SAGE
The hall did not fall silent after the mory play. Not this ti. The people were far too restless for silence—too angry, too shaken, too awake.
Voices erupted everywhere at once, crashing into each other like storm waves against jagged rocks. The air thickened with outrage, disbelief, and the electric crackle of betrayed trust finally snapping.
"She lied to us!"
"Monster!"
"All this ti, she has been the rot in the community!"
"We trusted her!"
"Is this what she has been doing in the shadows?"
"The blood—gods, the blood..."
My gaze moved slowly across the crowd, taking in the way their fury rolled and built. This was a people on the brink. They won’t be manipulated again.
The Queen tried to quell the noise. "Silence!" she thundered.
Magic rode her voice again, but it did not land the sa way this ti. The authority that once made backs straighten and mouths shut now t resistance... friction... disbelief.
Her eyes flashed toward .
"What this girl has shown you is fake!" she shouted sharply. "Fabricated illusion! This is the first ti I am seeing her..."
But even as the lie spilled from her lips—
Magic balls flew from the crowd. Bright. Furious. Uncoordinated—but filled with intent.
The first one struck toward her shoulder.
The Queen, mildly shocked, flicked her hand almost lazily, knocking it aside with practiced ease.
Another ca. Then another. She deflected them all without much fuss.
But the damage was already done, because her composure... her perfect, untouchable composure was gone.
In its place sat sothing raw. Sothing ugly. Anger carved sharp lines into her face, deepening when one citizen shoved forward through the crowd, voice ringing bold and unafraid.
"Shut your mouth!"
The hall stilled just enough to hear him clearly.
"So this was your plan?" he continued, voice shaking with fury. "To use us to further your selfish goals?"
Murmurs of agreent surged.
"You are evil!" he shouted.
More voices joined in.
"You are the devil herself!"
"You need to be killed!"
"No wonder the Goddess had to send soone to stop you before you turned this community into a desert land!"
The words hit their mark.
I saw it clearly. The mont the tide truly turned. Because while the Queen stood rigid on the platform, the rulers of the other communities had... quietly... strategically... stepped away from her.
They moved with careful dignity, descending from the platform one after the other until they stood among their own people below.
My gaze shifted toward the elders. And there it was. They, too, had abandoned the Queen and her children. They had joined the voices rising from the crowd.
A slow smile tugged at my lips.
Together, the people began to chant. "Death to the Queen!"
Then louder. "Death to the Queen!"
Magic began to gather in their palms again, brighter this ti, more coordinated. But when the first true wave ca, the Queen threw it off.
And then she scread.
The effect was imdiate.
People crumpled. Hands flew to ears as screams of pain erupted.
Even I staggered. My head split with white-hot pressure, pain drilling straight through my skull. I threw up a shield around my ears just in ti, breath hitching as the worst of the sound slamd against the barrier.
Still... It hurt. Gods, it hurt. Around , people were bleeding. Thin red lines slipped from ears. So dropped to their knees.
My stomach twisted. I had to stop this!
But before I could channel my power, a familiar magic flared.
The quafars. They moved fast. Faster than most would notice. A wide, shimring shield burst outward from them, expanding in a protective do that swallowed the crowd in luminous blue light. It flowed smoothly, following the current of the people as it stretched beyond the hall, covering even those outside the borders.
Beautiful. I mused in relief.
"Lead them outside," I instructed calmly.
They moved imdiately, guiding the shaken crowd toward safety while maintaining the barrier.
Good. Very good. Then I turned toward her children. They were still standing beside their mother. Still choosing her.
Disappointnt spread coldly through . "What are your plans?" I asked mildly. "Are you going to follow your mother to hell?"
Rachel’s jaw tightened and Duke looked uncertain. But Raul?
Raul ignored completely. His eyes locked on the Queen. "Where is Hendel?" he demanded.
Ah. The thread he still clung to.
I dusted my hands lightly, as if brushing off sothing insignificant. "He is dead," I said casually like I was comnting on the weather.
The Queen went very still. Her children, too.
Slowly, very slowly, she turned to face . "What?" she whispered.
Her voice sounded... almost awed. Almost disbelieving.
I tilted my head.
"Are you deaf?" I asked coolly. "Your lover is dead."
I let the words sink in. Then added softly, "I decided to grant him the end he deserved."
My gaze sharpened. "The sa end you wanted for Adam."
A small pause. "Wasn’t that befitting?"
For a brief mont, I saw unfiltered rage in her eyes, sorrow, sothing that hardened into murderous fury, and then into nothing. Blankness.
She looked around slowly at the people, who had stopped leaving the hall, and were instead watching... At the rulers who had stepped away from her.
Then her gaze returned to . And she smiled.
"Let us make a bet," she said smoothly.
I didn’t move.
"If you defeat in combat," she continued, "you may have anything you want. You can even have the community without opposition from ..."
Her lips curved darker. "But if I win..." She laughed, ominous.
I didn’t need a prophet to see the future she was offering. First will be my death. Then putting her people in bondage, seeing as they knew what she was.
Which ant their only hope of living a fulfilled life was .
I felt it then. The weight, the pressure, the eyes of the people pressing into my back, their hope settling heavy across my shoulders.
My hands slowly curled into fists. Makeh. That strange bowl of magic food she had given ... She must have foreseen this.
I lifted my chin. "I accept the duel."
—
The contest was held in the old gas field. The sa one from seven years ago. The sa place where I had defeated Rachel despite all her shenanigans.
How far we had all fallen since then.
Rachel still stood with her brothers. Still beside their mother. Still choosing wrong.
A burst of chagrin moved through . It seed... I might have to kill them all to rid the community of their cancerous existence.
But what truly unsettled was Raul. His betrayal still sat strangely in my chest. He still looked so... harmless. So composed. So innocent. But weren’t those always the ones capable of the worst evil?
My old teacher stood once more as referee.
The two of us—Queen and challenger—took our places at the center of the field.
The bleachers were filled with people, and the air buzzed thick with anticipation. With fear. With desperate hope.
Everyone waited for the whistle, for the mont everything would change.
My pulse steadied just as my magic coiled. This was it. The reason I was born. Goddess help .
Movent at the edge of the field caught my attention. My head turned and my brows lifted despite myself.
Adam had stepped into the arena.
He was with his brothers, and three of the Ancients.
Well, damn. They did arrive earlier than I had thought.
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