Aria's POV
The monster charging toward us is made entirely of raw magical energy—no solid form, just pure power shaped into something that wants to kill us.
"Move!" Kael shoves me sideways as the creature lunges. Its claws rake through the space where I was standing, leaving tears in reality itself.
I scramble to my feet, fire already gathering in my palms. "What is that thing?"
"A manifestation!" Kael's shadows wrap around us like armor. "When unstable magic builds up in the In-Between, it creates these. They're attracted to powerful elementals."
"So it's here because of me?"
"Because of us." He dodges another attack. "Our combined power is like a beacon."
The creature roars again, and I finally get a good look at it. It's huge—twice the size of a house—with eyes that glow every color of the elements. When it opens its mouth, I see swirling chaos inside.
"How do we kill it?" I shout.
"You can't kill manifestations! You have to disperse them!" Kael throws shadow spears that pass right through the creature. "But they're resistant to single-element attacks."
I understand immediately. "You need all five elements at once."
"Which you can barely control individually."
He's right. But we don't have a choice.
The creature charges again. This time, I don't run. I plant my feet and reach for all five elements simultaneously—fire, water, earth, air, spirit. They surge up from inside me, chaotic and wild, but I force them together.
"Aria, don't—" Kael starts.
I release everything at once.
The combined blast hits the manifestation dead center. For one beautiful moment, all five elements work together—fire and water creating steam, earth and air making a sandstorm, spirit binding it all into one coherent attack.
The creature explodes into particles of light that rain down like stars.
Then the backlash hits me.
Pain shoots through every nerve. My vision blurs. I collapse, and Kael catches me before I hit the ground.
"You idiot," he says, but his voice is gentle. "Using all five elements without proper training could have killed you."
"But it worked," I gasp.
"Barely." Through our Soul Bond, I feel his fear and something else—pride, maybe? "Don't do that again without warning me first."
The stranger appears from the fortress, slow-clapping. "Impressive. Most new Pentaelementals die fighting their first manifestation. You lasted thirty seconds."
"Is that supposed to be encouraging?" I mutter.
"It's supposed to be realistic." They help Kael pull me to my feet. "Now come inside. We have much to discuss and very little time."
"Time before what?" Kael demands.
The stranger's expression darkens. "Before King Mordecai figures out where you went. The In-Between isn't completely inaccessible—just very difficult to reach. He'll find a way eventually."
We follow them into the impossible fortress. Inside is even stranger than outside—hallways that twist at wrong angles, rooms where gravity works sideways, and everywhere, the hum of pure elemental power.
The stranger leads us to a circular chamber with five thrones, each made from a different element.
"Sit," they command. "And I'll tell you the truth about what Aria really is."
Three hours later, my brain feels like it's going to explode.
The stranger—who finally introduced themselves as Cipher—explained everything. How Pentaelementals aren't mistakes or aberrations, but the next stage of magical evolution. How the five kingdoms deliberately suppressed knowledge about them because united elemental power threatened their political control. How the "Cataclysm" five hundred years ago wasn't a Pentaelemental going mad with power, but a coordinated attack by all five kingdoms to eliminate someone who wanted to reshape society.
"They lied," Cipher says simply. "About me, about what happened, about everything. And now they're doing the same to you."
I slump in the water throne—which is surprisingly comfortable. "So I'm not a monster."
"Oh, you're definitely dangerous." Cipher's smile is sharp. "But danger and monstrosity aren't the same thing. Fire is dangerous. Floods are dangerous. Earthquakes are dangerous. That doesn't make them evil."
Kael has been quiet through most of this, processing. Now he asks, "If you survived, why hide for five hundred years? Why not reveal the truth?"
"Because I tried," Cipher says sadly. "Three times, I revealed myself. Each time, the kingdoms united to hunt me down. I realized I couldn't change the world alone—I needed to wait for another Pentaelemental to emerge. Someone who could stand with me."
They look at me with an intensity that makes me uncomfortable.
"I'm not a revolutionary," I say quickly. "I just want to survive."
"Survival isn't enough anymore." Cipher stands. "The kingdoms are more oppressive than ever. Common elementals are treated as lesser. Mixed-element children are killed at birth. And anyone who questions the Treaty of Elements is imprisoned or executed."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Everything. You're proof that their entire system is built on lies. If people see you—a Pentaelemental who isn't destructive—it undermines centuries of propaganda." Cipher's expression hardens. "Which is why they'll never stop hunting you. Not until you're dead or they are."
The weight of their words crushes me. I thought this was just about my survival. But it's so much bigger.
"I need air," I mutter, standing. "This is too much."
Kael stands too. "I'll come with you."
"No." I shake my head. "I need space. Please."
Through our Soul Bond, I feel his hurt, but he nods. "Don't go far. This place is dangerous."
I leave the chamber and wander through the twisting corridors, trying to process everything. My whole life has been a lie. The family that rejected me, the academy that expelled me, the prophecy that condemned me—all of it based on deliberate deception.
I'm so lost in thought that I almost don't hear the voice calling my name.
"Aria? Aria Thornheart?"
I freeze. That voice is familiar—warm, concerned, achingly normal in this bizarre place.
I turn a corner and stop dead.
Finn Riverborn stands in the hallway, looking completely out of place in his academy uniform. His brown hair is messy, his water-blue eyes wide with shock.
"Finn?" I breathe. "How did you—what are you—"
He rushes forward and hugs me so tight I can barely breathe. "You're alive! Oh gods, you're actually alive!"
I hug him back, tears suddenly streaming down my face. Finn is the only person from my old life who was ever kind to me. Seeing him here feels like a lifeline to who I used to be.
