POV: Sera
Aldric's screams finally stop.
I don't watch what Nyx does to him. I can't. I'm too busy holding Cain, making sure he's really alive, really free, really here.
It's over, Cain whispers, his arms wrapping around me. After three hundred years, it's finally over.
But I know better. The curse is broken, yes. But we're still in the underground chamber. Aldric's guards are starting to wake up. And my father
I look around and see him huddled in the corner, staring at us with wide, terrified eyes.
Father, I say coldly. You helped Aldric. You knew what he was planning.
He opens his mouth, but no words come out.
Get out, I tell him. Go back to your wife and stepdaughter. Pretend you never had a real daughter. It'll be easier for both of us.
Sera, I he starts.
GET OUT! I scream.
He runs. Like the coward he is, he runs.
Nyx limps over to us, the arrow still in her shoulder. We need to leave. Now. More guards will come.
Can you walk? I ask Cain.
He nods, though he's clearly exhausted. We help Nyx to her feet and stumble out of the chamber, up the stairs, through the fortress.
When we finally reach the surface, dawn is breaking. The first rays of sunlight hit Cain's face, and he stops, staring up at the sky with wonder.
I'd forgotten how beautiful sunrise could be, he says quietly.
For three hundred years, he's lived in twilight. Now, finally, he can see the sun.
We spend the next few days recovering. Nyx heals quickly spirit magic, she says cheerfully. Cain takes longer. Three hundred years of immortality ending all at once has left him weak and disoriented.
But he's alive. And free. And human.
I catch him doing small things that make my chest ache. Touching flowers in the garden. Tasting food and actually enjoying it. Sleeping without nightmares for the first time in centuries.
On the third day after the curse broke, I find him in the library. He's looking at a calendar on the wall, his expression sad.
What's wrong? I ask.
My birthday is in two days, he says. I'll be three hundred and thirty-seven years old. Except I won't, because I'm mortal now. So I'll be... what? Thirty-three? I don't even know how old I really am.
An idea sparks in my mind. Have you ever celebrated your birthday? Since the curse?
No, Cain says. What's the point? I've lived the same day three hundred times. Age doesn't mean anything when you can't die.
But you can die now, I point out. Which means birthdays matter again. Which means we should celebrate.
Cain looks at me like I've gone crazy. Celebrate what? The fact that I wasted three centuries of my life?
No, I say firmly. Celebrate the fact that you survived. That you're free. That you get to have a future now.
Before Cain can argue, Nyx appears in the doorway. Did someone say celebration? Because I am EXCELLENT at parties!
Over the next two days, Nyx and I plan in secret. We clean the garden courtyard. Nyx uses her wild magic to make flowers bloom in impossible colors. I cook Cain's favorite foods recipes I found in his old journals from before the curse.
On the morning of his birthday, I find Cain in his usual spot: the highest tower, watching the sunrise.
Come with me, I say, taking his hand. I have something for you.
Sera, you don't need to
Just come, I insist.
I lead him down to the garden courtyard. When he sees it, he stops in shock.
The courtyard is transformed. Flowers bloom everywhere roses, lilies, orchids in every color. Candles float in the air, casting warm light. A table is set with a feast, steam rising from fresh bread and roasted vegetables.
And standing beside the table, grinning like a maniac, is Nyx.
Happy birthday! she shouts.
Cain stares, speechless.
I know you haven't celebrated in three hundred years, I say softly. But you're not cursed anymore. You get to have birthdays again. You get to have joy. So we're starting now.
For a long moment, Cain doesn't move. Then his eyes fill with tears.
I don't deserve this, he whispers.
Yes, you do, I say firmly. You deserve happiness. You deserve celebration. You deserve to live, Cain. Really live.
Slowly, he walks to the table and sits down. Nyx immediately starts piling food on his plate, chattering about Wild Lands gossip and making him laugh with her ridiculous stories.
And for the first time since I've known him, Cain actually laughs. Not a small smile, but real, genuine laughter.
The sound is beautiful.
We eat and talk for hours. Nyx tells embarrassing stories about the other spirits. I share memories of my mother from before she died. Cain talks about his childhood, his parents, happy memories he'd thought were lost forever.
As the sun sets, Nyx stands up. I should go. Give you two some privacy. She winks at me before disappearing in a puff of purple smoke.
Cain and I sit in comfortable silence, watching the stars appear.
Thank you, he says finally. This is the best birthday I've had in... well, ever.
You deserve it, I say.
He turns to look at me, and there's something new in his silver eyes. Something warm and tender and terrifying.
