Memory Fragments

Memory Fragments
Lyra's POV

The pain hit me like lightning.
I screamed and fell to my knees in the cemetery dirt, holding my head as images exploded behind my eyes. Morgana's laughter rang around me, but I could barely hear it over the voices suddenly filling my mind.
Run, Elena! Take Lyra and run!
That was my father's voice, desperate and afraid. But who was Elena?
I won't leave you, David! We fight together!
A woman's voice answered him. Strong and fierce. My mother.
The shadow dogs were circling closer, but I couldn't move. The visions were too strong, pulling me into memories that weren't mine but somehow belonged to me.
Suddenly I wasn't in the cemetery anymore. I was in a beautiful house with walls that sparkled like they were made of stars. A little baby was crying - me, I realized with a shock. I was seeing through my parents' eyes the night they died.
She's coming, my mother whispered, holding baby-me tight. Morgana found us.
The crown, my father said quickly. We have to hide it before-
The front door burst into pieces.
Morgana walked through the smoke, but she looked younger. Her hair was black instead of silver, and her eyes burned with red fire.
Give me the child, she ordered. Give me the StarBlood child, and I'll let you live.
Never, my mother growled, and silver light blazed around her hands.
The memory changed, and now I was watching the most terrible fight I'd ever seen. My parents were amazing - they moved like dancers made of starlight, their magic bright enough to hurt my eyes. But Morgana had brought helpers. Dark creatures that looked like nightmares given life.
David, the sacred room! my mother shouted. Hide it now!
My father grabbed something from a shelf - the StarCrown, glowing like a caught star. He ran deeper into the house while my mother held off the invaders.
You cannot hide from fate, Elena Starborn, Morgana laughed as she fought. Your daughter's blood will make me immortal, whether you like it or not.
Her name is Lyra, my mother said furiously. And she will be free.
The vision followed my father as he ran through secret tunnels I'd never seen before. He stopped at a wall that looked totally normal, but when he touched it with the crown, it opened like a door.
Inside was a small room with symbols carved everywhere. My father put the StarCrown on a stone table in the center, then spoke words that made the air shimmer.
Only she can claim it, he whispered. Only our daughter's touch will wake it again.
Then he cut something into the stone - symbols that hurt to look at but somehow made sense to me now.
The memory jumped again, and I was back in the main room. My mother was badly hurt, bleeding silver blood that sparkled like glitter. My father ran to her side.
Did you hide it? she gasped.
Safe, he promised. She'll find it when she's ready.
The baby, my mother said weakly. Where is-
But Morgana was there, holding baby-me in her arms. I was crying, and every tear that fell glowed with silver light.
Such power, Morgana whispered, touching one of my tears. Even as an infant, her magic is amazing.
Don't hurt her, my father begged. Please. She's innocent.
Innocent? Morgana laughed. She's StarBlood. She'll grow up to challenge me, just like you did. Just like every StarBlood before her.
My mother struggled to stand. Then you'll have to go through us first.
Oh, Elena, Morgana said sadly. I already have.
She raised her hand, and darkness shot out like darts. My parents screamed.
But then something impossible happened. Baby-me stopped crying and looked right at Morgana. My tiny eyes flashed silver, and suddenly the whole house was filled with bright light.
When the light faded, my parents were gone. Just... gone. And baby-me was lying on the floor, totally ordinary looking now. No silver eyes, no magic glow. Nothing.
Interesting, Morgana whispered, kneeling beside me. The stress made her power go to sleep. Perfect. She'll be useless until she wakes, and by then, I'll be ready for her.
She picked me up, and I saw her smile. It was the cruelest thing I'd ever seen.
Sweet dreams, little princess, she whispered. When you wake up, you'll be exactly where I want you.
The memory shattered, and I was back in the graveyard, gasping and shaking. Morgana was still standing over me, the StarCrown sparkling on her head.
"Did you enjoy the show?" she asked mockingly. "I've been waiting twenty years for you to remember. Waiting for you to lead me back to where your parents hid their little backup plan."
"You killed them," I whispered, tears running down my face. "You murdered my parents and stole me as a baby."
"I saved you," Morgana clarified. "I could have killed you that night, but I had a better idea. Why kill the last StarBlood when I could use her instead? So I had you sold to the Ironclad Pack as a slave. I knew someday you'd escape and come looking for your roots."
The shadow dogs were getting closer, but I barely noticed. My whole life had been a lie. Not just the fake mate tie with Marcus - everything.
"The silver mines," I realized. "You wanted me there. Working with silver to keep my skills suppressed."
"Very good," Morgana purred. "Silver stops StarBlood magic. As long as you stayed in those mines, you were perfectly safe. But I knew someday you'd break free and come searching for answers. And when you did..."
She motioned around us at the cemetery. "You'd lead me right to the one place I could never find on my own. Your parents were very smart with their hiding spells. Only their daughter's presence could reveal the crown's position."
I looked at the grave she was standing on. The headstone was cracked and old, but I could read the name: David and Elena Starborn - Beloved Parents and Protectors.
My parents' grave. She was standing on my parents' grave.
"Get off of them," I growled, silver light starting to glow around my hands.
"Or what?" Morgana laughed. "You'll fight me? Child, I'm wearing your cap now. I have all your power plus my own."
She raised her hand, and I felt unseen chains wrap around me. I couldn't move, couldn't even breathe properly.
"But there's one more thing I need from you," Morgana continued. "The final piece of the process. Your willing surrender."
"Never," I gasped.
"Oh, but you will," she said sweetly. "Because right now, my creatures are attacking Haven's Rest. Your dear Darius is fighting for his life. Every second you resist me, more of your friends die."
She waved her hand, and the air shimmered. Suddenly I could see Haven's Rest like I was looking through a window. It was under attack by horrible shadow beings. I saw Darius fighting furiously, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Seraphina was down, not moving.
"Choose quickly, little princess," Morgana said. "Surrender yourself to me, and I'll call off the attack. Refuse, and watch everyone you love die while you stand here powerless."
The chains around me tightened. I felt my ribs breaking.
"I'll give you ten seconds to decide," Morgana stated. "Ten... nine... eight..."
Through the magical window, I saw one of the shadow things leap at Darius. He was too slow, too hurt to dodge.
"Seven... six... five..." I had to choose. Save myself, or save the people who'd shown me what family really meant.
"Four... three..."
Darius fell. Blood spread across the ground beneath him.
"Two..."
"Stop!" I screamed. "I surrender! I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt them anymore!"
Morgana smiled, and the chains around me disappeared.
"Excellent choice," she said. "Now, kneel before your new empress."
But as I started to kneel, something my father had said in the vision repeated in my mind: Only our daughter's touch will wake it again.
The crown wasn't just hidden. It was sleeping, waiting for me to take it.
And Morgana had made one important mistake.
She'd brought me to exactly where I needed to be.