Chapter 64 The Weight of Crowns II
The palace felt empty after. Too quiet. Too big.
I found Kael in his study that night. Staring at maps. Not really seeing them.
I said, "She will be fine." You are unaware of that.
No. However, I think so. since we own her.
And we raised her to survive anything."
"What if surviving is not enough?" His voice broke. Just slightly. "What if they break her? Change her? Turn her into something we do not recognize?"
"Then we bring her home and put her back together. Like you did for me. Like I did for you." I moved behind him.
I put my arms around his shoulders. "We are one family. We do not abandon each other."
He leaned back against me. "I already miss her." Me too.
We stood like that. Two parents who sent their child away to save a kingdom. Two people who chose duty over comfort. Two souls bound by fate and love and stubbornness.
"Sera?"
"Yes?"
"When this is over. When Nyx is grown and the kingdom is stable and we have no more wars to fight.
"What should we do?" I don't know. Perhaps we should take a nap. "I'm not sure how to relax." I will then show you. I kissed his temple. "We have eternity. We will figure it out."
A month passed. Slowly. Every day felt like three.
Then a messenger arrived. From the eastern kingdoms.
Nyx was doing well. Training hard. Making progress. She sent letters. Short. Sweet. Full of details about lessons and teachers and new friends.
However, I sensed homesickness in between the lines. Fear. Someone too young to bear the burden of expectations is crushed by it.I said to Kael, "We bring her home." The treaty was accepted by us.The treaty doesn't concern me.
Our daughter is suffering."
"She is learning. Growing. Becoming what she needs to be." His jaw clenched. "We let her finish this. Like we promised."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to storm the eastern kingdoms and drag her home. But he was right. We made a promise. Breaking it would undermine everything Nyx was trying to accomplish.
So we waited.
Two more weeks passed. Then another messenger. This one panicked.
Nyx had lost control during training. Stopped time for an entire city. Could not restart it. Three thousand people frozen. Unable to move. Unable to breathe. Dying slowly.
My blood turned to ice.
"We leave now," Kael said.
No arguments. No planning. Just action.
We rode hard. Fifty guards. Arianna with us. All of us desperate. Terrified.
The eastern capital looked wrong. Silent. Still. People frozen mid-step. Mid-word. Caught in a moment that would not end.
We found Nyx in the center. On her knees. Crying.
Around her, power crackled like lightning. "I can't stop it," she cried.
"I tried. I tried so hard. But it will not listen. It will not end."
I ran to her. Dropped beside her. "Look at me."
She did.
Red, scared, and very young eyes.This is something you can do.
You stopped time. You can restart it. Just breathe."
"I do not know how."
"Yes you do. Feel the magic. Find where it connects. Pull it back gently." I took her hands. "I am here. You are not alone."
She closed her eyes. Focused. The power around her shifted. Changed. Slowly unwound.
Time stuttered. Started. Stopped. Started again.
People gasped. Fell. Breathed.
The city lived again.
Nyx collapsed in my arms. "I am sorry. I am so sorry."
"You fixed it. That is what matters." I held her. Rocked her. "You are coming home now. Training is over."
"But the treaty—"
"The treaty can burn. You are more important." I looked at Thera who stood nearby. Pale. Shaken. "She is done. We are taking her home."
"I agree." Thera's voice was hollow. "She is too powerful for us to train. Too dangerous. Take her. Before she kills us all."
We left that day. Nyx between Kael and me. Safe. Whole. Home.
"I failed," she said quietly.
"You learned," Kael corrected. "There is a difference."
"But I almost killed thousands of people."
"Almost does not count. You stopped it. You fixed it. That is what matters." He looked at her. "Power is not about never making mistakes. It is about fixing them when you do."
Nyx was quiet the entire ride home. Processing. Grieving. Accepting that she was not perfect. Not invincible. Just a child with impossible gifts trying her best.
When we reached the palace, servants rushed out. Nobles gathered. Everyone wanted to see the princess who stopped an entire city.
Nyx ignored them. Walked straight to her room. Closed the door.
"Give her time," Arianna said. "She needs to process."
"What if she does not?" I asked. "What if this breaks her?"
"Then we put her back together. Like you said. That is what family does."
Three days passed. Nyx stayed in her room. Barely ate. Barely spoke.
I visited every day. Sat with her. Did not push. Just present.
Finally she spoke. "I saw them. While time was stopped. I saw their faces. Their terror. Their slow death."
She gave me a look. "How do you cope with that? Knowing you caused pain?"
"By making sure it means something. By using that pain to be better. By never forgetting but not letting it paralyze you either."
"What if I lose control again?"
"Then you fix it again. And again. And again. Until you learn."
I drew her in. "This is not just you. We'll instruct you.
Help you. Stand beside you. Always.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She cried then. Let out everything she had been holding. I held her through it. Let her break. Let her grieve.
Instead of using her as a weapon, let her be seven.
She turned to face me when she was done. "I'm not interested in returning. To training. To being powerful. All I want is to be normal. "Normal is overrated."
"But safe."
"Safe is not living. Safe is hiding." I touched her face. "You have gifts. Incredible gifts. You can either lock them up and act as though they don't exist, or you can use them to assist others. However, putting them away doesn't make them go away.
It just makes them dangerous."
"So what do I do?"
"You learn control. Here. With us. With people who love you. Who will catch you when you fall. Who will never give up on you." I smiled. "And when you are ready. When you understand your power. Then you decide what to do with it. Not us. Not kingdoms. You."
"That sounds hard." Every worthwhile endeavor is challenging.
She gave a nod. slowly. "All right. I'll try." We only ask for that.
Together, we left her room.
Back to the throne room where problems waited. Where kingdoms demanded answers.
Where a girl of seven would need to demonstrate that she was still in charge.
However, we confronted it together this time.
Family. United.
And whatever came next, we would survive it.
Like we always did.
Together.