Chapter 137 The Return Home
Elara's POV
Queen Morgana stood in my throne room. Dead Queen Morgana. With void-red eyes and an army of corrupted monsters behind her.
"Impossible," I breathed. "You're dead. I watched you lose your powers. You were imprisoned."
"Death is just another door, dear Elara." Morgana's voice echoed with the Void's emptiness. "And the Void opened it for me. Gave me new life. New power. All I had to do was surrender to the nothing."
Drakon shifted into dragon form instantly. "Everyone behind me! Now!"
Our advisors scrambled back. But they didn't run. Instead, they formed defensive positions. Ready to fight.
"Your Majesty," our head advisor called. "The evacuation protocols we practiced, should we activate them?"
I blinked. "You practiced evacuation protocols?"
"Every week while you were gone," Thorne said, sword drawn. "We learned from the plague. Always have backup plans."
Pride and fear mixed in my chest. They'd grown. Become prepared. But was it enough?
"How did you get inside our castle?" Drakon demanded.
"Your sister let me in." Morgana smiled cruelly. "Sweet little Lily. So trusting. So naive."
My blood turned to ice. "What did you do to Lily?"
"Nothing yet. She's perfectly safe. For now." Morgana gestured, and void-touched creatures dragged someone forward.
Lily. Thirteen years old. Unconscious but breathing. Black marks on her wrists where the creatures held her.
"Let her go!" I screamed.
"Gladly. Just give me what I want." Morgana's red eyes gleamed. "You, Elara. The Void is very interested in you. Your ability to combine magics. Your bond with the dragon. Surrender yourself, and everyone else lives."
"Don't!" Drakon roared. "It's a trap!"
"Of course it's a trap," Morgana laughed. "But what choice do you have? Me and my army are already inside your precious castle. Your people are surrounded. And your sister..." She touched Lily's face. "One wrong move and she joins the void-touched. Imagine little Lily with red eyes and corrupted magic. Would you kill your own sister, Elara?"
Tears burned my eyes. This was my worst nightmare. Everything I loved threatened. No good choices.
Through our bond, I felt Drakon's rage and desperation. He'd burn the whole throne room to save me. But that would kill Lily too.
"Think fast," Morgana purred. "The Void is impatient."
My mind raced. We needed time. A distraction. Something.
Then I remembered. The evacuation protocols. Backup plans.
"Thorne," I said quietly. "Pattern Delta."
Thorne's eyes widened. Then he nodded slightly.
"Fine," I said loudly to Morgana. "I'll surrender. Just let Lily go first."
"Elara, no!" Drakon tried to grab me.
I touched his mind through our bond. "Trust me. Pattern Delta."
Understanding flashed in his eyes.
Morgana pushed Lily forward. The girl collapsed on the throne room floor, still unconscious.
I walked toward Morgana slowly. "You promise everyone else lives?"
"The Void keeps its bargains." Morgana reached for me.
I grabbed her hand.
And Thorne shouted, "Now!"
The floor dropped out from under Morgana and her creatures. A trapdoor,;installed during our absence as part of the new security measures.
They fell into the dungeon below. The trapdoor slammed shut.
"Seal it!" I yelled.
Mages rushed forward, creating magical barriers over the trapdoor. Ice. Fire. Lightning. Every type of magic we had.
"It won't hold long!" Faye warned.
"It doesn't need to." I ran to Lily, checking her pulse. Still alive. "Get her to the healers. Everyone else, evacuation pattern Delta. Move!"
Our people moved like they'd practiced a hundred times. Organized. Efficient. No panic.
Guards ushered civilians toward secret exits. Mages reinforced defenses. Warriors took positions.
"You built this," Drakon said with awe. "While we were gone, you prepared for invasion."
"We learned from past mistakes," our head advisor said. "Never be caught unprepared again."
The trapdoor exploded. Morgana and her creatures burst through the magical barriers like they were paper.
"Clever," Morgana hissed. "But futile. The Void cannot be trapped."
"Then we fight." I raised my hands, ice magic crackling. "In our home. On our terms."
Battle erupted. Dragons fought void-touched monsters. Mages threw spells. Warriors swung swords.
I fought beside Drakon, our bond making us move as one. Where he breathed fire, I created ice. Where I froze enemies, he shattered them.
But there were too many. For every creature we defeated, two more appeared.
"They're multiplying!" Thorne yelled. "The Void is creating more!"
"Fall back to the inner courtyard!" I commanded. "Defensive circle!"
We retreated, protecting the civilians escaping through secret passages. The creatures pressed forward, relentless.
Morgana walked through the chaos untouched. "You cannot win, Elara. The Void is infinite. Your magic is limited. Your people are mortal. Give up."
"Never."
"Then watch them die." Morgana raised her hands.
The void-touched creatures suddenly stopped fighting us. They turned. Toward the escaping civilians.
"No!" I screamed.
The creatures charged toward innocent people. Families. Children.
We couldn't reach them in time.
Then light exploded from the courtyard.
Pure, brilliant light. Rainbow-colored like Queen Cordelia's barrier.
The void-touched creatures hit the light and disintegrated.
"What..." Morgana spun around.
A figure stood in the courtyard. Young. Female. Hands glowing with combined magic.
Lily.
But she looked different. Older somehow. Her eyes glowed with power I'd never seen before.
"Get away from my sister," Lily said. Her voice echoed with multiple tones.
"Impossible," Morgana breathed. "You're just a child. A weak little girl."
"I was." Lily's hands blazed brighter. "But something happened when your creatures touched me. Their corruption tried to take me. But I didn't fight it. I absorbed it. Converted it. Turned void into light."
My jaw dropped. "Lily, what did you do?"
"What you taught me, sister. Different perspectives create new solutions." Lily smiled, but it was strange. Distant. "I became something new. Something the Void didn't expect."
More light poured from her. The void-touched creatures shrieked and fled. Even Morgana backed away.
"This isn't over," Morgana snarled. "The Void will..."
"The Void will learn fear," Lily interrupted. "Tell it that. Tell it I'm coming for it."
Morgana and her remaining creatures vanished. Just disappeared.
Silence fell over the throne room.
Lily swayed. The light dimmed. She suddenly looked like herself again. Young. Scared.
"Elara?" Her voice was small. "What happened to me?"
Then she collapsed.
I caught her, but her skin was burning hot. Power still crackling around her.
"Healers!" Drakon shouted.
They rushed forward but stopped when they saw her.
"Your Majesty," the head healer said quietly. "This is beyond our knowledge. She's not sick. She's... transforming. Evolving. Becoming something we've never seen."
"Can you help her?"
"I don't know. We'll try." They lifted Lily carefully.
As they carried her away, Lily's eyes opened briefly. They glowed white.
"My birthday," she whispered. "Three days. I'll be sixteen. Something's coming. Something big."
Then she passed out again.
I stood there, shaking. Our kingdom had survived while we were gone. Grown stronger. More prepared.
But my little sister had absorbed void corruption and turned it into light.
And in three days, on her sixteenth birthday, something was coming.
Something that terrified even Lily.