Lyria's POV
"Get out."
The Silent Reaper's command snaps me back to reality. The glowing mark on my chest still burns, pulsing with silver light.
"But you said—the Celestial Queen—"
"I said get out." His voice is harsh, but his hand shakes slightly on his sword. "Go to your cell. Sleep. We leave at dawn."
He turns to leave.
"Wait!" I jump up, ignoring the pain. "You can't just say something like that and walk away! What does it mean? Why do I have this mark?"
He stops at the door, his back still to me. For a long moment, he doesn't move.
"It means," he finally says, his voice low and dangerous, "that you're either the most important person in this kingdom, or you're about to get us both killed."
Then he's gone, the door slamming shut behind him.
I stand there, trembling. The mark slowly stops glowing, but I can still feel it—warm against my skin, like a brand.
I sink onto the cell's small bed. My mind spins with questions. Celestial Queen? Murdered by family? What does any of this have to do with me?
A soft knock interrupts my thoughts.
"Lyria?" A familiar voice. "It's me."
Mira.
I rush to the door. "Mira? How did you—"
"I bribed a guard," she whispers through the gap. "I heard what happened in the council chamber. The whole castle is talking about it. Are you okay?"
Tears sting my eyes. Mira is the only person left who actually cares about me.
"I don't know what I am anymore," I admit.
"Listen carefully," Mira says urgently. "I found something in the old library. A book about the Celestial Queens. Lyria, they were the most powerful magic users ever to exist. They could command stars, heal the dying, see the future. But three hundred years ago, the noble families joined together and killed the last queen. They wanted her power for themselves."
My blood runs cold. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because the book said the Celestial Queen's power passes through bloodlines. If you have her mark..." Mira's voice drops to barely a whisper. "Lyria, what if you're her descendant? What if your father knew?"
The pieces start clicking together in my mind. Father's hatred. The way he always kept me weak and powerless. The binding ritual Seraphine mentioned.
"He suppressed my magic," I whisper. "All these years, he knew what I really was, and he kept it hidden."
"If the noble families find out, they'll kill you just like they killed her," Mira warns. "You need to run. Forget the pilgrimage. Escape tonight."
I want to. Every part of me wants to run far away and never look back.
But then I remember the star's voice. "You must survive."
"I can't," I say. "Something is happening, Mira. The stars are trying to tell me something. I have to do this."
"Then be careful," Mira says. "Trust no one. Especially not that cursed knight. I heard stories about him—"
Footsteps echo down the hallway. Heavy boots.
"I have to go," Mira hisses. "I'll try to follow the pilgrimage route. If you need help, light a silver candle and I'll find you."
She disappears into the shadows.
I'm alone again.
I lie down on the hard bed, but sleep won't come. My mind keeps replaying everything. The fallen star. The glowing mark. The murdered queen.
Hours pass. The night outside my tiny window grows darker.
Then I hear it.
Screaming.
I bolt upright. The screams are coming from somewhere in the castle. Not just one person—multiple voices, all crying out in terror.
Smoke seeps under my cell door.
Something is burning.
I run to the door and pound on it. "Hello? What's happening? Let me out!"
No answer. Just more screaming, closer now.
Then, through the smoke, I see a figure approaching. Tall, moving with inhuman speed.
It's not human at all.
A shadow creature, like the ones from the stories. Its body writhes with living darkness, red eyes glowing. It stops outside my cell door, its head tilting as it studies me.
I back away, my heart racing. The creature reaches through the bars with a clawed hand—
The door explodes inward.
The Silent Reaper stands there, his sword already bloody. He cuts the creature down in one swift motion. It dissolves into smoke.
"How did they get into the castle?" he growls, more to himself than to me.
"What are those things?" I gasp.
"Shadow beasts. They shouldn't be here. Someone summoned them." He grabs my arm. "Come. Now."
We run through smoke-filled hallways. More shadow creatures attack. Cassian cuts them down without slowing, pulling me along behind him.
We turn a corner and nearly crash into someone.
Seraphine.
But something's wrong. Her eyes are completely black. Dark veins crawl across her skin like spider webs. She smiles, but it's not her smile—it's twisted, evil.
"Hello, little sister," she says, but the voice is layered, multiple voices speaking at once. "Did you really think we'd let you leave? The Celestial Queen's power belongs to us now."
"Seraphine?" I breathe. "What happened to you?"
"Your sister made a deal," Cassian says, his sword raised. "She's been possessed by something dark. Something ancient."
Seraphine—or whatever is controlling her—laughs. "The Shadow Sovereign promised me real power. Not weak star magic like yours. I'll be the one to claim the fallen star. And when I do, I'll be unstoppable."
She raises her hands. Black fire erupts from her palms.
Cassian shoves me behind him, but the fire is too fast. It hits his shoulder and he grunts in pain. The shadow marks on his neck start spreading rapidly, crawling across his face.
"No!" I scream.
"The curse," Seraphine hisses. "It's eating him alive. Soon he'll be nothing but shadow, just like my pets. And you'll be all alone."
Cassian falls to one knee, gasping. The shadows spread faster, covering half his face now. His silver eyes start turning black.
I don't think. I just act.
I put my hands on his chest, right where the shadows are darkest. The mark on my own chest flares to life, glowing so bright it hurts to look at.
"Stop," I command. Not to Seraphine. To the shadows. "Leave him alone!"
Silver light pours from my hands into Cassian. The shadows scream—actually scream—and retreat from the light. They pull back from his face, back to just his neck and arms.
Cassian's eyes clear. He stares at me in shock.
Seraphine's face twists with rage. "Impossible! You don't have enough power to—"
The entire castle shakes. Stones crack in the walls. The ceiling starts to crumble.
"The fallen star," Cassian gasps, pulling me to my feet. "It's calling to you. Your power is waking up, and it's tearing the castle apart."
Another violent shake. Part of the ceiling collapses behind us.
"We need to leave. Now," he says.
"But the pilgrimage doesn't start until dawn—"
"Plans change." He pulls me toward the nearest exit. "If we don't get you to that star soon, your power will destroy everything within a mile radius."
We run, leaving Seraphine screaming behind us.
As we burst out into the night, the castle literally cracking apart behind us, I realize something terrifying.
The pilgrimage isn't to help me find the star.
It's to stop me from destroying the kingdom before I get there.