The realization forces bile up my throat. I can’t hold it anymore and wretch, choking on the bitter taste. Nekros’ laughter claws at my ears, drowning me in the sound of my own failure. I’m too broken to even fight him now. Every part ofme feels hollow, a shell with no purpose. And then, as if to seal my defeat, he turns to face Alek, still motionless on the ground.
“But don’t worry, little mouse,” he says coldly. “Your other brother still has a role to play.” I’m still trembling, still crying, my heart shattered beyond repair as I realize, there’s still so much left to save.Then, the world around me seems to hum. My pulse quickens as something deep inside of me stirs, a sliver of power breaking through the numbness that’s consuming me.
A whisper…Awaken.
I blink, confused, but the presence inside me grows stronger. Fighting to break free, clawing at the edges of my mind. The weight presses on me, but it feels as if I’m standing on the edge of an abyss. My fingers twitch, and suddenly, I feel the warmth of power stirring in the depths of my soul, but I can’t control it.
It’s wild, and my body begins to glow. The light flickering, a flame just about to catch, when I hear Nekros whisper, “Marvellous.”
And another that shatters through the despair.
"Avilyna!"
Looking up, heart racing, Mom. Whatever was happening, it extinguishes like candlelight as a relief cry escapes me.Queen Camyla Eilgolor, the fiercest valkyrie in all of Elgar, descends from the sky, a falling star. Her wings stretch wide as she lands beside me. My mother’s eyes were burning with love and grief all at once. I don’t have time to process it before Nekros sneers and slashes the air open again, his bloodied hand tearing reality open.Netherworld’s portal crackles with dark power. The double black doors open to hell. One of the demons steps through, dragging Alek’s unconscious body with him. Panic hits me, and I move to run after him, but my mother’s hand clamps down on my arm, holding me in place.
"Mom…" My voice cracks her gaze full of sorrow.
“I am so sorry,” she kneels before me, her wings folding behind her as a shield, keeping the darkness of Nekros at bay for a moment. While the Legion joins the fight.
“Avilyna,” she says softly, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m sorry… but the prophecy, it's you. You’re the one who must face him.”I turn to her, heart pounding.
For the first time, I see fear in her eyes. Because every valkyrie heard about the legend, but that’s all we ever thought of it, a myth.A story meant to scare or inspire, that’s all it was supposed to be.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers again. “I thought we had more time. I should’ve been harder on you, trained you sooner, prepared you better… But I wanted you and Alek to have a little more time to just be children. I didn’t want this life to take that from you.” The weight of her words confuses me.I try to speak, to argue, but it’s lodged in my throat.
"The Seer… When I carried you both…" Her voice cracks, and she takes a shaky breath. “The Seer saw it… You are the key to saving Elgar, but it’s not yet the time.” She grips my shoulders, her eyes hard with resolve. "Not until you’ve awakened. Not until you can control the power inside you."
Tears well up in my eyes; my heart is so raw, the pain of losing Sam and Alek is already too much to bear.“Mother, I… I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough. I couldn’t even save Sam…” Buther hand presses against my cheek, warm and steady.
"You will, my daughter. You are strong enough." Her voice is quiet but fierce, every word weighed with a lifetime of sacrifice and love. "But not today. You are still too… soft."
I shake my head, trying to understand."What do you mean? What do I have to do?"
"You must grow," she whispers, tears glimmering in her eyes. “And become the warrior who’ll defend its home. I cannot protect you anymore, Lyna. You must find your strength." Hergaze is pulled away and hardens when it lands on Nekros, who is watching us with interest from the threshold of the veil. The Demon King is unconcerned with the battle raging, his monsters doing his bidding.My mother rises, tall and unshaken, her wings wide. For a moment, she looks every inch the Queen, the warrior, the mother that the stories portrayed her to be.
“I’ll buy you as much time as I can, Dove,” eyes burning into mine. “But you—” She takes a breath, steadying herself. “You need to find your uncle Theo.”
“Mom, no—” I step forward, reaching for her, desperate to stop her from slipping away, but she turns, already resolute.
"After today, you will forget everything. Your memories… They must be sealed away. It’s the only way to hide you, to give you time, a chance. Remember, Lyna, names hold powers. You’ll remember when it’s time, and when it comes, hold on to this; if the path before you is clear and laid out step by step, it isn’t yours. It’s someone else’s. True destiny doesn’t command, it whispers, quietly, through uncertainty.” My mother falters for just a moment, emotion tightening her throat. “When the time is right, you’ll remember who you are. And you’ll save Elgar.”
“But—”
“Promise me.” Her voice sharpens, “Promise me you’ll live. You’ll survive.” And in that instant, I feel it, her power, her love, her sacrifice surging like a wave over me. She’s giving everything, her strength, her life, her essence.
I look at her, desperate, my voice cracking. “I can’t forget. I can’t lose you. Not Dad, not Alek, not Skyfire! Not what’s left of Sam…” She smiles, sad, a single tear sliding down her cheek.
“You must, my Dove. You must. But not forever. If not in this life… Then in the next, we’ll find each other again.”
My mother kisses my forehead, light, final. And gives me one last, devastating look. Then she raises her hands and places them gently on my temples. A surge of power pulses between us, bright and strong as words slip out from her lips, her marks lightning, changing colour. My vision begins to blur, and I feel it. Something slipping into place inside me, a curtain thickening with every heartbeat. Memories sealing themselves away.
“You,” she calls sharply, looking past me. “Make sure she gets out. Take her to Sergeant Rey, it’s an order.”
I turn, and my breath catches. In the shadows stands the other white wolf, Sam’s brother.His eyes burn with something almost unbearable, too much for someone our age to carry. Fury, grief, betrayal, the emotions radiate off him, poisoning the air around him, twisted by an unforgivable sin.
“Go,” my mother commands, “Go, now.”
“Where’s Dad?” Barely able to get the words out, she doesn’t answer. And I understand, by the look in my mother’s eyes, broken. More tears spill down my cheeks as I open my mouth, desperate to speak, but nothing comes out. My throat closes, tight with everything I’m not ready to face, and all I can manage is a small nod.
