people—" My voice cracked. "The human world, everyone here—they'll die because of me!"
"They'll die because of Malachar," Finn corrected firmly. "This isn't your fault, Aria."
"How is it not my fault?" I spun to face them. "I'm what he wants! If I just go to him—"
"Then he wins." Kael grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Listen to me. If you surrender, Malachar will drain your power and use it to destroy the barriers anyway. Everyone dies either way—but if you surrender, we lose our only chance to stop him."
"What chance?" I demanded. "I don't even know how to use my powers! I passed out from healing one person! How am I supposed to fight a giant shadow monster?"
"You're not." Kael's silver eyes blazed. "We fight him. You stay protected until you're strong enough."
"There isn't time for that! He said one hour!"
"Then we hold him off." Zane stepped forward, his expression determined. "The palace has defenses. We have warriors. We can buy you time."
"Time for what?" I felt hysteria rising. "To learn magic I don't understand? To become some legendary Guardian overnight? This is impossible!"
Moira's calm voice cut through my panic. "Nothing is impossible, child. But you're right about one thing—we don't have time for traditional training." She appeared at the tower entrance, Lyra beside her. "Which is why we need to try something dangerous."
"How dangerous?" Kael asked, his tone wary.
"Very." Moira looked at me seriously. "Aria, your mother didn't just seal your powers. She left something else inside you—her memories. Her knowledge. Her understanding of what it means to be a Guardian."
My heart skipped. "My mother's memories are inside me?"
"Locked away with your powers. If we can unlock them, you'd have access to everything she knew. You could learn in minutes what would normally take years."
"That sounds perfect!" Hope surged through me. "Let's do it!"
"There's a catch," Lyra said gently. "To unlock another person's memories, you have to relive their strongest emotions. Their deepest pain. You'll experience everything your mother felt—including the moment she died."
The hope died instantly. "Oh."
"It could break your mind," Moira warned. "The human psyche isn't meant to hold two people's memories at once. Some who've tried this never recovered."
"But some have recovered?" I asked.
"Yes. The strongest ones."
I looked at the crystal again. Malachar's army was getting closer. Fifty-five minutes left.
"If I don't do it, everyone dies anyway, right?"
"Aria, you don't have to—" Kael started.
"Yes, I do." I turned to face him. "You've risked your life for me twice now. Finn protected me for years. All these people—they're in danger because of what I am. I have to at least try."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I don't like this."
"I don't either," I admitted. "But I don't see another choice."
For a long moment, Kael just stared at me. Then he nodded slowly. "If we do this, I stay with you. The whole time. You won't be alone in those memories."
"That's not how it works—" Moira began.
"Make it work." Kael's voice left no room for argument. "She's not doing this alone."
Moira and Lyra exchanged glances. Finally, Moira nodded. "It's unorthodox, but possible. If you're both willing to risk it."
"I am," Kael said immediately.
I met his silver eyes and saw absolute determination. This man—this king—was willing to risk his mind for me. A girl he'd known for less than a day.
"Okay," I whispered. "Let's do it."
They brought me to a circular room at the palace's heart. Crystals covered the walls, all glowing softly. In the center was a raised platform with intricate symbols carved into the stone.
"Sit here," Moira instructed, gesturing to the platform's center. "Kael, beside her. You'll need to maintain physical contact throughout."
Kael sat next to me, so close our shoulders touched. He took my hand, and his warmth steadied my racing heart.
"What's going to happen?" I asked.
"I'll use ancient magic to unlock the seal your mother placed," Moira explained, beginning to arrange crystals around us. "The moment it breaks, her memories will flood your mind. It will be overwhelming. Intense. You might want to run from them."
"Don't," Lyra added, kneeling in front of me. "If you run from the memories, they'll consume you. You have to face them. Accept them. Only then will they become yours to control."
"And if I can't?"
Lyra's expression was gentle but honest. "Then you'll be lost in them forever."
Great. No pressure.
"Aria." Kael squeezed my hand. "Look at me."
I turned to face him.
"I'll be there with you," he said quietly. "Every moment. Every memory. If it gets too much, hold onto me. I'll pull you back."
"Promise?"
