The room felt suffocating as I crashed through the door, my heart racing in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears. The instant the door swung open, a blinding light flooded the space, illuminating the dark corners of that hidden chamber. It was tiny—barely three meters by three, no windows, no lamps—just the small family of Archirilio, trapped in that claustrophobic silence. The king sat in the far corner, stiff and tense, the queen half draped over him, her face pale. Skyro, his fists battered and bloodied, punched the stone wall with such ferocity I could almost feel the reverberations. They all turned toward me, their expressions clouded with fear, confusion, and anger—the light from behind me casting their faces into terrifying shadows.
The king's movement had been swift, a predator on the defensive. He leapt to his feet, positioning himself between me and the queen, his arm raised as if I were a threat to their very lives. Skyro's eyes were swollen, his face a mask of exhaustion. How many times had he cried for me? For us?
"Your highness…" I bowed low, my voice trembling.
"MOVE, SKY! STAY AWAY FROM US!" The king's command sliced through the air like a blade. What rumors had they been feeding him? What lies had been spun about me?
"Father, she's not what they say… please," Skyro's voice cracked as he stepped forward, his gaze pleading, desperate.
I recoiled, the weight of his words like an anchor pulling me down. "Uh, no. Prince Skyro doesn't even know me—"
"Stop it! Stop lying for me, Naeva!" Skyro roared, his voice raw, raw with something more than just anguish—there was love in it, love that burned too hot to contain. "Stop pretending you're guilty! I love you, Naeva. And I want everyone to know you're not what they say! I want the whole world to know you're mine! I don't care what they'll say—" His words trailed off, but the fire behind them was undeniable.
My breath caught in my throat. Spirits, what was I supposed to say?
"Prince Skyro…" The queen's voice was strained, trembling as she approached him, her expression soft with worry.
"Please, your highness, we need to get you out of here. We need to move somewhere safer—" I tried again, desperation leaking into my voice.
But the king was having none of it. His eyes blazed with fury as he stepped forward, body rigid, his voice a snarl. "Don't you dare move one more step toward us! Get out of here, you witch!" Witch?!
The insult slammed into me like a physical blow. I could barely breathe. Skyro looked at me, his hands trembling as he struggled to contain the madness he felt, but it was too late. His father had poisoned him—poisoned all of them.
"Father—" Skyro's voice wavered as he attempted to bridge the gap between us, but the king silenced him with a brutal command.
"NO, SON!"
"Father, she's not a witch! She's nothing like that! She's just a—" But the words died in Skyro's throat as the king raised his hand, a final warning that crushed whatever hope Skyro had left.
I met Skyro's gaze, and for a brief moment, I could feel the weight of the love and pain between us. It suffocated me.
"I'm afraid I'm not what you think I am, Prince Skyro," I whispered, my voice barely audible above the storm of emotions crashing in my chest. "I'm sorry, your highness, but I need to keep you safe. I promise you and your family will be safe."
Before any of them could say another word, I raised my hands, the pressure of the air around us changing as I quickly trapped them all in protective bubbles.
And as quick as that I trapped them in bubbles and flew to behind Alas and others. I heard screamings everywhere. The fighting has begun. The world around us exploded into chaos as I flew, heart pounding in my chest, the screams of confusion and panic ringing in my ears. There were huge water shields. The gate was thankfully still closed. They didn't launch any attack yet, only defending themselves. But this can't last forever, they will need to launch an attack. Until every attack has stopped. Hu Master Li flew over the air, his presence like a radiant comet, bending water in every direction as he hovered, his three companions flanking him. His voice boomed with authority.
"STOP!" His command shattered the tension. "This isn't the right thing to do! We will not attack, and neither will you. Death will come, but it is not your duty to hasten it. This is not the way to bring greatness to your kingdom. The elderly and the disabled are not burdens—they are fertile ground for this kingdom to cultivate its virtues. Please, stop this."
The Queen Mother sneered, dismissing him with a flick of her hand, her voice dripping with venom. "Oh, yeah? Who are you? You think you can stop us? Guards, bring them!"
A knife was pressed against the throats of Estella Mony and Stella Peny. Their terrified gasps rattled in the air.
"Get out of our way, or say goodbye to these two peasants."
The world held its breath as the tension cracked, the masters whispering, the guards shifting uneasily. The Queen Mother's eyes gleamed with malevolent pleasure, but that smile faltered as her guards collapsed in unison—like marionettes with their strings cut.
The Queen Mother's expression morphed from smug satisfaction to something far darker. She yelled at her remaining guards to bring the royal family, but then—everything changed. One guard, the one I had incapacitated earlier, stumbled toward her. He whispered something in her ear. The Queen Mother's eyes narrowed, and before anyone could react, she drew a knife with horrifying speed.
