Chapter 39 New Dawn
Three months passed like a dream.
Or a nightmare. Depending on who you ask.
Nyx grew impossibly fast. Not just mentally. Physically. At three months old, she looked like a five-year-old. Walked. Ran. Read. Spoke three languages.
The healers said it was the combined bloodlines. Shadowborn time magic is affecting her own growth. Draeven's strength accelerates development. The bond's power magnifies everything.
I said it was terrifying—my heart pounded every hour, helpless, watching my infant daughter become a child before my eyes in mere weeks, fear twisting inside me even as I tried to be strong for her.
"Mother, I found another book about the old magic." Nyx appeared in my study. Dressed in a little gown. Hair braided. Looking like a proper princess except for the ancient vampire text in her hands. "Did you know Shadowborn could walk through memories? Not just see them. Actually enter them and change them?"
"That sounds dangerous."
"Everything about us is dangerous. That's the point." She climbed into the chair. "Can I try? I want to see your memories. When you were human."
"Maybe when you are older."
"I am three months old and five years old at the same time. When is older?"
Good question. I had no answer. Days passed quickly, Nyx growing restless with her lessons and our attempts to keep up.
Kael entered. His jaw tensed when he saw Nyx with the forbidden text. He sighed, worry in his eyes.
"That is the third restricted book this week."
"She picks locks," I said. "Magical locks. Ones that should be impossible for anyone to open."
Kael saw Nyx with the book. Sighed. "Third restricted book this week."
"She is not a threat. She is a child."
"She stopped time and aged a vampire to dust. They're terrified." He rubbed his face. "So are we. We don't know her limits."
"I am sitting right here," Nyx said. "And I can hear you."
"We know," Kael said. "That is why we are being honest. You are powerful. Dangerous. And every kingdom is wondering what happens when you grow up. When you have centuries of power instead of months."
"I will be good. I promised."
"We need to decide: hide her, or reveal her and face the fallout?"
"Hiding me did not work for mother," Nyx pointed out. "She spent twelve years invisible and it nearly got her killed."
"She has a point," I said.
"Fine. Then we present her. Officially. As our heir. As the future of Nocterra." Kael stood. "But we do it carefully. With guards. With precautions. With plans for if things go wrong."
"When have our plans ever worked?" I asked.
"Fair point. But we try, "When have our plans ever worked?" I tried to joke, but dread tightened my chest. Weeks. Every major kingdom would send representatives. To see the child. To judge. To calculate.
We spent those weeks preparing Nyx. Politics. Diplomacy. Each day, we taught her how to smile and nod while people debated her very right to exist. It was exhausting, and I tried not to think about how unfair it was.
"Why be polite to people who want me dead?" Nyx asked. "Because killing them would prove them right," I said.
"They fear you will be a tyrant. A monster. If you lose control. "They fear tyranny, war, or even annihilation. If you lash out, you could unite kingdoms against us. You must prove you are not their doom. But only defend. Never attack first. Never prove them right." I touched her face.
"You are better than their fear. Show them that."
The two weeks flew by. Finally, the day of the summit arrived. Representatives from nine kingdoms filled the throne room. All staring at the small child standing between us.
Nyx wore a black dress. Red eyes bright. Every inch a vampire princess, and terrifying.
"Your Majesties." King Matthias spoke first. "We come in peace. To meet your daughter. To understand what she represents."
"She represents hope," Kael said. "The future. Change."
"She represents power," Queen Elara countered. Unchecked, "She represents power," Queen Elara countered. "And power upends alliances. If she cannot be controlled, peace cannot last. We will defend ourselves by any means. We saw what she did to Lady Serina. To time itself. What else can she do?"
"I can stop time. Age or de-age living things. Walk through memories. Bend reality in small ways. And I am still discovering more."
Silence. Heavy. Fearful.
"And you expect us to just accept this?" Silence. Heavy. Fearful. The weight of their suspicion pressed down on us, and I felt Nyx tense beside me. "To trust that a child with god-like power will always choose wisely?" Don't. You should be afraid of me.
Because fear is smart." Nyx stepped forward. "But I also expect you to see what I have not done. I have not aged any of you. Not stopped your time. Not hurt anyone since the war ended. Despite having the power to do so."
"Yet," someone muttered.
"Yet," Nyx agreed. "Because I am three months old. I am learning. Growing. Making mistakes. But I am trying to be better than the power I carry. That is all anyone can do. Try."
"Pretty words," Elara said. "But words are cheap. Actions matter. Prove you can be trusted."
"How?"
"By accepting limits. By agreeing to restrictions on your power. By showing us you will not become a threat."
Nyx looked at me. At Kael. We nodded.
"A council. Representative Nyx looked at me. At Kael. We both nodded, hearts pounding, anxiety and pride mixed in our eyes. Your intervention if needed. Who can also vote to seal your powers if you become dangerous." Elara's voice was calm. Reasonable. Deadly.
"Give us control. Prove you trust us. Or we cannot trust you."