"I promise." His silver eyes held mine. "You won't be alone. Not anymore."
Something about those words—not anymore—made my chest tight. All my life, I'd been alone. Even surrounded by family, even with Ryan, I'd always felt isolated. Different. Wrong.
But Kael made me feel seen.
"I'm ready," I told Moira.
She nodded and began to chant in a language I didn't recognize. The crystals around us glowed brighter. The symbols on the platform started to pulse with light.
Then—pain.
It felt like something inside my chest was cracking open. I gasped, gripping Kael's hand hard enough to hurt.
"Stay with me," Kael murmured. "Breathe through it."
The pain intensified, spreading through my entire body. I felt something breaking, shattering—the seal my mother had placed eighteen years ago.
And then—
Memories flooded my mind like a tidal wave.
I was five years old again, hiding behind my mother's legs as dark creatures attacked our home. My mother—Elena—stood tall, her hands glowing with golden light so bright it hurt to look at.
"Get behind me, my little flower," she said, her voice calm despite the chaos. "Mommy will protect you."
But there were too many creatures. They kept coming and coming. I watched my mother fight with power I couldn't understand—healing the wounded, destroying the darkness, holding reality itself together.
"Run, Aria!" she shouted. "RUN!"
But I couldn't move. I was frozen in fear.
One creature got past her defenses. Its claws reached for me—
My mother threw herself in its path. I watched the claws pierce her chest. Watched blood bloom across her shirt. Watched her fall.
"NO!" I screamed, but I was five years old and helpless.
My mother looked at me with eyes full of love. "It's okay, baby. You're going to be okay." Her hand touched my forehead, and I felt warmth flood through me. "I'm sealing your power. Hiding you. They won't find you. You'll be safe."
"Mommy, don't leave me!"
"I'm never leaving you, my little flower." Her smile was sad but beautiful. "I'll always be here. In your heart. In your power. And one day, when you're ready, you'll bloom into something magnificent."
Her hand fell. Her eyes closed.
And I screamed and screamed and screamed—
I jerked back to the present, tears streaming down my face. "She died for me. She died because of me."
"No." Kael's voice was firm. He wiped my tears with gentle fingers. "She died protecting you. That's not the same thing."
But the memories kept coming, faster now—
I saw my father after the funeral, meeting with Victoria for the first time. Heard their conversation:
"Your wife was a Guardian?" Victoria's eyes gleamed with greed. "And the child has the same power?"
"Elena sealed it," my father said. "But yes. When Aria turns eighteen—"
"We could be rich. Powerful." Victoria leaned forward. "Marry me. Let me handle the girl. I know people who'd pay fortunes for access to a Guardian."
My father hesitated for exactly three seconds before nodding. "Alright. But we keep her weak. Controllable. She can never know what she is."
Years later, I watched Ryan—my Ryan—meet with Victoria in secret.
"Three years of dating her," Ryan complained. "When do I get paid?"
"Soon." Victoria handed him an envelope of cash. "Keep her isolated. Dependent on you. When she turns eighteen and her powers wake up, she'll be desperate enough to do anything we say."
"She's so pathetic," Ryan laughed. "Actually thinks I love her."
Victoria smiled coldly. "Perfect. Pathetic is exactly what we need."
I came back gasping, feeling like I'd been punched in the stomach. "They planned everything. For thirteen years. Every moment of my life was a lie."
"I know." Kael pulled me against his chest, holding me tight. "I'm so sorry."
More memories flooded in—my mother's training, her battles, her knowledge of being a Guardian. How to sense danger. How to heal. How to fight. How to protect.
And finally—the prophecy.
"The last Guardian born will face a choice," an ancient voice spoke. I saw through my mother's eyes as a priestess read from an old scroll. "When darkness rises in its truest form, she will either embrace the light and save all realms—or succumb to pain and let shadows consume everything."
"That sounds ominous," my mother joked weakly.
"It is." The priestess looked grave. "Your daughter will face trials you cannot imagine. Pain that would break most people. And in her darkest moment, she'll have to choose—forgiveness or revenge. Love or hate. Light or darkness."
