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CHAPTER 24
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2026-03-15 13:00:37Katana stepped closer to the crystal, resting her palm against its vines. “ Now, we protect you,” she said. “ Until your powers awaken. Until the Heart Crystal is whole again.”
Corin nodded. “ And when that happens, the balance will return. The barriers will strengthen, and Lunara will finally heal.”
I looked around at the faces staring back at me—creatures of light and earth, all
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Luxurious, even.I slid off the horse the moment Corin reached my side.The second my feet hit the ground, my legs nearly gave out beneath me.Corin caught my elbow before I could embarrass myself.“I’m fine,” I said quickly.“You were falling.”“I was adjusting.”“To the ground?”“Yes.”His mouth twitched.I straightened with what dignity I had left and tried to take a step.Pain shot through my inner thighs.I froze.Rhys dismounted nearby and watched me with open amusement.“Why are you walking like that?”“I hate you.”“That didn’t answer the question.”Corin took the horse’s reins from me before I could throw something at Rhys.“You’ll feel better once you move around.”“I’ve been moving around all day.”“Against your will,” Rhys said.I glared at him.The air had cooled quickly now that the sun was down. Lantern light flickered across the tents while guards moved between them. Somewhere nearby, someone had already started a fire, and the smell of roasting meat drifted through the
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Garrick looked at me for a moment longer before reaching out and gripping my shoulder firmly.“Keep your blade close,” he said. “And trust fewer people than you want to.”“That sounds dark.”“That’s because it’s good advice.”I smiled faintly. “I’ll miss your warmth.”“Don’t get used to saying that.” Then, after a pause, his voice lowered. “You did well here, princess.”The words caught me off guard more than they should have. “Thank you, Garrick.” He gave one short nod and stepped back like the moment had lasted long enough.More farewells followed after that. Some warm. Some awkward. Some spoken like they did not know what else to say.I thanked them all, but the knot in my chest only tightened.I looked around the courtyard, at the training grounds, the crystal-lit windows, the stone walls that had become familiar.I had arrived here with no memory, no place, and no idea who I was. Now leaving felt like losing something.Corin stepped quietly beside me. “You can still breathe,” he
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My fingers moved lightly across Corin’s stomach and up to his chest, tracing lazy patterns while the morning sun spilled through the window. Warm golden light stretched across the blankets and over his skin, making it far too easy to forget what day it was.We should have been up already.We should have been getting ready to leave for the capital.But I didn’t mind delaying it for as long as possible.Lying here beside him felt safer than stepping into whatever waited for me beyond these walls. Here, everything felt quiet. Simple. Like the world could not reach us.I had gotten so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize Corin was already awake until my hand brushed higher and I noticed the slight smile on his mouth.I frowned. “You’re awake.”His eyes opened fully, amusement already there. “Have been for a while.”“And you just let me keep talking to myself in my head?”“I had no wish to interrupt whatever serious thoughts you were having while distracting yourself.”My frown deepen
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Corin went still. His jaw tightened, and something in his expression changed as his eyes moved over me. “And what is it that you want to do?” he asked, his voice lower now.I stepped between his knees at the edge of the bed, my heart racing though I tried not to show it. “I’ll be damned if I spend my last night of freedom doing what everyone else wants,” I said. “Tonight, I’m doing what I want.”His hands came to my hips slowly, warm and steady.“And that is?”I leaned closer until my mouth was only inches from his. “You.” For a moment, he said nothing.Then his grip tightened slightly, and a slow smile touched his mouth. “You walked in here bold,” he said quietly.“I had to,” I whispered. “If I thought about it too long, I might have lost my nerve.”That earned a low laugh from him as his hand slid up my side, sending heat across my skin. “You’re dangerous when you decide something.”“I’m learning from you.” He shook his head slightly, still smiling, then pulled me closer until I had
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“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he added. I looked back out at the trees. “I don’t think I’ve had time to decide if I like anything about this.” “That sounds about right.” Another pause settled between us, but it didn’t feel awkward. Just honest. “ Like you said, they’ve been running everything for years,” I said. “Making decisions, keeping things together. Now I just show up, and suddenly I’m supposed to take over one day. It doesn’t even make sense.” “It makes sense to them,” Corin said. “They’ve been waiting for this.” “For me?” “For what you represent.” I frowned slightly. “That’s not the same thing.” “No,” he said. “It’s not.” I leaned forward a little, resting more of my weight against the railing. “They talk like everything is already decided. Like there’s only one way this is going to go.” “That’s because for them, there usually is,” he replied. “They plan things out. They control what they can. It’s how they’ve kept Lunara stable without a ruler.”
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I paused briefly, then added, “But learning doesn’t mean losing control over my own life.”That drew a longer silence.The older woman shifted slightly, her gaze settling on me in a way that felt more focused now.“She is not wrong,” she said calmly. “A ruler who has never chosen her own path will struggle to lead others.”The man beside her didn’t immediately respond.Instead, his attention shifted back to me.“And what is it you think you are choosing now?” he asked.“I’m choosing how I go,” I said. “Not whether I go.”That was the truth of it.I didn’t have the power to refuse. Not really. Not without consequences I didn’t fully understand yet.But this... This, I could shape.“I will come to the capital,” I said clearly. “I will train. I will learn everything I need to. But I won’t do it alone. Corin and Rhys come with me.”The words settled heavily in the room.The man’s gaze flicked briefly toward Corin, then to Rhys, before returning to me.“That is not standard,” he said.“Nei
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She smiled, her green eyes glowing faintly. “ One of the forest’s daughters,” she said. “ Born of root and river. And old enough to know when two hearts are pretending not to beat for each other.” I froze. “ What?” Katana turned to Corin, a knowing smirk playing at her lips. “ Don’t look a
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Carefully, I reached out and pulled the book from the shelf, brushing the dust from its cover with my hand. The pages were yellowed with age, fragile but still intact, carrying knowledge that had likely been passed down for generations. There was something grounding about holding it, something th
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The forest did not feel the same anymore.The deeper Corin and I walked into the valley, the more the world around us seemed to change. At first it was subtle—small things that might have gone unnoticed if I had not already been uneasy.The wind had quieted.The insects that had hummed softly throu
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I opened my mouth to argue, but he did something that froze me completely. He dropped to one knee. “ Corin—” He lowered his head. “ My suspicions were true,” he said, his voice steady but thick with emotion. “ The light, the way the crystal reacted, the way it recognized you… There’
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