Chapter Eight: Castle of Shadows
The castle loomed like a wound carved into the earth.
Jagged spires pierced the sky. The walls, obsidian black, drank in the moonlight instead of reflecting it. No birds flew near it. No animals stirred in the surrounding forest. It was as if the land itself held its breath in the presence of this fortress.
"This is it," Kael said, standing just behind Aria. His voice was barely above a whisper. "The Black Keep. One of the Council's oldest strongholds."
"Why does it look like it was… bled into existence?" Aria asked.
"Because it was," Riven said, stepping out from the misty trees. "It was built using blood magic. The stones were soaked in the life of the first Crescent Queen's enemies."
Aria swallowed. "And now it's where they're keeping my aunt."
"Or what's left of her," Kael said grimly.
"Thanks for the optimism," Aria muttered.
---
They approached under the cloak of nightfall, slipping past the outer gate, Kael disabling magical wards with swift precision. Riven took out the sentries silently, almost gracefully, like a ghost in a dream.
Aria stayed between them, clutching the silver pendant in her palm, trying to calm the storm inside her chest.
It was strange — ever since the Shade incident, she hadn't felt pain from her mark. But now, as they neared the castle's massive double doors, it ached. Not a sharp pain. Something deeper. Like grief trying to claw its way out of her bones.
"She's close," Aria whispered.
Kael nodded. "Let your instincts guide you."
Inside the Keep, the air changed.
It was colder. Still. The kind of silence that didn't feel empty — but crowded. Like someone — or something — watched from the shadows.
The walls were lined with banners bearing a silver serpent crest. Aria traced it with her eyes, heart skipping.
"I've seen this before."
Kael glanced at her. "In your visions?"
She shook her head. "In a book my aunt kept hidden. She told me it was the symbol of an ancient betrayal. I thought it was a myth."
"It's the Council's true mark," Riven said. "They hide behind laws and order, but their roots are poison. That crest belonged to the original traitor king."
Kael muttered, "Azren."
Aria paused. "Azren… the one who tried to steal the Crescent Queen's blood?"
"The same," Kael said. "The one who made you kill him."
---
They slipped into a spiral stairwell, descending into the castle's heart. At the bottom, an iron gate barred their way.
Kael pressed his hand to it. "It's warded."
Aria stepped forward.
"I've got this."
She placed her marked wrist against the metal.
The gate groaned. Then glowed. Then disintegrated into dust.
Kael stared. "Well then."
"You're unlocking parts of your true self faster than I expected," Riven said, awe and wariness mingling in his voice.
They entered a corridor lit with blue flames. Cells lined either side — most empty. A few held broken things: creatures Aria couldn't recognize, all malformed, half-magic, whispering in dead tongues.
Finally, they found her.
A small figure sat cross-legged in the last cell, her gray hair wild, her eyes sharp despite the darkness.
"Aunt Lira," Aria breathed.
The woman looked up slowly. Her eyes filled with tears.
"Aria," she whispered. "Oh, moonchild… it is you."
---
Kael melted the cell door with a wardbreaker blade.
Aria rushed to her aunt, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"I thought you were dead."
"I should be," Lira said, weakly. "They've been draining me… my memories… trying to find your soul's rebirth."
"How did they know I returned?"
"Because your soul never really left." Her eyes flicked to the mark. "The Seal didn't erase you. It only hid you. But your magic… your light… it's louder than ever."
Riven scanned the corridor. "We need to leave. Now."
"I can't," Lira said quickly. "Not yet."
Kael frowned. "Why not?"
"They've been crafting something," Lira said. "A weapon."
"A weapon?" Aria repeated.
"No," Lira corrected, her voice shaking. "A replica."
Riven's eyes narrowed. "Of what?"
Lira looked directly at Aria.
"Of you."
---
They ran.
Not out of fear — out of strategy. Aria felt it in her gut. Something was rising beneath the Keep. Something familiar. And wrong.
They burst into the throne chamber — black floors, tall glass windows, and a broken crescent throne at the center.
But someone was sitting in it.
And Aria froze.
It was… her.
Or at least, someone who looked exactly like her — same eyes, same hair, same face.
But colder.
Smiling.
The doppelgänger rose.
"Well, well. The real princess finally returns."
Aria stepped forward. "What are you?"
"I'm what you refused to become. Power without mercy. Strength without regret."
Riven pulled Aria back. "That's not a mimic. That's a living shade. They cloned your aura."
Kael muttered, "They've made a weapon in your image."
The False Aria drew a blade from thin air.
"I've been waiting for you."
The air shook.
And then — she charged.
---
The fight was brutal.
Kael met her mid-air, clashing steel. Riven circled around, aiming for pressure points. Aria watched her mirror-self move — every motion unnervingly precise.
"She fights like me," Aria whispered.
"Because she is part of you," Lira gasped. "A piece they tore from your soul."
Aria stepped into the fray.
The moment her blade touched the clone's, the world warped.
Everything disappeared.
They were inside a mindspace now — silver and void.
Alone.
"You think you can undo me?" the clone asked.
"I am you," Aria said. "But I'm the part that chose love. Chose humanity."
"That's weakness."
"No," Aria replied. "That's why I survive."
Her mark erupted in light.
The clone screamed.
And shattered like glass.
---
Back in the throne room, Kael and Riven stared in stunned silence.
Aria collapsed to her knees, breath heaving, glowing with raw light.
"I… I killed her."
Lira touched her shoulder.
"No," she said. "You reclaimed what was stolen."
Aria stood slowly.
The crown on the broken throne flickered with silver fire.
Kael watched as it lifted… and floated into Aria's hands.
"Only a true Crescent Queen could destroy her," he whispered. "The prophecy… it's happening."
Aria looked at the crown.
And placed it on her head.