The hours after the trial were a blur of chaos. The nobles demanded immediate action, my mother locked herself away with her advisers, and Selene refused to let go of my hand for even a moment. Kaelis, on the other hand, watched me with a quiet, growing fury—her distrust now sharper than ever.
I tried to stay calm, but inside me… something was changing.
The first sign came in the solitude of my chambers. As I stared into the mirror, searching for any hint of what was wrong, I saw it—my veins darkened for an instant, turning into pulsing black threads beneath my skin. I touched my neck, horrified.
—No… no… —I whispered.
Then the voice returned—not from outside, but within, like an echo vibrating through my thoughts.
"Do not fear. You are not weak. We are one now."
I stumbled back from the mirror, gasping. My shadows reacted on their own, spreading through the room like living claws, crawling up the walls and veiling them in darkness.
The door burst open. It was Selene. She froze for a heartbeat before running toward me—finding me surrounded by writhing shadows, my hair floating as if stirred by an unseen wind, my eyes gleaming with twin lights: violet, crimson… and a third hue, black as the abyss.
—Nyx! —she cried.
I backed away, trembling.—Stay back, Selene… I can't control it.
She wrapped her arms around me anyway, ignoring the cold mist radiating from my skin.—Then don't fight it alone. I'm here. Always.
Her warmth steadied me—an anchor against the storm. The shadows receded, just a little. But deep inside, the echo laughed softly.
"She cannot stop what you already are. Let go… and be."
Hours later, during the private dinner in the lesser hall, the symptoms returned. I lifted a cup of wine to my lips, and the liquid inside turned black as ink. The servants gasped, dropping their trays in terror.
Kaelis slammed her fist against the table.—It's obvious now! The Khorvash is poisoning her body. If we keep pretending everything's fine, soon there won't be anything of Nyx left!
Selene clutched my hand beneath the table.—Don't say that. She's still Nyx.
—Are you blind? —Kaelis snapped, eyes blazing. —She's changing right in front of us.
My mother said nothing, but her silence spoke volumes. She watched me as though trying to memorize my face—afraid it might soon belong to someone, or something, else.
Then the echo returned. Not as words this time, but as a pulse in my blood, a vibration in my bones.
"Don't be afraid… what you call a monster is what you were meant to be. Your weakness was the lie. I am the truth."
I shut my eyes, fighting the nausea, feeling my veins throb with that dark light pulsing beneath my skin.
And though I didn't want to admit it—not to Selene, not to Kaelis, not even to myself—a small, quiet part of me was beginning to believe the voice was right.