Rule of the Aurora King

Two hundred and eighty-six years ago, Serce has sent a message to King Rion announcing her planned visit to Heart. Wolf readies his soldiers while the High Priestess Cloris remains locked in her room, her magic suppressed by arcturite cuffs. On the morning of their departure, Serce studies her pregnant belly in the mirror. Wolf enters, and they have sex before leaving.

They travel for five to six weeks with Wolf’s army toward Heart. Upon arrival, they leave most forces on the outskirts. Wolf carries the Woodlands Staff disguised as a bow. Serce admires Heart Castle’s white stone and scarlet roses, reflecting on her difficult childhood and vowing to be a better mother than her own.

At the castle entrance, they are met by Queen Daedra’s chief advisor, Hemanthes, who is insolent toward Serce. Impatient, Serce asserts her authority and storms toward her mother’s council chamber, threatening Hemanthes when she tries to stop them. They interrupt a meeting, and Serce dismisses the entire council before confronting Daedra about rumors that she no longer plans to descend from the throne.

Serce reveals that she and Wolf are true mates, which surprises and pleases Daedra. The queen welcomes Wolf warmly and proposes securing Aphelion’s support by bonding Wolf’s unbonded sister to Sun King Kyros. Daedra invites them to rest and have dinner.

Once alone, Serce tells Wolf the meeting was too easy. She instructs him to have his army retreat slightly but remain hidden, and to keep Cloris hidden. They agree to play Daedra’s game but to be smarter about it.

In the present, Nadir lands with Lor on the barren ground of the ruined Queendom of Heart. Overwhelmed and frightened, Lor struggles with the enormity of what she is attempting. Nadir comforts her and wraps her in his magic to keep her warm. They walk through the ruined city toward the castle, passing crumbled walls and shattered cobblestones.

Lor notices a bright red rose blooming on a vine against a wall, then sees more roses scattered along the walls. Nadir reveals that the roses only started blooming a few months ago, around the time Lor was taken from Nostraza. This discovery led him to suspect her identity and facilitate her release from prison. He admits that if she had turned out to be nobody, he would have killed her. After a tense exchange, he plucks a rose and gives it to her. The scent reminds her of the rose-scented soap that led to her torture: She got into a fight with another prisoner over the soap and was subjected to corporal punishment in the section of the prison known as the Hollow.

They enter the castle and find the massive throne room carpeted in thick blooms of red roses. Overcome with emotion, Lor mourns the happy life that was stolen from her family. Nadir apologizes for his father’s role in her suffering. Suddenly, Lor feels a change in her magic—a new sharpness and clarity. She tells Nadir she can feel the Heart Crown somewhere nearby.

Lor explains that the sensation of the Crown is everywhere, not pointing in a specific direction. They spend hours searching the crumbling castle, stepping over debris and broken furniture. In the library, they find two large, scorched portraits. Lor recognizes her grandmother, noting that she resembles Willow, and identifies the other portrait as Wolf of the Woodlands. She touches her locket while staring at them, wishing she could have met them.

As night falls, they continue searching with a ball of light created by Nadir. Frustrated and exhausted, they return to the throne room. Nadir sets up a single tent and sleeping bags, then builds a fire and cooks stew. He shares stories from his time in the army and explains the history of the two wars that followed Heart’s fall, which ended in stalemates because the realm itself seemed to resist conquest.

Lor expresses her fear of repeating her grandmother’s mistakes and ruining everything. Nadir reassures her that her destiny was set in motion long ago and that she is fighting for all the people of Heart. Nadir decides to sleep outside under the stars rather than force Lor to share a single tent with him. Unable to sleep alone after years of communal living, Lor brings her bedroll outside and places it next to his. She reaches for his hand, and he threads his fingers through hers as they fall asleep.

They spend another day searching the castle without success. Back in the throne room, Lor vents her frustration. Nadir suggests they might need to seek out the Woodlands Staff for help. He encourages Lor to sit in one of the thrones to remind herself what she is fighting for. When she sits, the magical sensation changes, becoming a lower pitch and pulling her toward the wall behind the dais.

They search the wall but find no mechanism. Nadir uses a massive ball of his magic to blast through the stone, revealing a round, empty chamber behind it. Inside, Lor steps into a shaft of moonlight, and the magical feeling intensifies dramatically. Nadir uses his magic to reveal an invisible barrier within the beam of light. He deduces that the barrier protects the Crown and can only be accessed by the Primary’s magic.

Lor feels hopeless, caught in a catch-22: She cannot unlock the barrier without her magic, and she cannot access her magic without the Crown. Nadir insists that she can break through her internal block. He holds her from behind, and their magic braids together as they pry at the lock on her power. After a painful struggle, they create a crack. A web of red lightning shoots from Lor’s fingers, hitting the moonlight and revealing the Heart Crown hovering within. The lock slams shut, and the Crown falls. Nadir catches it and hands it to Lor.

