“You’re not alone anymore, Elena,” I whispered, my voicefilled with a quiet, unbreakable resolve. “You’ll never be alone again. I swear it.”
Her eyes softened, her hand reaching up to brush against my cheek, her fingers lingering as though she were afraid I might slip away. “I know,” she murmured.
With a final, lingering glance, we rose together, our hands still intertwined, our steps in perfect harmony as we made our way out of the chamber, leaving behind the darkness that had once held us captive.
Chapter 23: Elena
The grand audience hall of the High Priestess was filled with priests—paladins and guardians, novices and acolytes alike.
The weight of a hundred eyes was heavy upon me as I stood before them. Their stares lingered on my eyes and my hair and I knew rumors about the events of last night were flying like wildfire.
The temple was as resplendent as ever, despite the battle that had taken place that night in its bowels. Soaring marble columns were adorned with etched golden sun symbols, draped with the banners of the Sun God.
This place had been my sanctuary, my home, the center of everything I had been for so long.
Now, standing here, my decision to leave felt monumental, as though I were tearing out a piece of myself.
I glanced behind me, where Dario stood like a silent sentinel, his presence dark and formidable, and yet to me, he was the calm in the storm. His silver gaze met mine, and I found strength there, an unspoken reassurance that no matter what, I was not alone.
I took a steadying breath, feeling the silk of my crimson robes against my skin, the familiar weight of my ceremonial sash, yettoday, it was not a comfort, but a reminder that I was severing a bond that had held me back for too long. I raised my hand, gesturing for quiet, and slowly, the murmuring faded, leaving only the tense, expectant silence.
“My people,” I began, my voice carrying across the room. “For a century, you have honored me, and I have given you my unwavering loyalty and love as your High Priestess. It has been my greatest purpose to protect Solaris and bring forth the light in even the darkest times.”
The faces in the crowd looked at me with expressions of uncertainty, and perhaps fear. Their loyalty was steadfast, but my next words would test that faith like never before.
“But now, that time has come to an end.” My voice seemed to echo off the vaulted ceiling. “The dangers that once threatened our city have been vanquished.”
“Vanquished?” Aledrin said, frowning. He looked at the other guardian priests, who were all frowning, looking puzzled. “We have heard nothing—”
With a wave of his hand, Dario used his powers to have the surviving Elders come floating out before the gathered priests, falling to their knees beside me. They struggled against their shadow bonds, but it was no use. Dario’s powers held them captive and utterly cowed.
The priests gasped at this display of shadow powers, and I raised a hand for silence.
“Allow me to explain.”
The silence pressed in, heavier than the marble pillars above us. A hundred priests leaned forward as one, their eyes searching my face, hungry for truth, for reassurance, for anything that would make sense of the shadows that had crept into our sacred home.
I stepped closer to the bound Elders, their once-pristine robes now torn and stained, their eyes hollow with fear. Dario’sshadows still held them, writhing faintly at the edges, a warning of the power he could unleash if they dared to lie again.
“These,” I said, my voice rising, echoing through the hall, “are the men and women you trusted. These are the voices you believed when they told you the city was safe, when they assured you Solaris was strong, when they told you that the only thing we had to fear was the Shadow King.” I paused.
“And these are the same voices who lied to you, who betrayed you, who sacrificed our children for their ambition.”
Gasps rippled through the hall. Paladins shifted, steel gauntlets clinking as their hands twitched toward their weapons. Acolytes covered their mouths.
Elder Irina, her silver hair falling loose from its bun, let out a broken sob. “We… we did what was necessary,” she stammered, her voice shaking. “You weren’t following our orders anymore! Without the phoenix’s power, the city would not have survived. We sought a solution.”
“A solution?” I snapped, my fury breaking through the fragile control I had clung to. “You call kidnapping children a solution? You call bleeding me dry, vial by vial, a solution?”
“This is all your fault!” she shrieked in response, sounding maddened. “If you’d just stayedobedient, none of this would have happened!”
My blood boiled, but I pushed my anger down. The people had to hear the truth.
I stepped toward Irina, my crimson robes dragging against the marble floor. “Tell them, Irina. Tell them what you made of my blood.”
Her lips trembled. For a long, suffocating moment, she said nothing. I let my powers burn brighter in my blood, coming out as a glow under my skin, and she flinched.
Then, with a sob, she bowed her head. “A chimera,” she whispered. “A creature born of magic and flame, bound to obey.We meant to create a vessel we could control. One who could wield the phoenix’s power without question.”
