Celeste's POV
We don't run.
If we run, they'll hunt us forever, Damian says, watching the SUVs surround the building. We fight our way out and go straight to Council headquarters. End this tonight.
With Aurora's army right outside? Luna's voice cracks. That's insane!
It's our only shot. Silas tosses me a vest lined with protective spells. They expect us to hide. We attack instead.
I strap on the vest, magic humming through my veins. My hands should be shaking. Instead, I feel calm. Focused.
Maybe I'm finally becoming the woman I used to be.
Exits? Damian asks Silas.
Underground garage. There's a tunnel that leads three blocks east. If we're fast
The building shakes. An explosion rocks the first floor.
They're breaching! Silas grabs weapons. Move now!
We run for the stairs. Behind us, glass shatters. Voices shout orders. Footsteps thunder.
The garage is chaos our SUV waiting, engine running, but Council enforcers pouring in from both entrances.
Get to the car! Damian shouts.
Magic explodes around us. Silas fights three enforcers at once. Luna dives behind a concrete pillar. Damian's tech-magic blasts two more backward.
I stand in the center, hands glowing purple, and do what I do best.
I make them remember.
My magic shoots out in waves, hitting every enforcer in range. Suddenly they're on their knees, screaming, reliving their worst memories. Failures. Losses. Pain.
Celeste, come on! Damian yanks my arm.
We pile into the SUV. Silas floors it, tires screaming as we blast through the garage gate into the night.
Council vehicles chase us five, six, seven of them.
They're not giving up! Luna yells from the backseat.
Silas takes a corner so hard we go up on two wheels. Hold on!
Magic blasts hit the back windshield. The glass cracks but holds protective spells.
We need to lose them before we reach headquarters, Damian says. If we lead them straight there
I have an idea. I roll down the window, lean out, and blast the lead vehicle with memory magic.
The driver suddenly forgets how to drive. The SUV swerves wildly, crashes into two others. The pursuit falls into chaos.
We lose them in the tangle of wreckage.
Twenty minutes later, we screech to a stop three blocks from Council headquarters. The building towers above us a massive skyscraper that shimmers with magical wards.
Last chance to back out, Damian says quietly.
I look at him, at Silas, at Luna. My team. My family, even if I barely remember some of our history.
Let's burn it down, I say.
The plan is simple and insane: I walk in the front door and surrender.
Are you sure about this? Luna grips my hand. Once you're inside
Damian will come for me. I trust him. I squeeze back. You stay safe. If we don't make it out, you know what to do.
She nods, tears in her eyes.
Damian pulls me aside one last time. You remember the signal?
I tap the tracker hidden under my vest. Three quick pulses means I'm in position. You grab the evidence and come get me.
I won't be long. His hand cups my face. Be smart. Don't fight until you have to.
Same to you.
He kisses me quick, desperate, full of everything we don't have time to say.
Then I walk away before I lose my nerve.
Council headquarters looms ahead, all glass and steel and barely contained magic. To humans, it looks like a normal office building. To me, it pulses with purple wards.
I walk through the front doors, hands raised.
Enforcers surround me immediately, weapons drawn.
I'm here to see Aurora, I say calmly. Tell her Celeste Thorne is surrendering.
Five minutes later, I'm being dragged not led, dragged down a long hallway. We descend in an elevator to the underground levels. The wards press against my skin, dampening my magic like Silas warned.
They throw me into a ritual chamber.
Aurora stands at the center, flanked by five Council members. A brutal-looking enforcer named Marcus stands by the door, arms crossed.
Celeste. Aurora's smile is ice. How smart of you to come willingly. It saves us the trouble of hunting you down.
I'm tired of running. I keep my voice steady even though my heart is racing. You win. Erase my memories. Do whatever you want. Just leave Damian alone.
Oh, darling, it's far too late for deals. Aurora circles me like a predator. Damian Cross will die tonight. Along with anyone who helped you. But first, I'm going to erase you so thoroughly you won't even remember your own name.
Marcus forces me into a chair. Magical restraints snap around my wrists the same chair, the same restraints from three years ago.
The scars on my wrists burn.
Let's begin, Aurora says.
I close my eyes and send three quick pulses through the tracker.
Damian, I think desperately. Please hurry.
Aurora's hands press against my temples. Magic pours in, hot and invasive, trying to find my memories and rip them out.
But I don't fight it.
Instead, I do exactly what Silas suggested I follow the magic back to its source. Back to the original spell cast three years ago.
And suddenly, I'm there.
The memory crashes over me like a wave:
Past-me is dragged into this same chamber, screaming. Damian is being held by four enforcers, his face desperate.
No! Please! Past-me begs. We were trying to help those children!
Aurora's face is cold. You interfered with Council business. The punishment is erasure.
Celeste! Damian fights to get free. I love you! Hold on!
The restraints snap around past-me's wrists. Aurora's spell begins.
The pain is unbearable. Memories start tearing away first dates, wedding vows, and whispered promises. Everything that makes is being ripped out.
Damian! Past-me screams his name over and over as the light fades from her eyes.
The memory releases me, and I gasp back to the present.
But something's different.
I don't just remember the erasure. I remember everything.
Every moment with Damian. Every laugh, every kiss, every quiet morning. Our wedding. Our fights. Our love.
I remember discovering the experiments those poor children. I remember stealing the evidence. I remember choosing to fight even knowing it would cost us everything.
I remember who I am.
Power surges through me not just magic, but purpose. Clarity. Rage.
Aurora's spell tries to push deeper, but I reverse it.
My eyes snap open, glowing pure purple.
The Council members stumble backward, shocked.
What Aurora gasps. That's impossible!
You made a mistake three years ago, I say, my voice echoing with power. You didn't erase me. You created me.
My magic explodes outward in a shockwave that shatters the restraints, cracks the ritual circle, and sends everyone flying backward.
I stand, power crackling around me like lightning.
I remember everything you did to me, Aurora. Every second of pain. Every stolen moment. I step toward her, and she actually backs away. And now you're going to pay.
Marcus lunges at me with a spell-blade.
I don't even look at him. I just push a memory into his mind the truth about the Council's experiments, every child they tortured.
He drops to his knees, the blade clattering from his hands, horror on his face.
What did you do to him? Aurora demands.
I showed him the truth. Something you should have done years ago. I turn my glowing eyes to the other Council members. You all knew. You all let it happen. Children died while you did nothing.
You can't prove anything, one Council member sputters.
The door explodes inward.
Damian and Silas burst through, weapons drawn, covered in dust and blood but alive.
Damian's eyes find mine immediately. Relief floods his face. You okay?
Better than okay. I smile, and it's not a kind smile. I remember, Damian. I remember everything.
His breath catches. Everything?
Everything. I turn back to Aurora. Did you get the files?
Silas holds up a data drive. Every single one. Video evidence. Medical records. Names, dates, locations. Everything they did to those kids.
Aurora's face goes white. You can't
We already did. Damian pulls out his phone, showing a broadcast screen. It's uploading right now. To every supernatural authority worldwide. Every news organization. Every witch, vampire, fare, and human who cares about justice.
In about thirty seconds, I add, the whole world is going to know what you are.
Aurora's composure shatters. You've destroyed everything! The Council has maintained order for centuries!
The Council has been torturing children, I say coldly. That ends tonight.
Alarms blare throughout the building. Red lights flash.
Upload complete, Silas announces. It's out. Everyone knows.
For a moment, there's just silence.
Then Aurora screams in rage and attacks.
But she's not aiming at me.
She's aiming at Damian.