Sera's POV
The knife shatters against an invisible shield.
Metal fragments rain down on the altar. The Oracle stumbles backward in shock. Everyone stares.
What I breathe, sitting up. I'm alive. The blade should have killed me, but something stopped it.
The shield came from you, Corvus says, appearing at the base of the Spire stairs. His golden eyes are wide with wonder. Sera, your Fate weaver power isn't gone. It's protecting you.
That's impossible! I used all the essence fighting Kyros!
You used the borrowed essence from the vial, Corvus corrects, climbing the stairs quickly. But your natural Fate weaver ability the power you were born with that's still inside you. Dormant, but awakening.
I look at my hands. They're glowing faintly silver again, but it's different from before. Softer. More controlled.
I don't understand.
The Fate weaver essence was a temporary boost, Corvus explains. But you've been absorbing divine power your whole life. That energy is still stored inside you. It just needs time to fully awaken.
Hope surges through me. So I don't have to die?
You never had to die, a new voice says.
Everyone turns.
An old woman steps out from the crowd of Oracles. She's ancient, with white hair and eyes that have seen centuries. Unlike the other Oracles, she doesn't wear ceremonial robe just simple gray cloth.
Who are you? the head Oracle demands.
My name is Elara. I was the First Oracle, before the prophecy system became corrupted. She looks at me with kind, sad eyes. And I've been waiting three hundred years for a Fate weaver to finally survive long enough to hear the truth.
My father pushes forward. What truth?
The truth about the Divine Barrier. Elara raises her voice so everyone can hear. It doesn't need sacrifice to function. It never did.
Shocked gasps ripple through the crowd.
That's heresy! the head Oracle sputters.
It's fact. Elara pulls out an ancient scroll. The barrier was created by Fate weavers centuries ago as a gift to mortals a way to keep us safe from the corrupted magic of the Outside. It was designed to be maintained by living Fate weavers, not dead ones.
Then why the sacrifices? Isolde demands from her throne.
Because the gods feared Fate weavers, Elara says simply. Beings who could nullify divine power were a threat. So they corrupted the prophecy system, twisted it into a tool for murder. Every generation, they identified the strongest dormant Fate weaver and killed her before she could awaken.
The truth hits me like a physical blow. All those girls
Would have been like you. Powerful enough to challenge the gods. Elara's voice breaks. I tried to stop it. Three hundred years ago, I spoke out against the sacrifices. The gods stripped me of my Oracle powers and erased me from history. I've been in hiding ever since, waiting for the right moment.
Why now? Caelan asks. Through our bond, I can feel his shock and anger.
Because Sera survived. Because she defeated Kyros and broke Isolde's power. Because for the first time in centuries, a Fate weaver is strong enough to restore the barrier the way it was meant to be maintained with life, not death.
How? I ask desperately. The barrier is crumbling right now. Monsters are attacking villages. Even if I don't have to die, how do I fix it?
Elara's eyes gleam. You bond with it. Place your hand on the barrier's anchor point and feed it your power. Not all of it just enough to stabilize the structure. Then, as your abilities grow stronger, you maintain it the way Fate weavers did in the old days.
Where's the anchor point?
Here. In the Celestial Spire. The very place they were going to kill you. Elara gestures to a stone at the center of the altar ancient, covered in symbols I don't recognize.
I approach it carefully. The stone hums with energy I can feel even without touching it.
Will it hurt? I ask.
Probably, Elara admits. You're channelling raw power through your body to feed an entire magical barrier. But you'll survive. And so will everyone else.
I look at Caelan. Our blood bond pulses between us, warm and steady.
If this goes wrong I start.
It won't, he interrupts. You're the strongest person I've ever met. You can do this.
I take a deep breath and place both hands on the anchor stone.
Pain explodes through me.
It feels like lightning in my veins, fire in my bones, ice in my lungs. Every nerve in my body screams.
But I don't let go.
Silver light pours out of me, flowing through the stone and out into the world. I can feel the barrier a massive web of energy surrounding the entire kingdom drinking in my power, using it to repair the cracks.
The pain intensifies. I'm dimly aware of screaming, but I don't know if it's me or someone else.
Hold on! Elara yells. Just a few more seconds!
I grit my teeth and push harder, giving the barrier everything I have.
Finally, mercifully, the flow stops.
I collapse, gasping. Caelan catches me before I hit the ground.
Is it done? I manage to ask.
Elara examines the stone, then looks up at the sky. Slowly, she smiles. It's done. The barrier is stable again. You saved them all.
Cheers erupt from the crowd below. People are crying, hugging, celebrating.
I saved them. Without dying.
How do you feel? Caelan asks quietly.
