Lyria's POV
"In here. Quickly."
Cassian shoves me through a doorway into a small abandoned cottage at the forest's edge. We've been running for hours, and the castle is finally far enough behind us that we can catch our breath.
I collapse onto the dusty floor, gasping. My legs shake from exhaustion. The glowing mark on my chest has finally stopped pulsing, but I can still feel it—warm and alive under my skin.
Cassian checks the windows, his sword still drawn. "We'll rest here for an hour. No more."
"An hour?" I can barely breathe. "I need more than—"
"An hour is all we have. Your sister's shadow beasts will track us by dawn." He finally sheathes his sword and leans against the wall, watching me with those cold silver eyes.
We sit in silence. The only sound is our breathing and the wind outside.
I pull myself up and move to the window. Through the cracked glass, I can see the night sky clearly for the first time since we escaped.
My breath catches.
"What's wrong?" Cassian asks immediately.
I can't answer. Can't speak.
Because the stars are crying.
I've heard stars whisper my whole life—soft, gentle voices that kept me company when I was lonely. But this is different. This isn't whispers.
This is screaming.
Thousands of voices, all crying out at once. The sound fills my head until I think I'll go mad from it. I press my hands over my ears, but it doesn't help. The voices are inside me.
"Lyria?" Cassian moves closer. "What's happening?"
"The stars," I gasp. "They're in pain. They're... they're dying."
I watch in horror as one star flickers and goes dark. Then another. Then three more.
"Can't you see it?" I point at the sky. "They're going out!"
He looks where I'm pointing, his face grim. "I see stars. They look normal."
"But they're not normal!" Tears stream down my face. Each star that dies feels like a piece of my soul being ripped away. "They're disappearing. One by one."
The voices grow clearer now, more desperate:
"FIND THE FALLEN STAR."
"BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE."
"THREE DAYS. ONLY THREE DAYS."
"PLEASE, CELESTIAL DAUGHTER, SAVE US."
I sink to my knees, overwhelmed. The grief pours through me—not my grief, but theirs. Centuries of light and life, snuffed out in moments.
"Three days," I whisper. "They keep saying three days."
Cassian kneels beside me. "Three days until what?"
"Until they all die. Until..." I shake my head, trying to understand the images flooding my mind. "Until darkness covers everything. No sun. No moon. No stars. Just shadow, forever."
More stars blink out. The sky grows noticeably darker.
"Your sister," Cassian says quietly. "The thing possessing her. It's doing this."
"The Shadow Sovereign," I breathe, remembering what he called it. "Why? Why would he kill the stars?"
"Because stars are the source of all light magic. They're what keep creatures like him trapped in the void." His jaw clenches. "If he kills enough stars, the barriers between worlds will collapse. Shadow creatures will pour through. There'll be nothing to stop them."
The full weight of it hits me. This isn't just about my family's betrayal anymore. This isn't even just about my life.
The entire world is ending.
"The fallen star," I say urgently. "The one that called my name. It can stop this, can't it?"
"If you claim it, yes. It holds enough celestial power to fight back. Maybe even reverse what's been done."
"Then we go there. Now. Tonight."
"The Dark Forest is a week's journey. The pilgrimage was supposed to take two weeks total, visiting each temple for protection—"
"We don't have two weeks!" I grab his arm. "We don't even have one week! Three days, Cassian. That's all we have."
He stares at me for a long moment. "If we skip the temples and go straight to the Dark Forest, you'll have no protection. No blessings. The forest will try to kill you every step of the way."
"And if I don't go, everyone dies anyway."
"You'll probably die."
"Probably is better than definitely." I stand up, wiping my tears. "I'm going. With or without you."
Something changes in his expression. Respect, maybe. Or surprise.
"You really mean that."
"The stars chose me." My voice shakes but I force it steady. "I don't know why. I don't understand any of this. But they're crying and I'm the only one who can hear them. That has to mean something."
Cassian stands slowly. He looks at me differently now—not like a weak girl he's been forced to protect, but like... like I matter.
"Your mother would be proud," he says quietly.
"My mother?" The words stab my heart. "My mother is dead."
