Chapter 52

Chapter 52
Aria

The air reeked of smoke and shattered magic. Screams echoed off marble walls as wolves shifted mid-panic and glass crunched beneath panicked feet. The chandeliers above swung wildly, their crystal fragments raining down like falling stars. But I didn’t move.

I breathed. I took it all in.

And then I burned.

Silver fire ignited along my skin, not wild, not uncontrolled, but sharp and purposeful. It danced in ribbons across my arms, down to my fingers, and into the stone beneath my feet.

"Talon! Ronan! Corren! Secure the exits. Protect the civilians!" I barked through our mindlink beyond the chaos, my voice a clear strike of command that cut through the hysteria like a blade. My wolf surged in approval.

They responded without hesitation. Talon moved like a ghost, weaving through the crowd, intercepting a masked figure with a blade before he could reach the far doors. Ronan and Corren flanked opposite sides of the ballroom, pushing guests behind the columns, shielding the vulnerable.

Cassian met my eyes from across the hall and gave a sharp nod. Without needing instruction, he joined the fray with his own people, calling out orders and forming a defensive perimeter to shield the weak. He had chosen to stand with me, which mattered more than any command. It is amazing what one moment, one look, one silent question can tell you about someone.

I stepped forward, fire pouring from my palms. A wall of moonfire rose behind me, a barrier of silver heat and light that cut the room in half. It wasn’t meant to harm. It was a shield, one that shimmered between the innocent and those who meant them harm. The chaos was meant to distract, to pull focus and attention to multiple locations so that the attack would be successful. I had to change that. Control the situation.

Magic pulsed beneath the marble. I dropped to one knee, pressing my palm to the stone. "Come," I whispered, and the earth answered.
Vines surged up through cracks in the floor, tangling around the legs of an approaching attacker. He shouted in shock, slashing at them, but they held fast, thorns biting into his skin.

Another moved from my left. I turned, throwing a wall of fire that forced him back, sending sparks scattering across the polished floor.
I was everywhere. I was flame and fury and the breath of the forest.

A cry to my right snapped my head around.

The girl.

She was young, barely more than a teenager. Blood bloomed across the silk of her gown, her pale hair streaked with ash. She had collapsed near one of the columns, too far for anyone to reach.

Except me. And I wouldn't fail her.

I sprinted to her, sliding across scorched marble. Her eyes fluttered open as I pressed my hands to the wound at her side. "Stay with me," I murmured.
Vines unfurled from the floor again, gentler this time, wrapping around her like a cradle. There weren't any thorns this time. I summoned the warmth of the earth beneath us, drawing it through my hands and into her flesh.

She gasped. The bleeding slowed.

I could feel her life steady. Her pulse levelling out, I could feel her pain receding. I kept my hands on her until all that was left was fear.

And still, more attackers came.

I rose, hair whipping around me, fire circling my ankles. Assessing the situation around me. Searching for my people... for Cassian.

Across the ballroom, masked figures moved in coordinated strikes, too many, too precise. This wasn’t a riot. It wasn’t chaos.

It was an assassination.

My assassination.

They had come for my life, and more so, what I stood for. They wanted to remove the hope, the unity and healing I wanted for our kingdom, our world. They were here to snuff that out. I couldn't allow that.

I stepped in front of the girl as three of them approached. My people were still fighting; Talon disarmed an attacker, and Ronan slammed another into a pillar. Corren shielded two elders, his daggers moving fast and sure. Cassian was holding the north wall with half his guard, fierce and unshakable.

But these three were mine.

I pulled deep within my well of power, and I let them see exactly what was to come in my eyes. I was done with being pushed around, being scared. I was done with bullies thinking they could push people around because they saw them as weak. I was tired of the segregation. I was tired of the misogyny. I was tired of the notion that money means you should control those who were born with less.

This was no longer just about me. Just about the world I wanted to help rebuild. This was about all the wrongs. All the dirty deeds done behind closed doors and hidden in laws created to push those with less further down.

I cast one last glance back at the girl behind me, and as she stood, she gave me a shaky smile. I nodded and gave her a smile of my own, telling her everything would be ok. I was here now.

I turned my smile to the three attackers before me, and my smile turned cruel and taunting. "You want me?" I taunted.

The moonfire roared to life behind me. Separating me from the vulnerable being me, the fire circled me and the attackers at my front. Keeping them locked in with me.
"Come and see what happens when you threaten my kingdom." I roared, letting my wolf curse to the surface, her power dancing just below the surface with my magic. One of them was smart enough to look scared.

And then I moved. My body moved like this was what I was born to do.

I didn’t wait. I didn’t hold back. No hesitation.

I was the storm. I was the breath that ignited the blaze. I was the soul of the earth.

And tonight, the court... our enemies would learn what it meant to threaten the daughter of Lyriana Nightshade.