"How did you find me?" I ask when he finally lets go.
"I didn't. Not exactly." He glances around nervously. "I've been investigating what happened to you. Your expulsion, the ritual, everything. I knew something wasn't right."
"Finn, this place is dangerous. You shouldn't be here."
"I had to see you." His expression turns serious. "Aria, everyone thinks you're dead. Lyanna's telling people you disintegrated in the ritual. They held a memorial service yesterday."
The news hits like a punch. "They think I'm dead?"
"Your family, the academy, everyone." Finn's jaw clenches. "And Lyanna's playing the grieving sister perfectly. It's disgusting."
Footsteps echo behind me. I turn to see Kael approaching, shadows already swirling around his hands. His violet eyes are hard as he looks at Finn.
"Who is this?" Kael demands.
"A friend," I say quickly. "Finn Riverborn. He's from the academy."
"How did he get here?" Kael's suspicion bleeds through our bond. "No one should be able to access the In-Between without—"
"I followed the magical trail," Finn interrupts, not backing down despite Kael's obvious power. "Aria's elemental signature is strong enough to track across dimensions."
Kael and Finn stare at each other, and I suddenly feel caught between two very different types of tension.
"Are you hurting her?" Finn asks Kael directly.
"No," I answer before Kael can. "He's... helping me."
I'm not sure why I'm defending my captor, but the words come automatically. Maybe because through our Soul Bond, I know Kael's intentions are more complicated than simply "captor and prisoner."
Finn doesn't look convinced, but he turns his attention back to me. "I'm investigating your expulsion. The ritual was modified—I found the paperwork. Vice-Chancellor Morwen personally changed the standard Severance protocol."
"Why?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." He glances at Kael again, then lowers his voice. "Can we talk? Alone?"
Through our bond, I feel Kael's jealousy spike—sharp and possessive in a way that surprises me.
"Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of him," I tell Finn. "He already knows everything about what I am."
Finn hesitates, then pulls a folded paper from his pocket. "Fine. But read this. I found it in the restricted archives."
He hands me the paper. It's a letter, written in familiar handwriting.
My mother's handwriting.
To the Council of Five Kingdoms:
I hereby confess to placing a magical seal on my daughter, Aria Thornheart, at the age of six months. The seal was designed to suppress her elemental manifestation indefinitely. I did this upon receiving a prophecy that she would awaken as a Pentaelemental and bring destruction to our family.
I realize now that hiding her nature has only delayed the inevitable. The seal is weakening. Within months, it will shatter completely, and her powers will manifest violently.
I recommend immediate action to neutralize the threat before it endangers the academy and the five kingdoms.
Signed, Marina Thornheart
The paper falls from my shaking hands.
"Your mother knew," Finn says quietly. "She knew what you were and tried to have you killed before you could awaken."
I can't breathe. Can't think. My own mother—the woman who birthed me, raised me, watched me suffer for years—she's the one who sealed my powers. And when the seal started breaking, she told the council to eliminate me.
Through our Soul Bond, Kael feels my devastation. He moves closer, and I don't push him away.
"There's more," Finn continues, his expression grim. "Your sister Lyanna? She's been working with your mother for years. They planned your public humiliation together—wanted to trigger your awakening in the most violent way possible so the council would have justification to execute you immediately."
"Stop," I whisper. "Please stop."
But Finn won't. "Damien breaking your engagement, the Ritual of Severance, all of it—they orchestrated everything. Your own family has been trying to kill you since you were a baby."
The world tilts. I would fall if Kael wasn't suddenly there, his arms around me, shadows wrapping us both in a protective cocoon.
"That's enough," Kael says coldly to Finn. "She's heard enough."
"She deserves to know the truth!"
"The truth is destroying her!" Kael's voice rises, and I feel his fury through our bond—not at me, but for me. "Look at her!"
They're arguing, but I can barely hear it over the roaring in my ears. My mother tried to kill me. My sister helped. My entire life has been a slow-motion execution, and I was too blind to see it.
"Aria." Cipher's voice cuts through the chaos. They appear in the hallway, expression grave. "We have a problem. A big one."
"Not now," Kael snaps.
"Yes, now." Cipher points toward the fortress entrance. "Because your father just arrived. With an army. And he brought something very dangerous to breach the In-Between."
Through the fortress walls, I hear a sound that makes my blood run cold—the roar of a dragon.
King Mordecai's voice booms, magically amplified: "KAEL NIGHTSHADE! You have one hour to surrender the Pentaelemental! After that, I unleash the dragon, and everything in this realm burns!"
Finn goes pale. "There's a dragon?"
"Shadow dragon," Cipher confirms. "One of three in existence. Capable of devouring magical energy itself." They look at me. "It will eat this place and everyone in it if we don't stop it."
I'm still reeling from Finn's revelations, still processing that my own mother wanted me dead, when Kael asks the question that changes everything:
"How do we stop a shadow dragon?"
Cipher's smile is grim. "We don't. Only a fully trained Pentaelemental has enough power to face one." They look directly at me. "Which means Aria needs to complete her awakening. Right now."
"She's not ready," Kael protests.
"She doesn't have a choice." Cipher's voice is iron. "Either she unlocks her full potential in the next hour, or we all die. Those are the only options."
The dragon roars again, closer this time. The fortress walls tremble.
And I realize with horrible clarity that everything has been leading to this moment. My mother's seal. My public humiliation. My awakening in the amphitheater. The Soul Bond with Kael. Meeting Cipher. All of it has been preparing me for this.
To face a dragon and prove I'm not the monster everyone believes I am.
Or die trying.