Lyra didn't bow.
She didn't beg.
She stood at the center of the Council's stone chamber, her head held high, the silver mark on her collarbone glowing defiantly beneath the firelit dome. Around her, six masked Elders sat like specters in judgment.
The central Elder—High Elder Tavik—rose from his seat, his bone-white mask tilted ever so slightly downward.
"You've brought us nothing but arrogance," he said. "You desecrate ancient law, flaunt your tainted bloodline, and threaten to unite outcasts under a rogue banner."
Lyra didn't blink. "I've brought you a choice."
Murmurs stirred like smoke around the chamber.
Tavik stepped closer. "You believe you're the Moon's chosen? A mark doesn't make a queen."
"No," Lyra replied. "But what I survived does."
The Elder to Tavik's left—Elder Nyra—leaned forward. "Why come here? Why not burn us from the shadows like the rogues you shelter?"
"Because I want you to see me. To hear me. Before the tides change."
Tavik's laughter echoed off the stone. "Child, we control the tides."
Lyra took a slow breath, holding her ground. "Not for much longer."
Then the door behind her groaned open.
Footsteps echoed.
Lyra stiffened.
The guards didn't stop the intruder.
Which meant—
"Hello, Lyra."
The voice was smooth. Familiar.
Too familiar.
She turned.
And her heart nearly stopped.
Kaelen.
Her brother.
Dead. Burned. Gone.
That's what they'd told her.
That's what she'd believed.
But there he stood, cloaked in the Council's dark robes, his face older, sharper, yet unmistakably his.
"No," she whispered.
Kaelen stepped closer, golden eyes gleaming. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this."
"You're dead," she breathed. "They said you died in the Duskfire ambush."
"They lied," he said softly. "To you. To everyone."
Her blood roared in her ears.
"You joined them?" she choked. "After what they did to our family?"
"I survived," Kaelen snapped. "Because I did what you never could—adapt."
She took a step back, her fists clenched. "You were a Moonblood! We were born into this! And you betrayed it?"
"I didn't betray it," he growled. "I buried it—so we could live."
Lyra turned to the Council, fury burning in her chest.
"You used him," she spat. "You hid him. Trained him. And now you send him to control me?"
"He came willingly," Tavik said. "Because he understood that peace comes through order. And you… are chaos."
Kaelen looked at her, jaw clenched. "They didn't kill me, Lyra. They saved me. And they can save you, too."
"I don't want their mercy," she said coldly. "Or yours."
Tavik raised a hand. "Then we give you something else."
Guards rushed forward, silver cuffs glowing with suppression runes.
Cassian's warning echoed in her mind: If you're not back by dawn, I'll come for you.
But she couldn't wait that long.
As the cuffs touched her wrists, her mark flared bright.
And she snapped.
---
Energy exploded through the chamber.
The suppression cuffs shattered.
Flames licked the floor as Lyra's power surged—moonlight and shadow dancing in spirals around her. The guards stumbled back.
Elder Nyra shouted, "Stop her!"
Kaelen lunged.
Lyra twisted, catching his wrist midair. Their eyes locked—sibling to sibling.
"I mourned you," she hissed.
"I did it for you," he said. "So you could have a chance!"
Lyra pushed him back with a blast of energy that knocked him off his feet.
She spun toward the Council, eyes glowing silver.
"You're right," she said. "I am chaos."
And then she vanished—leaping through the fire and into the darkened corridor beyond.
---
Outside, Cassian's wolf paced.
He hadn't heard from Lyra since she crossed into the Council's gates. The wards were too strong, the magic too twisted to pierce.
He'd planned to wait till dawn.
But now?
Now his instincts were clawing at him.
"She's in danger," he muttered.
One of his scouts, Tairen, emerged from the trees. "We saw lights—flashes from the tower. Something's happening."
Cassian's decision was immediate.
"Get the others. We're breaching the border."
---
Inside, Lyra tore through the outer chambers, heart pounding.
Alarms rang, echoing in shrill tones through the halls. Every turn brought more guards—most she evaded, others she struck down with focused blasts of moonlight.
But her power was draining.
They'd lined the corridors with rune traps. Her skin was already burning from the magic.
Then a blade flew past her ear—narrowly missing.
She turned—and there was Kaelen again, blocking her path.
"Don't make me fight you," he said.
"You already did," she snapped. "When you chose them."
"They gave me purpose, Lyra. You're still chasing ghosts."
"I'm chasing truth," she growled. "You think surrendering makes you strong? It makes you a coward."
Kaelen's eyes darkened. "You're blinded by pain."
She charged.
Their blades clashed in a burst of silver and steel.
They were evenly matched—siblings trained under the same mentor, molded by the same bloodline. But where Kaelen was precise, Lyra was wild.
And wild was winning.
She disarmed him, kicking his blade away.
Then she pressed the tip of her sword to his throat.
His chest rose and fell. "Do it."
She hesitated.
His face looked so much like their father's.
Her grip trembled.
And in that moment—he swept her feet from under her.
Lyra fell hard, her head cracking against the stone.
Everything went dark.
---
She woke in a cell.
Cold. Damp. Her wrists chained to the wall.
Her vision blurred, and a shadow loomed outside the bars.
Kaelen.
"You should have left when you had the chance," he said.
"You should have stayed dead," she croaked.
He sighed. "They'll sentence you at first light. High Elder Tavik wants it public."
Lyra smiled faintly. "Good. Let the world watch when they fail."
"You still think you can fight this?"
"I know I can."
He crouched. "They're not just Elders, Lyra. They're gods in their own right. Their reach goes deeper than any rogue rebellion."
"Then it's time someone cut off their hands."
He didn't reply.
Just stared at her a long moment… and then left.
But Lyra didn't panic.
Because even chained… her power was still there.
Flickering. Waiting.
And Cassian was coming.
She could feel it.
---
At the Council border, Cassian and the others struck.
It was chaos—silent arrows, enchanted smoke, illusion spells.
They moved like ghosts, slipping through wards and guards with practiced precision.
Cassian reached the outer gates, heart racing.
He could feel her.
Faintly—but enough.
He motioned to Tairen. "Find the dungeon. I'll deal with the inner ring."
---
At dawn, the Council gathered in the Grand Plaza.
Crowds filled the seats. Elders stood on raised platforms. The execution platform gleamed under the morning light.
Lyra was dragged out, her feet bloody, her hair unbound.
Her eyes were still defiant.
Tavik raised a hand to quiet the crowd.
"Today," he announced, "we end the bloodline that nearly destroyed the balance."
Lyra stood tall. "You mean the bloodline you couldn't control."
He ignored her.
The guards stepped forward.
And then—
Boom.
A shockwave rattled the plaza.
Guards fell.
Screams echoed.
Smoke exploded from the gate tower.
Cassian burst from the shadows, blade drawn.
"Lyra!"
She twisted from her captors as Cassian cut through the chains. Together, they turned on the guards.
Kaelen appeared across the plaza, sword drawn—but didn't move.
His eyes locked with Lyra's across the battlefield.
And this time… he didn't stop her.
She and Cassian ran.
And the crowd—once silent—cheered.