The blade sank deep into his chest—too fast, too brutal. A death. A murder. Just like that.
"No. She didn't just…" I whispered, but my voice died on my lips as I acted before my thoughts could catch up. I created another bubble, enclosing the guard, keeping him alive. He couldn't die. Not now.
But the Queen Mother's gaze snapped to mine, and panic seized me. I flew away, my heart pounding with a terror I'd never felt before. My only focus was escaping her reach.
I landed in a quiet, isolated place, the silence deafening after the chaos. I approached the guard, his blood staining my hands as I manipulated him with bloodbending. I whispered urgently, "You're safe now. Keep your family safe, please."
He nodded weakly, still alive—but barely.
"STOP—" A voice shouted from the distance.
I didn't have time. My mind was a whirlwind. I trapped him back in the bubble and flew, my heart wrenching as I heard Zeus's voice crackle through the ether.
"Naeva—"
I didn't listen. I couldn't. I couldn't let this pain drown me. Not yet.
But then—her voice. Mocking, cruel. "Aah, there she is—the so-called kind-hearted heroine. What are you going to do now, peasant? Kill me?"
The sky darkened above her, a swirling black mass enveloping her, and my blood ran cold. What was that?
"You really think I'd be so dumb as not to prepare for this?" The Queen Mother taunted. She raised her hand, and one of her fallen soldiers, now a mere husk, was encased in the swirling black cloud. The man's flesh burned as if consumed by fire, his body turning black and crumbling away into nothing. This was no mere dark magic. This was something worse. Much worse.
I exchanged a glance with Alas and my father, but the anger in Alas's eyes told me that if I didn't stop this, no one would.
"C'mon, King Arthur," Banyu urged, her voice thick with the weight of the situation. "We need to get you to safety."
"No," the king insisted, his tone fierce, his resolve unwavering. "I'm not leaving you again. Not again. You should come with me."
"Father—"
"She's using dark magic," Banyu whispered, the horror in her voice cutting through the noise. Her face had drained of color.
"Can't you control it, Hu Master Li?" Banyu asked, her voice small, but the question carrying all the weight of a thousand fears.
"No," Master Li answered, his voice like steel. "No one can control it. That is a dark spirit. It has bound itself to the Queen Mother, and she is the host. It is far too powerful for us to defeat. The only way to deal with it is for someone else to take its place—become the new host. But it's not evil. It maintains balance, and its job is necessary for the world to keep turning."
"Yin and yang," Master Run added softly, his words heavy with meaning.
"So what now?" Kyre asked, his voice cracking with uncertainty.
"We can't take the Queen Mother down, not while she's bonded to that spirit. It will reflect our attacks and kill us all. We need to find the person who summoned the spirit. They're the only one who can make it dormant again."
"But what if it's the Queen Mother herself?" Skyro asked, his voice laced with doubt.
"It can't be," Master Li replied firmly. "There's always someone else. We need to find them."
"We have no time left…" I whispered, the weight of it pressing down on me.
And then, above, a familiar voice rang out.
The atmosphere had been suffocating. The tension in the air had been thick, like a storm about to break. I darted toward Prince Estevao, my heart pounding in my chest, the weight of what had been happening settling on my shoulders like a thousand tons. His white flying tiger glided effortlessly through the chaos, its wings beating as though it could sense the darkness brewing between us.
"Estevao—"
"I'm sorry, Mei… marry me, and I'll end what I've started," he had said, his voice sharp, final. The words crashed into me like a tidal wave. What? No... no.
My mind reeled, my stomach twisting into knots. I looked at him, desperation in his eyes, then at the Queen Mother, standing beside him, a sinister smile on her lips. This wasn't the Estevao I knew. This couldn't be him. What had she done to you?
"What has she—"
"It's not her, it's me," he had interrupted, his words slicing through the air like a blade.
The Queen Mother's laugh had been a cold, cruel sound. "Aww, poor little thing, betrayed by her trusted friend. How does it feel, bitch? Shall we, my loyal man?"
The venom in her voice had been palpable, poisoning the space between us. "Well, fun fact, the framing in the cafe? All me. Now that your family's all here, I can finally fulfill my revenge on your stupid slutty family."
My blood ran cold. The world around me had tilted as everything I thought I knew shattered.
"Queen Mother, I believe there's a misunderstanding here. Our family didn't—" Alas's voice had been shaking, but defiant.
"Oh, yes you did, slut!" she had spat. "So your father's and mother's love wasn't forbidden, huh? Your family was the worst of the worst. Your mother shouldn't have married a non-bender. Two of you shouldn't even have been born. And poor Skyro, poor little fool, he was supposed to marry your sister. Soulmates—HAH. You think I'd let that happen?"