"I know." He moves back to the window, his back to me. "But I've heard stories. About the last Celestial Queen. They say she was brave. Kind. That she died protecting what she loved."
Silence stretches between us.
"How did you know my mother was a Celestial Queen?" I ask slowly.
He doesn't turn around. "Because I was there the night she died."
My blood turns to ice. "What?"
"I was eight years old. A child soldier in training. They brought us to watch." His voice is flat, emotionless. "To teach us what happens to those who challenge the noble families. I watched your mother die, Lyria. I watched them take you from her arms. And I watched Viktor Everen walk away with you while she bled out on the stones."
I can't breathe. Can't think.
"You saw..." I choke on the words. "You saw my father murder my mother?"
"I saw many things that night I wish I could forget." He finally turns to face me. "But I never forgot her face. And when I saw you at the trial, when I saw your eyes... I knew. You have her eyes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I'm cursed to become the very thing that killed my family. Because I've spent twenty years as a weapon for the people who murdered your mother. Because..." He stops, his jaw tight. "Because I didn't think I had the right."
The mark on my chest suddenly flares with heat. I gasp and clutch it.
A voice—soft, feminine, achingly familiar even though I've never heard it before—speaks directly into my mind:
"Lyria. My daughter. My light."
"Mother?" I whisper.
Cassian's eyes widen. "You hear her?"
"You don't?"
He shakes his head.
"Listen carefully," my mother's voice continues. "The fallen star contains everything I couldn't give you before I died. My power. My memories. My love. When you claim it, you'll understand who you truly are. But the Shadow Sovereign knows this. He'll send everything he has to stop you."
"How do I fight him?" I ask desperately.
"You don't. Not yet. Not until you're whole." Her voice wavers, growing weaker. "Trust the cursed knight, Lyria. His fate is bound to yours. The stars have shown me—he's the key to everything."
"What does that mean?"
"You'll understand soon. Now go. Run. Save us all, my brave girl. Save us like I couldn't save you."
The voice fades.
I open my eyes to find Cassian staring at me intensely.
"She spoke to you," he says. It's not a question.
"She said..." I swallow hard. "She said you're the key. That your fate is bound to mine."
Something flickers across his face. Fear? Hope? I can't tell.
"The curse," he says slowly. "It's connected to the Shadow Sovereign. When your power awakened in the castle, it pushed the curse back. Your light fights his darkness."
Understanding dawns. "If I get stronger, I can cure you."
"Or if I fully transform into a shadow creature, I'll be used to kill you." His voice is harsh. "That's why he cursed me years ago. He knew the Celestial Queen's daughter would eventually awaken. He needed a weapon close to you."
My mind reels. "You're saying this was all planned? For years?"
"Decades. Maybe longer." He moves to the door. "Which is why we need to move. Every moment we waste, the curse spreads deeper. And your sister gets closer."
I stand, my legs still shaky but my resolve solid.
More stars die above us. Their cries echo in my mind.
"I'm coming," I whisper to them. "Hold on. Please hold on."
We step out into the night. The forest looms ahead—dark, twisted, full of danger.
Cassian's horse waits where we left it. As he helps me mount, I notice the shadow marks on his neck are spreading. They've crawled up to his jawline now.
We're racing against two countdowns: three days until the stars die, and however long Cassian has until the curse consumes him completely.
"How long?" I ask as he swings up behind me. "How long do you have?"
He doesn't answer immediately. Then, so quiet I almost miss it:
"Maybe a week. If I'm lucky."
We push into the forest at full gallop. Behind us, howls echo through the trees—not wolves, something worse.
"They've found us already," Cassian mutters, his arms tightening around me as he urges the horse faster.
The howls grow closer.
I risk a glance back and see them—red eyes gleaming in the darkness, dozens of them, racing through the trees with inhuman speed.
Shadow beasts. A whole pack.
And at the front, larger than the others, wearing twisted black armor, rides a creature on a shadow horse.
A Shadow Knight.
It raises a massive sword and points directly at me. When it speaks, its voice makes my bones ache:
"The Shadow Sovereign sends his regards, false queen. Your journey ends here."