The blast of light threw them backward. Elyra crashed against the stone floor, her breath knocked from her lungs. Kael hit the wall hard but managed to stay conscious, dragging himself up with a ragged gasp.
The loom shrieked — not with metal or wood, but a sound like thousands of crows crying out at once. Threads snapped, flailing wildly in the air. The golden thread, Elyra's soul-thread, writhed in agony.
You dare!
The voice tore through the chamber, shaking the very stones. Elyra scrambled to her knees, heart hammering in terror. A shape materialized near the broken loom — mist first, then a figure robed in black, a crown of thorns and silver resting atop flowing dark hair.
The Queen of Serith.
Her face was pale as bone, her eyes endless wells of night. She stared at Elyra and Kael with a hunger that froze the blood in Elyra's veins.
Kael pulled a dagger from his belt, flipping it into a fighting grip. His hands still shook, but his eyes were clear. Focused.
"We don't fear you," he said through gritted teeth.
The Queen smiled, and the room darkened further, as if swallowing the firelight. Shadows slithered across the floor, coalescing into forms — tall, faceless things with wicked claws. Shades.
Dozens of them.
Elyra cursed under her breath and yanked the small silver dagger from her boot — the one Maeve had given her years ago, for protection against "unseen dangers." She hadn't thought it would come to this.
The shades lunged first, screaming.
Elyra ducked the first blow, slashing upward. Her dagger sliced through the shade's misty form — not killing it, but weakening it. Beside her, Kael moved with grim efficiency, carving a brutal path through the creatures.
But for every one they felled, two more emerged from the darkness.
"We can't fight them all!" Elyra shouted.
"We don't have to!" Kael replied. His gaze snapped toward the loom. "Break the anchor — break her hold!"
The golden thread. Elyra turned, chest burning. She still felt its pull deep in her heart — her connection to the Queen. To the Veil.
But to sever it would mean severing a piece of herself.
Another shade leapt at her. She ducked, rolled, and came up facing the loom again.
Her mother's pendant burned hot against her chest, the moonstone glowing brighter than she had ever seen.
You are more than your past. Maeve's voice echoed in her mind. You are what you choose.
Summoning every ounce of courage, Elyra raced toward the loom.
The Queen roared, the sound ripping through the chamber like a storm. Shadows surged toward Elyra — but Kael was there, hacking them back with reckless fury. His sword sang through the air, a silver blur.
"Go!" he shouted. "Now!"
Elyra reached the loom. Her hand hovered over the golden thread.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to the girl she had been. To the memories she might lose. "But I choose my own fate."
With a scream of effort, she yanked the golden thread from the loom.
The effect was immediate.
The shades shrieked and crumbled into dust. The Queen staggered, her form flickering like a dying flame.
"You... betray yourself," the Queen hissed, voice shuddering.
Elyra stood tall, breathing hard. "No," she said, lifting her dagger. "I free myself."
She plunged the silver blade into the heart of the loom.
The chamber exploded again, but this time, the blast was filled with warmth and light — not the icy cold of death.
The Queen's form shattered, scattering like ashes in a wind only Elyra could feel.
Then, silence.
Kael stumbled toward her, blood streaking his temple, but a triumphant smile on his lips.
"You did it," he said hoarsely.
Elyra swayed, exhausted beyond words. "We did it."
He caught her before she fell, holding her upright. For a long moment, neither spoke.
Around them, the dark stone of the chamber began to crack, golden vines blooming from every fissure, life returning to what had long been dead.
The Veil itself had been wounded. Maybe not destroyed… but weakened.
"We need to leave," Kael said. "Before this place falls in on itself."
Hand in hand, they ran — up the twisting stairs, through Maeve's cottage, out into the misty night.
The river sang louder now, a song of freedom and sorrow intertwined.
Behind them, the cottage crumbled, swallowed by vines and golden mist.
Ahead of them, the world stretched wide — dangerous, beautiful, uncertain.
But for the first time, Elyra wasn't afraid.
Together, they would face whatever mysteries the world still hid.
Together, they would find the answers waiting beyond the Veil.