Exhausted. But alive. I look up at him. We're both alive.
Yes, we are. He helps me stand, his arm supporting me. And we're staying that way.
Isolde rises from her throne, her face twisted with rage. This changes nothing! She defied prophecy! She broke divine law! She must be punished!
You're in no position to demand anything, Kael says, appearing at the base of the Spire with the other rebels. Lightning crackles around his hands. Your power is gone. Your god has been defeated. And the people have seen the truth.
The crowd murmurs in agreement. Guards who once served Isolde are now looking at her with disgust.
Someone arrest the Queen, my father says loudly. For conspiracy, for murder, for twenty years of false prophecies.
Guards move forward not to protect Isolde, but to seize her.
No! she screams. I am your Queen! You can't
You're a tyrant, one of the guards says flatly. And your reign is over.
They drag her away, still screaming threats.
The head Oracle tries to slip away in the chaos, but Corvus blocks his path.
Not so fast. You and your fellow Oracles have a lot to answer for. Corvus's smile is dangerous. Starting with how many innocent girls you murdered in the name of false prophecy.
The Oracles are rounded up, one by one. Some try to claim they didn't know. Others beg for mercy.
Take them to the dungeons, my father orders. We'll hold trials. Let the people decide their fate.
Within an hour, the Celestial Spire is cleared of everyone except our group me, Caelan, Kael, Corvus, Lyris, Mara, Elara, and my father.
What happens now? I ask, leaning against Caelan's chest. I'm too tired to stand on my own.
Now we rebuild, Elara says. Create a new system. One without forced prophecies. One where people choose their own destinies.
And Sera? Kael asks, looking at me intensely. What happens to her?
She becomes the Guardian of the Barrier, Elara explains. It's an honored position. She'll need to check on the barrier regularly, feed it power when needed. But she'll be free to live her life however she wants.
Free. The word tastes like honey.
I'd like to go home, I say quietly. See the house where I grew up. Remember my mother.
My father's eyes fill with tears. I'd like that very much.
And after that? Caelan asks. Through our bond, I feel his hope and fear mixed together.
I look up at him. After that, I figure out who I am beyond being the Sacrificial Maiden. Who Sera really is when she's not running or fighting or dying.
Can I help you figure that out? he asks softly.
Yes. I touch his face gently. I think I'd like that.
Kael turns away, his jaw tight. Even without a bond, I can see the disappointment in his eyes.
Kael I start.
It's fine, he interrupts. I'm glad you're happy. Truly. He forces a smile. I should go. The rebellion still needs leadership. People to help transition to this new world.
You're leaving? Lyris asks.
For now. But I'll be around. Kael looks at me one more time. If you ever need anything, Sera anything at all I'll be there.
Then he's gone, disappearing into the night.
Guilt twists in my chest. Kael helped save me. He deserves more than watching me choose someone else.
He'll be okay, Mara says gently. He's strong. And he knew your heart belonged elsewhere.
Does it? I barely know Caelan. We've spent less than a week together, most of it running for our lives.
But the blood bond doesn't lie. I can feel him like a second heartbeat, constant and sure.
Everyone should rest, Elara says. Tomorrow, we announce the truth to the kingdom. Tonight, we celebrate survival.
The group disperses. My father hugs me tightly, whispering promises of taking me home, of rebuilding our family. Then he leaves to help organize the new government.
Finally, it's just me and Caelan.
Where do we go from here? I ask.
Wherever you want, he says simply. I'm bound to you. Your life is my life now.
That's not fair to you. You should have your own life
I choose this, Caelan interrupts. I choose you. Not because a bond forces me to, but because I want to.
He kisses me, and this time it's not desperate or rushed. It's gentle and real and full of promise.
When we pull apart, I'm smiling for the first time in days.
Tomorrow, we start over, I say. New world. New rules. New us.
I can't wait, Caelan murmurs.
We walk down from the Celestial Spire hand in hand, ready to face whatever comes next.
But as we reach the bottom step, a messenger runs up, breathless and terrified.
Prince Caelan! Lady Sera! You need to come quickly!
What's wrong? Caelan demands.
It's the barrier. The messenger's voice shakes. It's changing. Something's wrong with it.
What do you mean changing?
The silver light it's turning gold. Divine gold. He looks at me with fear. And there's a message written in the sky. From the gods.
Ice floods my veins. What does it say?
The messenger swallows hard.
It says: 'You broke our servant. You destroyed our champion. Now face the consequences. The remaining gods declare war on the mortal realm. Surrender the Fate weaver, or we burn your world to ash. You have three days.'
The words hang in the air like a death sentence.
I just saved the kingdom.
And now the gods themselves are coming to destroy it.