Sera, I need to tell you something, he says.
My heart starts racing. What?
I'm falling in love with you, Cain says quietly. Actually, I think I already have. And I know it's complicated, and I know you're only here because you were sentenced, and I know I don't have any right to feel this way, but
I kiss him.
It's not planned. Not thought out. I just lean forward and press my lips to his, cutting off his rambling words.
He freezes for a second. Then his hand comes up to cup my face, and he kisses me back.
It's gentle. Sweet. Perfect.
When we pull apart, we're both breathless.
I'm falling in love with you too, I whisper.
Cain smiles a real, genuine, beautiful smile. What happens now?
Now we figure out what comes next, I say. Together.
He pulls me close, and we sit under the stars, finally free to choose our own future.
I wake up in the middle of the night to voices shouting.
I bolt out of bed and run to my window. Down in the courtyard, torches light up the darkness. And standing at the fortress gates are at least thirty armed soldiers wearing the royal crest of Valendris.
My blood runs cold.
I throw on a robe and race downstairs. Cain is already in the courtyard, facing down the soldiers. Nyx hovers protectively beside him.
What's going on? I demand.
The lead soldier steps forward. By order of the King of Valendris, the traitor Cain Ashen veil is under arrest for the murder of High Priest Aldric.
Murder? I shout. Aldric tried to kill us! It was self-defense!
That's not what the witnesses say, the soldier replies. Multiple temple guards testified that you and the Guardian murdered the High Priest in cold blood. The King has issued a warrant for both your arrests.
Horror crashes over me. That's a lie! We didn't murder anyone!
Tell it to the judge, the soldier says. Now surrender peacefully, or we'll take you by force.
Cain steps in front of me protectively. I won't let you take her.
Then you'll both die here, the soldier says, drawing his sword.
Twenty-nine more swords ring out as the other soldiers draw their weapons.
We're outnumbered. Outmatched. And trapped.
Cain, I whisper. What do we do?
Before he can answer, a new voice cuts through the night.
Stop!
Everyone turns. A figure approaches from the gates woman in royal robes, flanked by more guards.
As she steps into the torchlight, I see her face and my heart stops.
It's Elara. My stepsister.
But she's not wearing the dress of a merchant's daughter anymore. She's wearing a crown.
Hello, sister, Elara says with a cold smile. Surprised to see me? You should be. You see, after poor Father died of grief over your betrayal, I married into the royal family. I'm Queen now.
Father's dead? I whisper, shock and pain warring in my chest.
Dead and buried, Elara says cheerfully. Heart attack, they said. Though between you and me, I think it was guilt over what he did to you. Poetic, really.
She steps closer. And now, as Queen, I have the power to pardon criminals. Or execute them. And I'm here to offer you a choice, Sera.
What choice? I demand.
Elara's smile widens. Surrender yourself to me. Let my guards take you back to Valendris for trial. And I'll let your cursed boyfriend go free.
Don't do it, Cain says immediately. It's a trap.
Of course it's a trap, Elara laughs. But what choice do you have? Either you surrender and possibly survive your trial, or my soldiers kill you both right here, right now.
She gestures to the armed men surrounding us. What's it going to be, sister? Prison or death?
I look at Cain. His eyes are filled with fury and fear.
I look at Nyx. She's ready to fight, but I can see the calculation in her expression. We can't win against thirty soldiers.
I look at my stepsister, the girl who destroyed my life, who's now a queen with the power to destroy me completely.
And I make my choice.
I'll go with you, I say. But you have to swear you won't hurt Cain or Nyx.
Sera, no Cain grabs my arm.
Swear it! I shout at Elara.
She considers. Fine. I swear on my crown that I won't harm the Guardian or the spirit. They're free to go.
Don't trust her, Nyx hisses.
But I don't have a choice. If we fight, we die. If I surrender, at least Cain lives.
I'm sorry, I whisper to Cain. Then I step forward, hands raised.
Soldiers immediately grab me, chaining my wrists.
NO! Cain lunges forward, but more soldiers block his path.
Sera! he screams. SERA!
Elara smiles triumphantly. Take her away. We have a very special trial planned.
As guards drag me toward the gates, I look back one last time. Cain is fighting to reach me, but there are too many soldiers holding him back.
Our eyes meet across the courtyard.
And I mouth the words: I love you.
Then the gates close between us, and I'm dragged back into the city that destroyed me, to face a trial where my own sister is the judge.
I survived the curse. I broke the chains.
But I'm about to discover that freedom was only the beginning.
And the real battle is just starting.