The fire in Evelyn's chest hadn't faded. Even as Kaelith's body was taken from the citadel, even as the blood on her hands dried, the heat still burned.
She stood in the corridor where the shadows gathered, her palms clenched and glowing with barely restrained magic.
Lucien approached her in silence.
"She's gone," he whispered.
Evelyn didn't respond.
"You need rest. You're shaking."
Evelyn turned to him slowly. Her eyes were no longer only human. They glowed faintly, silver and violet.
"I don't want rest. I want to burn something."
Lucien didn't step back. "Then burn with purpose."
She looked away. Her throat tightened. "She died because I wasn't fast enough."
"She died because Kane betrayed us."
"No," Evelyn said. "She died because I let my heart cloud my power."
Lucien reached out. "Then use that heart to guide you now. Kaelith wouldn't want revenge. She'd want you to be wiser than her."
Evelyn met his gaze. Her anger softened, but the fire remained.
Elara sat alone in the throne room, her crown of thorns now scattered in pieces on the floor. The hall felt colder without Kaelith's presence.
She didn't flinch when Evelyn entered.
"You burned him," Evelyn said. "But not before he took someone from us."
Elara nodded. "He was supposed to wait. I gave him orders."
Evelyn stepped closer. "And now?"
Elara's eyes were tired. "Now I don't know what I want."
"Then let me help you remember."
The two sisters stood face to face, the space between them full of old wounds and dangerous hope.
"I want to stop this," Evelyn said quietly. "But I don't trust you."
"I don't trust myself," Elara admitted.
For a moment, they were just two broken girls who had lost too much.
Then Evelyn took a breath. "There's another way. We find Seraphine. End her. Together."
Elara hesitated. "She's the only mother I've ever known."
"She's the reason you lost your real one."
Silence.
Then Elara looked up, a new light in her eyes. "If I say yes… will you still love me, after all this?"
Evelyn's voice cracked. "I never stopped."
That night, Lucien and Evelyn stood on the citadel balcony. Below, the snowstorm had passed. The sky was clear. Stars blinked softly, as if waiting.
Lucien wrapped a cloak around her. "You didn't kill her."
"Not yet," Evelyn replied.
He studied her face. "And what did you choose?"
She looked at the stars. "I chose to believe we can break the curse. That not every story ends in fire."
Lucien smiled gently. "Then I choose to follow you."
Evelyn leaned into him. The warmth of his body anchored her.
But in her heart, something else had begun to bloom.
Not just grief. Not just anger.
Purpose.
And soon, the world would feel it.
Because Evelyn had made her choice.
To rise.
To fight.
And to change the ending.