Kira's POV
The curse strikes without warning.
One moment I'm staring at Lucian Daybreak, trying to understand why he just said he needs my help. The next moment, agony rips through my body like I'm being torn apart from the inside.
Shadows explode from my skin.
They rise like black snakes, writhing and hungry. My own magic—the power I've controlled since I was eight years old—turns against me. The shadows wrap around my arms, my throat, my chest. They're trying to eat me. To consume me completely.
I open my mouth to scream, but I clamp my hand over it just in time. Can't make noise. Can't let anyone in the market hear. Weakness gets you killed in the Threshold.
But oh gods, it hurts.
It feels like my bones are breaking. Like my blood is boiling. Like every nerve in my body is on fire. The shadows dig deeper, burrowing under my skin, and I can feel them searching for my heart.
They want to stop it from beating.
"Nightshade!" Lucian's voice sounds far away. "What's happening to you?"
I can't answer. Can't breathe. Can't think past the pain.
I fall forward onto my hands and knees. The black veins on my arms pulse faster, spreading up to my shoulders now. Soon they'll reach my neck. Then my face. Then my brain.
Twenty-eight days, the curse-master said. But what if he was wrong? What if I only have hours left?
No. Not yet. Not like this.
I force myself to fight back. I grab onto the shadows with my mind, wrestling them like wild animals. They resist, thrashing and snapping. My own magic doesn't recognize me anymore. It sees me as prey.
"Stop," I gasp out. "Stop. I'm your master. Obey me."
For a terrible moment, nothing happens. The shadows keep attacking, keep trying to devour me.
Then, slowly, they begin to retreat.
They sink back into my skin, leaving burning trails behind them. The pain doesn't stop completely—it never does anymore—but it dulls to something I can survive. Something I can hide.
I stay on my hands and knees, gasping for air. Sweat drips from my face onto the dirty alley stones. My whole body shakes.
"That's the curse," Lucian says quietly. He's crouched a few feet away, watching me with an expression I can't read. "That's what's killing you."
I force myself to sit up, even though my arms feel like water. "Brilliant observation. Did your fancy Light Court education teach you that?"
He doesn't rise to my sarcasm. "How long do you have?"
"Twenty-eight days when it started. Three months ago." I do the math, even though it hurts to think. "Twenty-five days now. Maybe less after that attack."
"Three months," he repeats. Something flickers across his face. Surprise? "You've survived three months with a shadow curse? That's... impossible. Most people die within weeks."
"I'm not most people." I try to stand, but my legs won't hold me. I hate this. Hate being weak. Hate that he's seeing me like this.
Lucian reaches out like he's going to help me up. I slap his hand away.
"Don't touch me. Your light magic will burn me."
"I can control it," he says.
"So you say. But I'm not about to find out if you're wrong." I use the wall to pull myself up instead. Every muscle screams in protest. "Now explain. Why does the great Lucian Daybreak need help from the woman he's been hunting for three years?"
He stands too, and for the first time, I see how tired he looks. There are dark circles under his eyes. His shoulders sag like he's carrying something heavy.
"The Void is breaking through," he says. "Reality itself is tearing apart. And shadow magic is the only thing that can seal it."
I laugh, but it sounds bitter even to my own ears. "The Void? That's a fairy tale. A story to scare children."
"It's real. And it's coming." His voice is flat. Dead. "I've seen it consume entire villages. Watched it erase people from existence. It's spreading faster every day, and the Light Court can't stop it. Our magic makes it worse."
I study his face. Through all our years of him hunting me, I've learned to read Lucian Daybreak. I know when he's lying.
He's not lying now.
"Even if I believed you," I say slowly, "why would I help? The Light Court destroyed my village when I was a child. Your people killed my family. And you've spent three years trying to kill me because you think I murdered your brother."
"I know you didn't kill Cassian."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. "What?"
"I've been having visions. Memories that aren't mine. I see Cassian's death, and you're not there. Someone else killed him. Someone who wanted me to think it was you." He meets my eyes. "I was wrong about you, Nightshade. And I'm sorry."
I want to scream at him. Want to make him hurt the way I've hurt. Want to tell him that his apology means nothing after three years of running, hiding, nearly dying because of him.
But the curse flares again—not a full attack this time, just a warning. A reminder that I'm running out of time.
"Help me stop the Void," Lucian says. "And I'll help you break your curse. I know someone who can—"
He stops mid-sentence. His head snaps toward the mouth of the alley, his body going tense.
"What?" I ask.
"Someone's coming. Multiple people." His hand goes to his sword. "Armed. Moving fast."
My heart sinks. "More assassins?"
"Worse." His face goes pale. "It's the Light Court. My own soldiers." He looks at me with something like panic in his eyes. "If they find you with me, they'll kill you before I can explain. And they might kill me too for protecting you."
Before I can respond, I hear the footsteps. Getting closer.
"How many?" I whisper.
"At least a dozen." Lucian grabs my arm—and this time I'm too scared to pull away. "Can you shadow-walk? Can you escape?"
I try. I reach for my magic, begging it to help me disappear into darkness.
But the curse has other plans.
My magic explodes outward in a wave of uncontrolled shadows. They smash into the walls, the ground, the air itself. I'm losing control completely.
And through the chaos, I hear someone shout: "There! The Wraith is there! Kill her!"