"Then I'll make sure she knows how to choose love," my mother said firmly. "I'll teach her that strength comes from kindness, not cruelty."
But she never got the chance.
The memories finally slowed, then stopped. I slumped against Kael, exhausted and emotionally shattered.
"Did it work?" Moira asked urgently. "Do you have her knowledge?"
I tested it carefully. Information bloomed in my mind—how to use my powers, how to fight, how to protect. "Yes. I have everything."
"Can you fight?" Finn demanded.
I stood up slowly, Kael steadying me. Power hummed through my veins—controlled now, focused. "I think so."
"Good." Zane burst into the room. "Because we're out of time. Malachar just reached the palace gates."
An explosion rocked the entire building. Dust rained from the ceiling.
"He's attacking early," Moira said grimly. "He must have sensed the seal breaking."
"What do we do?" I asked.
Kael's expression was hard as steel. "We fight."
We ran to the palace's main hall. Through the massive windows, I could see Malachar's shadow army crashing against the palace's glowing barriers. The barriers were holding—but barely.
And there, at the front of the army, were my possessed family members. Marcus. Victoria. Ryan. All three staring up at the palace with those terrible red eyes.
"Aria!" Victoria-thing's voice boomed, amplified by dark magic. "Come out and face your family! Or are you too much of a coward?"
My hands clenched into fists. After everything I'd learned—all their lies, all their cruelty, all their betrayals—rage burned through me.
"I want to talk to them," I said.
"That's a terrible idea," Finn protested.
"I don't care." I looked at Kael. "Can you get me out there safely?"
"Aria—"
"Please."
Kael studied my face for a long moment. Then he nodded. "I'll take you. But I stay with you the entire time."
"Deal."
Kael wrapped shadows around us, and we appeared outside the palace gates, protected by a shield of darkness.
My possessed family stepped forward, smiling with too many teeth.
"Well, well," Ryan-thing purred. "The little Guardian comes out to play."
I looked at the three people who'd made my life hell and felt... nothing. No love. No pain. Just cold, clear understanding.
"I know everything," I said quietly. "I have my mother's memories. I know you planned this for thirteen years. I know every lie. Every manipulation. Every moment of cruelty was calculated."
"So?" Victoria-thing shrugged. "What are you going to do about it? You're still weak. Still pathetic. Still the same worthless girl—"
"No," I interrupted. "I'm not."
I raised my hand, and golden light blazed from my palm. The possessed people stumbled backward, hissing.
"I'm Aria Chen. Daughter of Elena Chen. Last Guardian of the realms. And you made a huge mistake."
"What mistake?" Marcus-thing snarled.
I smiled, and it felt powerful. "You taught me what I'm NOT. You showed me every quality I refuse to have. And now I'm going to show you what I AM."
The light around me grew brighter and brighter, forcing them back.
But then Malachar's voice boomed from behind them: "ENOUGH GAMES."
The shadow army parted. And through the gap walked something that made my blood run cold.
It wasn't Malachar's giant shadow form.
It was a person. A woman with dark hair and familiar amber eyes.
My eyes.
She looked exactly like me—except her eyes glowed red, and shadows poured from her skin.
"Hello, Aria," she said with my voice. "I'm what you could become. What you WILL become once Malachar claims you."
"That's not possible," I whispered.
"It's already starting." Shadow-me smiled. "Every moment you feel rage, every time you want revenge, every spark of darkness in your heart—that's me. Growing stronger. And soon, there won't be any difference between us at all."
She raised her hand, and darkness exploded from her palm—darkness that looked exactly like my golden light, just inverted.
"The prophecy says you'll choose," Shadow-me continued. "Light or darkness. Love or hate. But what if I told you the choice is already made? What if darkness is already inside you, just waiting to take over?"
I stared at this twisted version of myself and felt true terror for the first time.
Because deep down, in the part of me that had felt rage at my family, that had wanted them to suffer—
I could feel her. Growing. Waiting. Real.
"No," I breathed.
"Yes," Shadow-me laughed. "See you soon, Aria. Very, very soon."
She dissolved into shadows and vanished.
Kael grabbed my arm. "We need to get inside. Now."
But I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Because I'd just seen my future.
And it was darkness.