Chapter 66: The Price of Victory

Kael awoke to sunlight.

It was the first thing he noticed—real, golden sunlight streaming through the canopy of living trees. Not the skeletal remains of the dead forest, but vibrant oaks and maples with leaves whispering in a warm breeze. The air smelled of pine and damp earth, clean and untouched by blood or smoke.

He sat up too fast, his head spinning. His ribs ached, but the sharp pain from Nyx's attack was gone. His hands trembled as he pressed them into the soft moss beneath him. Real. Solid.

A groan came from nearby. Lucian lay a few feet away, his face turned toward the sky, his sword still clutched in one hand. The blade was clean—no trace of the black ichor that had stained it moments before.

Kael's breath caught. Moments?

"Lucian." His voice came out hoarse.

The vampire didn't move. "I know what you're going to ask."

"Did it work?"

Lucian finally turned his head, his crimson eyes dull with something heavier than exhaustion. "Look around. Does this look like the end of the world?"

Kael scanned the forest again, his pulse quickening. Birds sang. A stream bubbled nearby. No fissures. No shadows. No Aurelia.

He swallowed hard. "Where is she?"

Lucian sat up slowly, wincing as if his body ached in ways Kael couldn't see. "Gone."

The word landed like a blow.

"But Nyx—"

"Gone too." Lucian ran a hand through his hair, his fingers shaking slightly. "I gambled that killing the original would erase the copy. Looks like I was right."

Kael's hands curled into fists. "You stabbed her in the back."

"And saved the world." Lucian met his glare without flinching. "She knew it was the only way. That's why she didn't stop me."

The truth of it settled between them, heavy and suffocating. Kael wanted to argue, to scream, to demand Lucian take it back—but the sunlight on his skin and the birdsong in the trees were proof enough.

They'd won.

At what cost?

A rustle in the underbrush made them both tense. Kael's hand went to the dagger at his belt—

A small fox emerged from the ferns, its coat the color of autumn leaves. It tilted its head, studying them with unnervingly intelligent eyes. Then it turned and trotted away, pausing once to glance back as if waiting.

Lucian exhaled sharply. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kael stood, his legs unsteady. "We should follow it."

"Why?"

"Because Aurelia would."

The fox led them to a clearing where the sunlight pooled like liquid gold. At its center stood a single stone monolith—not carved like the ones in the cavern, but smooth and unmarked. And leaning against it, as if waiting for them—

A dagger.

Aurelia's dagger.

Kael approached slowly, his pulse roaring in his ears. The blade gleamed in the sunlight, its edge still sharp, its hilt wrapped in familiar dark leather. Wrapped around it was a scrap of parchment, two words scrawled in handwriting he'd recognize anywhere:

"Nice try."

Lucian made a sound halfway between a laugh and a groan. "That's impossible."

Kael picked up the dagger, the metal warm against his palm. Somewhere in the distance, the fox yipped—almost like laughter—before vanishing into the trees.

The wind shifted, carrying the scent of wildflowers and something darker beneath. Something old.

Aurelia's voice echoed in his memory: "Not the end. Just a reset."

Kael tucked the dagger into his belt and turned to Lucian. "We should go. She's out there somewhere."

"And if she's not?"

"Then we'll find whoever left this." Kael touched the hilt, the leather worn smooth from centuries of use. "Either way, we're not done yet."

The sun dipped behind a cloud as they left the clearing, the forest holding its breath around them. Somewhere, in the space between heartbeats, something ancient and inevitable began to stir.