The Nightveil Enforcers didn't speak as the Watcher knelt before Nyra.
They didn't breathe.
Something ancient was shifting, and even the most loyal soldiers could feel it—like a blade pressed against the throat of their future. The sky was split between stars and smoke, and in the center of it all stood a girl they had banished.
Now reborn.
Nyra stepped forward, her boots sinking slightly into the earth that rippled beneath her feet. The Watcher raised its head, and when its wings opened again, a burst of power surged outward—knocking the Enforcers to their knees.
Only Kael remained standing.
But even he looked shaken.
"She's bonded to it," one soldier whispered, crawling backward. "It's a Nightshade beast—those haven't answered to anyone in centuries."
"She's not bonded to it," Kael murmured, eyes locked on Nyra.
"She commands it."
Nyra lifted her hand and ran her fingers along the Watcher's jaw. It bowed once, then vanished into smoke—waiting, watching, somewhere beyond the veil.
She turned back to Kael.
"Send more hunters," she said coldly. "Send your council. Send the entire cursed Nightveil bloodline."
Kael's voice was like ice breaking. "Don't tempt me, Nyra."
"I'm not tempting you," she said. "I'm warning you."
Before he could speak again, Iris slipped beside her. "We have to go. If they regroup—"
Nyra didn't wait. She turned, cloak swirling, and walked into the trees without looking back.
Kael didn't follow.
He didn't move.
He just watched her go—like watching the storm he once tried to tame burn everything behind her.
⸻
Nightveil Citadel – Throne Hall
High above the forest, in the shadowed spires of the Nightveil Citadel, the council gathered.
Elder Marek slammed a fist onto the obsidian table. "She lives. She's awakened. And Kael did nothing."
"She passed the Moon Trials," hissed Councilor Elira. "Those haven't been survived in over a hundred years."
"And now the Watchers answer to her," Vessa added darkly. "Do you know what that means?"
"It means," came a smooth voice from the doorway, "you've underestimated the girl you discarded."
Heads turned.
Evelyne Nightveil, Kael's mother and high war councilor, entered the chamber with a presence that silenced all. Her silver crown gleamed like the edge of a blade.
"You said she would die in exile," Evelyne said calmly. "Instead, she's returned with the full might of the Moonborne behind her—and something older."
"Prophecy," Marek spat. "I don't believe in children's stories."
"Then you'll die by one," Evelyne replied.
⸻
Meanwhile – Whisper Court Outskirts
Nyra and Iris traveled under cover of dusk, winding through cursed woods until they reached the ruins of the old Whisper Court.
The stone archway still held faded runes, buried beneath moss and bone.
"She's here," Iris whispered.
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, wrapped in violet robes, her silver eyes sharp and inhuman.
Selene Morthal.
"Moonborne," she greeted. "The prodigal daughter returns."
Nyra raised her chin. "I'm not here to plead. I'm here to claim what was stolen from my bloodline."
Selene smiled darkly. "Good. Because pleading would've gotten you killed."
⸻
Cliffhanger Ending:
Far beneath the Nightveil Citadel, Kael entered the hidden crypt—the one only direct heirs were allowed to enter.
He lit the sacred flame and approached the sealed tomb.
The one bearing his father's crest.
But tonight… the tomb was open.
And the inside?
Empty.