Lor refuses to put it on until she is with Tristan and Willow. Overwhelmed with gratitude and the sensation of having briefly accessed her magic, she grabs Nadir and kisses him fiercely. She tells him she wants him, and he kisses her again as the chapter ends.

Nadir carries Lor to their sleeping bags. As their passion escalates, he demands she say that she belongs to him. His possessiveness triggers Lor’s trauma. She declares it a mistake and that she belongs to no one, then gets dressed and turns away, crying. Heartbroken, Nadir realizes he pushed too hard and vows to be patient.

The next morning, Nadir awakens to the sound of birds singing—a sign of life returning to Heart in the Primary’s presence. When Lor wakes, they have a tense exchange about the previous night. She thanks him for helping her access her magic, and they pack the Crown carefully into his pack. Lor insists they check on the women prisoners Rion holds.

A sound alerts them that they are not alone. Aurora soldiers surround the throne room opening. Lor and Nadir flee up a spiral staircase to the castle roof. During the escape, Lor trips and bloodies her knees, and Nadir drags her upward. On the roof, King Rion and his guards corner them. Rion threatens Nadir’s mother and sister, Amya, demanding that he surrender Lor.

Nadir refuses and shields Lor as Rion attacks with magic. The king overpowers Nadir, trapping him in magical bonds. As Rion prepares a final blow, Lor’s magic erupts in a massive blast of uncontrolled red lightning that traps Rion and his soldiers inside a dome of energy. Rion’s own magic ricochets off the barrier, killing one of his guards. The king shouts that Nadir does not understand what Lor truly is. Nadir gives his father a mock salute, cementing their enmity, then scoops up Lor and flies them to safety.

As Nadir flies them back toward the manor, Lor trembles, worried about her family. She reflects on why she cannot belong to Nadir or anyone else after years of captivity. They land in the forest near the manor, and Nadir is exhausted from the nonstop flight. The ice hounds, Morana and Khione, greet them happily.

At the manor, they find everyone—Willow, Tristan, Amya, Mael, and Hylene—is safe. Nadir recounts their encounter with the king and Lor’s magical outburst. Lor retrieves the Heart Crown from the pack, and everyone gathers to see it. Mael notices a chip in the large red stone. Nadir correctly guesses that the missing piece is in Lor’s locket, having noticed how often she touches the necklace. Lor explains how she and Willow kept the locket hidden for years. She asks Tristan to place the final jewel into the Crown. He does, and it fuses perfectly.

Encouraged by Nadir, Lor places the Crown on her head, but nothing happens. She cannot feel its power and grows panicked. Lor recalls the promise made by the Sun Mirror in Aphelion that it would have a gift for her upon finding the Crown, and realizes she must return to Aphelion. They discuss the extreme danger: Atlas is hunting Lor, and Nadir is banned from the kingdom. Nadir explains that Gabriel, her former warden in Aphelion, is magically bound to Atlas and cannot be relied upon. With no other options, Lor, Tristan, Willow, Amya, Nadir, and Mael resolve to go to Aphelion the next day and improvise a plan.

Two hundred eighty-six years ago, Serce and Wolf are still in Heart, two months after their arrival. The High Priestess Cloris has apparently experienced a mental break in confinement and now behaves in an animalistic manner, snarling and hissing rather than speaking. Serce’s plan to ally with Aphelion through Wolf’s sister is a lie; she intends to conquer them after ascending. A scout arrives in a panic, reporting that King Rion’s army is only a day’s march away. Cloris speaks, revealing that her mental incapacity was a ruse. She tells Serce and Wolf that she has been secretly working with Rion, who knows their plans. Realizing Rion has betrayed her, Serce decides they must take the Crown immediately.

At dinner with her parents, Queen Daedra reveals that the Crown predicted Serce will have a daughter who is the next Primary. As Serce’s water breaks, a soldier arrives to confirm that Rion’s army is at their border. While Serce labors, Daedra confronts her about allying with their enemy. After hours of labor, Serce gives birth to a baby girl.

With Rion’s army breaking through the city gates, Daedra insists they send the newborn to safety. Wolf and Serce have a tearful goodbye with their daughter, who is given to a wet nurse and two soldiers with instructions to take her to Wolf’s brother. Before they leave, Daedra removes her necklace with a red stone and gives it to the baby as something to remember her by.

After the baby is gone, Daedra refuses to give Serce the Crown, saying she has lost her way. Serce takes it by force, and Wolf’s soldiers bind her parents in arcturite cuffs. As explosions rock the castle, Serce and Wolf prepare to perform the binding ritual themselves using the Crown and the Woodlands Staff. They recite the incantation three times as their combined magic swells to an immense level. As Serce speaks the final words, a bright bolt of crimson lightning strikes between them, and the world shatters into darkness.