The Throne of Thorns

Selene

She was no longer in the graveyard.

Not in any place Kael could reach her.

When the earth split, it did not swallow her—it claimed her.

Now she stood in a hall of obsidian mirrors. Each one whispered her name. Not Selene. Not flamebearer. Not heir.

But Valeria.

The mirrors shimmered with lives she didn't remember: kissing a man with stars in his eyes, burning a city with a flick of her fingers, kneeling before a creature made of chains and void.

"I don't want this," she whispered.

"You already had it," the voices echoed. "You only forgot."

She turned—and there it was.

The Throne of Thorns.

Twisted, beautiful. Alive.

It pulsed with blood and light and memory.

Her throne.

And seated on it was... herself.

Older.

Colder.

Wearing a crown of weeping eyes.

Valeria.

---

The Past Queen

"You've returned," Valeria said.

Selene's breath caught. "You're me."

"No," Valeria said calmly. "You are me. I am only what you buried."

Selene stepped closer, resisting the pull of the throne. "Why show me this?"

"Because you're breaking. And you need to remember why we did it."

Selene's fingers curled into fists. "I didn't ask for any of this."

"You did. You begged for it."

Valeria stood.

And the mirrors screamed.

Scenes flared like fire:

—A kingdom bowing in fear.

—A child turned to ash to fuel a spell.

—A god whispering into her heart: "Reign, and I'll make you eternal."

"You chose the curse," Valeria said, stepping closer. "To save them. And when it cost too much, you buried me."

Selene shook her head. "Then let me undo it."

"You can't," Valeria said, smiling. "You can only become."

---

Kael

He watched the grave pulse like a heartbeat.

Selene was somewhere inside, and he couldn't follow. Not without giving up everything that made him him.

He knelt at the edge.

"Come back," he whispered. "Please. You don't have to be her."

But the wind didn't answer.

Only a voice deeper than the gods:

"She already is."

---

Selene

Valeria pressed a hand to her cheek. It wasn't cruel. It was sad.

"We burned the world for love," she whispered. "And it still wasn't enough."

Selene's eyes stung. "Then maybe it's time to choose something else."

Valeria smiled.

And shattered into light.

The mirrors cracked.

The throne wept blood.

And Selene awoke—screaming, gasping, alive—back in the graveyard, Kael's arms around her.

"Selene!" he shouted.

She grabbed his coat, clinging.

"I remember."

Kael stilled. "All of it?"

She looked into his eyes.

And nodded.

Then whispered the words that shook him to the core:

"I was the one who cursed the gods."