The Starfire rolled across the room like a tide. Every illusion, every shadow, every binding was torn away.
The Knight Eternal stood in the center of it all, unmoving. Until the fire touched him.
Then heshuddered.
Magic flared around him like a dying sun—and I saw it: the chains of darkness coiled inside his soul, centuries of sacrifice, layers of shadow that had kept him alive far past mortal limits.
The Starfire ripped through them like wind through dry leaves.
He roared—not in pain, but inrelease.
His knees hit the stone floor. The crown fell from his head. From within the brilliance of the flame, his voice rang out. “Devin Grimm.”
Devin stepped forward, silver eyes locked on mine. “Yes, my lord.”
“Do you love her?”
The chamber went silent. No breath. No motion. Only the fire and the question.
“Yes,” Devin said.
Not shouted. Spoken. Soft, sure, soul-deep.
The magic surged. I felt it.Felt it.His truth becamemine,golden threads wrapped in Starfire that echoed through the bond forming between us like a second heartbeat.
The Knight Eternal nodded once. “Then you are to be bound immediately.” His body shivered, a flicker of shadow curling off his skin like mist. He turned to me, and for the first time, I saw his true face—not the warrior-king, not the death-lord. Just a man. Oberon Polaris. Kassio’s father. Death Mage. Necromancer. Revenant.
A tired, noble, broken man.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “For setting me free.” He collapsed.
The prince—Kassio, Devin’s oldest friend and heir to The Spire throne—rushed forward, catching his father’s body before it hit the floor. But it was already too late.
The darkness was gone, burned away by my magic. So was the life it had preserved. The Knight Eternal dissolved into soft, swirling shadows—and then nothing.
Silence crashed over the room.
Jarrik lay smoking on the floor, moaning faintly. Void take the asshole. I hoped he was in pain.
The remaining nobles staggered back, shaken, their illusions gone, their lies exposed. None dared speak.
Devin crossed the distance to me in three long strides, his hands cradling my face, his lips pressing to my forehead. “Cleo,” he breathed. “What did you do?”
“I told the truth,” I whispered, my voice still vibrating with residual magic.
From the side of the room, someone clapped.
Slow. Cackling.
My tutor—Elarra, Mistress of Broken Oaths—popped up from behind a column where she’d taken cover, brushing soot from her sleeves. “Marvelous,” she said. “Absolutely magnificent. No one’s seen a Nova’s Requiem in centuries. Worth every second.”
She gave me a wink. “Bit early in your education, but we’ll adjust.”
“Elarra…” Kassio growled.
“Oh hush, your father’s final command was quite clear,” she said, twirling a smoking wand. “The girl burns, the boy broods, and the two of them are to be bound before the next damn sunset.” She turned to us with a grin. “To the Void with you both. Let the bond be sealed. Preferably before you level another historical monument.”
I blinked. “Wait—now?” Jarrickhadwarned me that I might be wearing my wedding gown.
