Chapter Twelve: Mirror of the Blood
Kael barely moved fast enough.
The blue-fire dagger spun through the air, grazing his shoulder as he threw Aria to the ground. The blade struck the stone wall behind them and exploded — a flash of magic and heat that scorched the chamber.
Smoke rose.
Aria scrambled to her feet, her ears ringing. "Kael!"
"I'm fine," he said, blood dripping down his arm. "But that—"
"—wasn't meant to kill him," Riven interrupted, stepping protectively in front of Aria. "It was meant to test you."
All eyes turned to the girl in the doorway.
She stepped inside.
Dark hair. Pale skin. Crescent eyes.
Like Aria's.
Too much like Aria's.
Kael whispered, "She's… another replica?"
"No," Lira said, stepping forward. "She's worse."
The girl smiled. "Oh, Auntie. Still dramatic after all these years."
Aria blinked. "Auntie…?"
Lira stiffened.
Kael growled. "What did you just say?"
The girl stepped into the moonlight.
"Hello, cousin."
Aria's knees nearly buckled.
"Cousin?"
"My name is Elyra," the girl said. "Firstborn daughter of the Crescent Queen's bloodline. Born in secret. Raised by the Council."
"That's impossible," Aria whispered. "I'm the heir."
"You were," Elyra said. "Until the Queen had me. Then she gave you up — sent you into hiding. You were the decoy. I was the real crown."
"No," Lira said sharply. "She's lying. She's their pawn."
"Oh, I'm so much more than that now," Elyra said, drawing a second blade — black metal humming with cursed magic. "I'm what they forged to destroy the prophecy."
Aria stepped forward, her mark flaring with light. "Then let's test it."
---
They clashed.
Silver light against shadow flame.
Moonsong in Aria's grip sang with fury, meeting Elyra's twin daggers in a storm of sparks. The chamber shook with each strike, relics crashing to the floor.
"You're faster than I expected," Elyra hissed.
"You're weaker than I feared," Aria shot back.
Kael tried to get close, but the magic barrier around them pulsed violently, throwing him back. Riven reached for a hidden glyph, trying to weaken the field.
Inside the ring of battle, the cousins circled one another like wolves.
"I don't want to kill you," Aria said.
"Too bad," Elyra smirked. "I was born to kill you."
She lunged.
Aria parried, barely in time.
Elyra's blade scraped across Aria's shoulder, drawing blood — and as it touched the stone floor, it hissed, sizzling like acid.
"Your blood is too loud," Elyra sneered. "Even the walls recoil from it."
"I'm not the one hiding behind lies," Aria said, her voice shaking with fury.
"You're not hiding anymore," Elyra whispered. "You're walking into the slaughter."
---
Outside the chamber, chaos erupted.
The Council had breached the Keep.
Dozens of shadows descended from the towers — masked warriors, whispering spells as they struck down Aria's hidden sentries. The night air howled with war cries.
Kael ran to the battlements.
"They're here," he called. "All of them."
Lira clutched a burning scroll. "They've activated the Final Seal."
Riven cursed. "We're surrounded."
Back inside, Elyra's blade caught Aria's thigh.
Aria stumbled.
Moonsong dimmed in her grip.
"You're bleeding too much," Elyra taunted. "Your magic is weakening."
"No," Aria growled. "It's transforming."
She grabbed Elyra's wrist — and her mark flared.
Light exploded from her palm.
Elyra screamed as the magic seared her skin, throwing her backward across the chamber. She slammed into the wall with a crunch of stone and collapsed.
Aria dropped to one knee, gasping.
Her wound dripped silver.
Not red.
Silver.
Everyone froze.
Kael stepped closer. "That's not just Crescent magic. That's…"
"Divine blood," Lira whispered.
Riven's eyes widened. "You weren't just born of the Queen."
Kael turned to Aria. "You're descended from the Celestials."
---
A deep hum vibrated through the floor.
The Keep shuddered.
Lira turned pale. "The Seal has cracked. They're summoning the Seraph."
Riven's mouth went dry. "No. That's suicide."
"The Seraph?" Aria asked.
"A godkiller," Kael said. "It was forged in the Age of Burning. Even the Queen couldn't defeat it. She sealed it beneath the city at the cost of half her soul."
"And now they want to unleash it — to destroy me," Aria said quietly.
Lira nodded. "Unless you reclaim the throne."
"I haven't earned it yet," Aria said.
"Wrong," Riven said. "You've survived every trap. Chosen mercy when they wanted war. Held back when they begged you to burn."
Kael met her eyes. "You are the Queen."
---
Aria turned to Elyra — bruised, unconscious, her blood steaming against the floor.
"I don't want her dead," Aria said.
Lira nodded. "Then let her live. But don't let her forget."
Aria stepped toward the high altar.
Moonsong hummed.
Her blood lit the stone beneath her feet.
The chamber responded — ancient gears shifting. Light cracked through the ceiling, illuminating the faded mural of the Crescent Queen.
Only now, the face wasn't faceless.
It was Aria's.
---
Then the ground exploded.
A scream unlike anything human echoed from deep below.
And rising through the cracks… was a form forged from flame and steel.
Wings of ash.
Eyes like dying stars.
The Seraph had awakened.