“I’m sorry, but you’re a traitor,” she heard herself say. Hollow. Dutiful. “And I have my orders.”
The vision dissolved. Then reformed.
The journey back to Vallenna City.
Sebastian a prisoner. Kara refusing to meet his gaze.
Their arrival at the City gates. Crowds jeering. Her delivering him to the Council.
Alaric’s voice as she stood at his side: “Well done, daughter. You’ve served Vallenna well.”
The other Lords and Ladies nodding approval. Simone Navyr smiling coldly. Tobias Thorne’s face, devastated but resigned.
Sebastian thrown in the dungeons, locked in a cell with those cold stone walls. Alone. The trial. The verdict. Condemned to die.
The vision shifted once more.
His pyre built in the square.
Not hers.
But because of her.
The crowd gathering.
Him being dragged out, broken, bleeding, but trying to fight anyway. His back shoved against the stake, rope wrapped tight around his chest. More kindling added around his feet. The torch lit and waiting.
And she was there, stood with her father, justwatching–
“NO!” Kara screamed into the void. “That’s not what happened – I didn’t – I wouldn’t have! I chose him! I CHOSE him!”
She heard Sebastian’s voice, “It’s lies, Kara, it’s showing us lies, you never would have–”
Another voice echoed in the dark, drowning everything else out, so powerful it was like it reverberated in her bones. The Arcanth, speaking, both beautiful and terrifying:
Prove your bond is true.
Show me why you choose him – not once, but always.
Kara reached desperately into her mind, her heart, her soul, and let the truth flood through:
She thought of the Fire Trial, when he’d thrown himself into flames to shield her, his hands burning but unstoppable. The first flutters she’d felt when she’d looked into his eyes afterwards. The Water Trial, when he’d leapt into the raging river without thought for himself, and she’d realised how impossibly brave he was. How capturing him,hurtinghim, had felt like she’d been carving out her own heart. That rescuing her had risked his own life, but still he’d come for her. How fiercely she respected the strength it took to keep standing when the realm tried to break him, to keep fighting when everyone named him a traitor.
She felt – no – shesawhis answer to the Arcanth’s test in her head.
The first time he’d seen her in the City market, sunlight catching in her hair, stopping him in his tracks. The awe he’d felt watching her drag Morra back from the edge of death, emerald light spilling from her hands. The twist of pain in his gut when he’d seen her standing beside Henry. The fragile, desperate hope he’d buried when she’d untied him. Chosen him over duty. His joy when he’d realised she loved him, and how fiercely he wanted to protect her, to keep her safe. His surprise, but deep gratitude, for the way she saw him, the way she knew him. Every time. No matter what mask he wore.
The images shattered. Kara crashed back into her body, gasping, the training ground back in focus. Sebastian still across from her, eyes wide, breathing hard.
“You saw everything?” she asked, voice shaking.
“I saw the truth,” he said. “That you choose me.”
“I do,” she said fiercely. “I always will.”
“I know.” His voice was certain.
Their love echoed across the bond, and their magic roared. Golden light poured now from both of them, wrapping their hands, pulling the Shards together. With the sound of a thunderclap, raw power burst outwards, so strong it nearly drove Kara to her knees. She bracedherself, keeping her hands gripped around the Shards. Sebastian’s hands stayed tight over hers, the feel of him keeping her standing.