Her voice had grown more manic, more deranged. "I sent assassins to kill the three of you. Your mother? She had threatened them, thought she could stop me. But my best assassins had played her. They shot her. She died for you. Died because of you. Suck on that, Mei!"
I could feel the venom in her words like acid in my veins. My knees had trembled beneath me.
"If I may, I wanted to have a little goodbye talk with her first," Estevao's voice had broken through, steady but laced with regret.
"Granted," the Queen Mother had sneered, granting him an opportunity to speak.
I had looked at Estevao, my mind a warzone of confusion and pain. He was a stranger to me now, someone I didn't know. The man before me wasn't the one who had been my closest friend. His eyes, once filled with kindness, were now dark with guilt.
"Estevao... I—" Tears had burned my eyes, and I had shaken my head, unable to form the words.
"I didn't know what I was doing, Mei," he had whispered, pain in his voice. "I was desperate. Desperate for power—"
"And you think this is the solution?!" I had yelled, my voice cracking. "My mother... she died because of me, didn't she?"
"No, Mei, no..." His eyes had been pleading, desperate. "I thought it was the only way. But then everything changed. And I realized I loved you. You're everything I need, Mei. I don't care about power anymore, I just... I need you. I'll end this madness. I'll keep you safe. I promise. Marry me, and we can make it right. We can be together, and everything will stop."
The world had blurred around me as his words hit like a hammer. Was this what he truly wanted? Everything was so twisted now. His love was laced with darkness, and I couldn't tell if it was real or just a desperate act to fix everything he had broken.
I had shaken my head, feeling the weight of the world pressing down on me. "Why didn't you stop her before?!" I had cried, the words tearing through me like a dagger. "Why didn't you save my mother?"
He had faltered, and in that moment, I had seen the true extent of his regret. "Because... I knew it had to come to this. It was the only way you would marry me. I thought... I thought this was the only way to fix everything."
I couldn't breathe. My chest had felt tight, suffocating. "So everything was for me? It was because of me this happened? Because of me my mother died? I wasn't supposed to be born, was I?"
"No, Mei," he had said softly, his voice cracking. "Don't blame yourself."
"Then who am I supposed to blame, Estevao?!" I had screamed. My voice had broken, my heart shattered.
He had reached out, his hands trembling as they cupped my face. "Look, just promise to marry me, and I'll fix everything. I'll give you the world. You don't have to carry this burden anymore."
"I can't, Estevao," I had whispered, my voice barely audible.
"Why can't you?" His voice had cracked, desperation filling his words.
"Because you... you're my best friend, and I can't marry you if you don't truly love me," I had said, the truth burning in my chest.
"I do love you, Mei," he had said, his voice raw. "We'll make this right. We'll fix everything."
Then, suddenly, the world around us had shifted again. The Aisling Villagers had been watching, their faces filled with fear, confusion, and hope. Children had been crying, mothers trying to comfort them, while my father had smiled at me. Alas's eyes had burned with anger, and Banyu had been holding him back. I had to do this. For them. For my mother. I had to stop this.
"Prince Estevao... I shall proceed in the count of three... HAHAHAHA... two... HAHAHAHA..."
"I'll marry you," I had said, my voice barely above a whisper. The words had felt like stones in my chest, heavy and cold. They had left my mouth without my consent, as though they had been pulled from me by something darker, something I couldn't escape. My heart shattered with each syllable, and I could feel the weight of what I had just done crashing down on me. The people I cared about, the ones who had always stood by me, had placed their hopes in me, and I was about to betray them all. For them, for everyone, I had to make this choice, even though every fiber of my being screamed against it.
The air had crackled with energy. The Queen Mother's black clouds had begun to grow, swirling in the sky like a storm waiting to unleash. The moment had been too much. The tension could no longer be contained.
I had raised my hand, speaking the words that would change everything. "ANURA WERINO AKASUTO REFFILA PERIMO MIANI TIBITI HAREM! TIRUSO MUKOSA! ILIN! ILIN! ILIN!"
The power of the spell had shattered the air like glass. The black clouds had vanished, disintegrating into nothingness. The Queen Mother had been gone. The villagers had erupted into cheers, but the sound had been hollow. A victory had been won, but at what cost?
Estevao had stood beside me, his eyes shining with a mix of sorrow and hope.
"Mei, I'm sorry. I've changed. I love you, and I will protect you," he had whispered, slipping a ring onto my finger, sealing a promise that had felt more like a curse. But as the ring had slipped onto my finger, the finality of it had hit me like a wave, drowning me in sorrow. I wasn't just giving up my future—I was losing my sense of self.
And I had known, deep down, that nothing would ever be the same again.
Then I had heard it. Skyro.
"Naeva..." His voice had cut through the chaos like a blade.