Chapter 62 Ghosts and Choices II
My blood froze. "What kind of army?"
"Rebels. Half-bloods. Others think the prophecy was read incorrectly. The name they are using is the Shadow Legion. And they are going to the capital.
"Why?" Kael demanded.
"To free Nyx. They believe she is a prisoner. That we are using her. That she needs to be liberated and trained by those who understand true power." Lyra looked at me. "Arianna is leading them. She believes she is saving your daughter."
"I said, "She is damning her." "If an army marches on the capital, the eastern kingdoms will see it as a betrayal."
They will pull support. Declare war."
"Exactly." Kael's jaw clenched. "We stop them before they reach the city."
"How?"
"Diplomacy first. Then force if necessary." He looked at Nyx. "I need you to come with us. Show Arianna you are safe. That you are here by choice."
"No." I stood.
"I won't take our seven-year-old daughter into a war zone. "She is the only one who can put an end to this without bloodshed." Kael's voice was soft. "I know it's risky.
But so is letting an army attack the capital. People will die either way. At least this way we control it."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to lock Nyx away where nothing could hurt her.
But he was right.
"Fine. But I go with her. And if anything happens—"
"If anything happens, I burn the world. You know that."
We prepared to leave at dawn. Fifty guards. Full armor. Weapons blessed and ready.
Nyx dressed in riding clothes that made her look even younger. Vulnerable. Exactly what Arianna would expect.
"What if she does not listen?" Nyx asked.
"Then we make her listen." I checked my weapons. "She is you from another timeline. That means she understands sacrifice. We just need to remind her what sacrifice means."
We rode out as the sun rose.
Toward the border with the north. Toward an army led by a woman who looked like me but had different scars.
The Shadow Legion was waiting in a valley three days to the north.
Five hundred soldiers. Maybe more. All armed. All ready.
And at their head stood Arianna.
She looked worse when she got back. Thinner. Less color. The curse was killing her. Sera. Her voice could be heard from far away. "I am here for my niece." She is not your niece.
She is my daughter." I dismounted. Walked forward alone. "And she does not need saving."
"She is seven years old with more power than any vampire in history. Of course she needs saving." Arianna stepped closer. "You are using her. Making her negotiate with kingdoms. Forcing her to be a tool."
"I'm teaching her how to use her power wisely." I stopped ten feet away.
"There is a difference."
"Is there? Because from where I stand, you are doing exactly what I did. Making a child bear burdens that should not be hers."
"Then let me prove you wrong." I turned. Gestured. "Nyx. Come here."
Nyx dismounted and walked to me. Small. Brave. Everything.
She looked at Arianna. "Hello. You are the other version of mother. The one who saved us."
"I am." Arianna knelt. "Do you want to leave? Do you want freedom from them? From the expectations? From the crown?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they love me. Because they help me get better. Because leaving means leaving people who need help."
Nyx stepped closer. "You are dying. I can see it. The curse is killing you. Come home. Let us save you like you saved mother."
"There is no saving me."
"There is always saving. You just have to choose it." Nyx held out her hand. "Please. Let me help you. Let us be family."
Arianna looked at that little hand. Her face was wet with tears. No, I can't. Your mother will die if I come back and give up the curse. This is how the ritual goes.
One of us carries it, or both of us do."
"Then both of us carry it." I stepped forward. "Split it between us. Half for you. Half for me. Manageable."
"That is not how curses work—"
"Then we make it work." I grabbed her hand. Pulled her up. "You saved me. Let me return the favor."
Arianna looked at me. At Nyx. At the army she brought.
"If I do this. If I come back. You have to promise me something."
"Name it."
"Promise me you will let Nyx be a child sometimes. Let her play. Laugh. Make mistakes. Do not let the crown steal her childhood like it stole ours."
"I promise."
Arianna nodded. "Then I come home."
The Shadow Legion dispersed. Some joined our army. Some left. All of them were relieved that war was avoided.
We rode back to the capital with Arianna beside us. Weak. Dying. But home.
That night, healers worked to split the curse. To bind part of it to me. Part to her. Sharing the burden.
It hurt. Gods, it hurt.
Like dying and being born again at the same time.
But once it was over, we both felt better. The curse was still there.
But manageable. Bearable.
Arianna fell asleep in a bed in the healing wing. Slept for three days.
Nyx was sitting next to her when she woke up. Nyx said, "You came back."
"I did."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For choosing to live. For choosing family. For being brave even when you wanted to give up." Nyx took her hand. "I am glad you are my aunt."
Arianna smiled. Weak but real. "I am glad too."
We had won. Again. Barely. By the skin of our teeth and the courage of a seven-year-old child.
But we had won.
The prophecy was right. Nyx was saving us. Not through power. Through choice.
Through being better than the darkness wanted her to be.
And that was enough.
For now.