Page 212 of Wings of Ash & Flame
Queen Elara clutched Alaire’s hands tightly.
“Everything in this world requires balance. But there are always those who seek to disrupt it.”
“Like the vampires.”
Her mother nodded gravely.
“What Lysia left in the care of the Vallorian line was the Star of Eternal Night, an artifact of immense power that could shatter that balance. In enemy hands, it could end life on Elithian as we know it. With it, they could lift their curse and walk in the light. Their leader will stop at nothing—nothing—to be master of both light and darkness. Master of all things.”
Her mother’s gaze softened at Alaire’s stunned expression—slack jaw, wide eyes, flushed cheeks.
And in another world, Alaire screamed.
“The venom works quickly on this one.” Her body flinched as something scraped against her exposed skin.
The pull dragged her deeper until another memory swelled.
Death pressed against her on all sides, giving no reprieve. In what would be the last moments of her mother’s life, Queen Elara wrapped Alaire tightly in her arms. If she focused hard enough, she could still feel the ghost of that embrace.
Her mother’s whisper brushed her ear: “Keep the Star safe at all costs. It will guide you. Trust in yourself. Remember, you are never alone. We are with you always.”
Fangs tore deeper into Alaire, pumping more venom through her veins. Her body convulsed, heart racing as it fought against poison meant to keep her conscious but helpless.
Tears welled as she hugged her mother back just as fiercely. “I will. I promise.”
She wished, more than anything, she could stay in that moment.
“Never let anyone extinguish your light,” her mother said, placing a hand over her heart. “Let the Star guide you.”
Another vicious bite sent fire through her limbs, heavy and sluggish with venom.
Her parents walked out to the balcony side by side, shoulders squared, spines straight, choosing sacrifice. Phoenix fire was their last, best weapon against the darkness the Voidshade Sovereign had unleashed. Her mother’s words echoed:Courage is acknowledging your fear, harnessing it, and moving forward despite it.
The venom had thickened her blood, slowed her body—but with every drop, her fury burned hotter.
What her parents did that night was was an act courage.
Rage. Pure, molten rage coursed through her veins like liquid fire.
The memory crystallized with brutal clarity: her parents had sacrificed everything—their lives, their kingdom, their people—to keep her safe. And in return, she’d been given a childhood of hunger and fear. Years of sleeping in filthy alleys, of selling pieces of her soul just to survive another day. Years of fighting against her own lungs.
They had died believing she would be protected. Instead, she’d been thrown to the wolves.
This pain was different. It clawed through every broken promise, every moment she should’ve been safe but wasn’t, every night she’d gone hungry while the fae lived in luxury, protected by the Consortium’s laws. It scraped past flesh and bone, anchoring itself in the fury that had kept her alive all these years.
Sharp pinpricks of fangs burned like brands on her skin. A brutal strike to her ribs, followed by a high-pitched squeal of delight. Her chest seized, airways narrowing as panic and venom conspired to steal what little breath she had left.
But weakness wasn’t what burned in her chest now. It was wrath—white-hot and unforgiving—reawakened by another life so callously taken from her.
She had recently learned to release the anger that poisoned her. But this fury—the fire for those who destroyed innocent lives—this she would keep. This she would wield.
Because what the hybrids tasted in her blood, yet could not see, was that the Star of Eternal Night had been placedwithinher. To protect above all else.
The vampires had attacked Aurelia to claim it.
Her parents had given their lives to keep it safe.
All the flashbacks, every fractured memory, returned in the order it was meant to. Professor Ross’s words had been hints, but her mother’s last warning was the key. That was how she knew.
