Lumina stood trembling in the center of the reading chambers, broken golden chains of starfire still smoking around her wrists and ankles.

Blood trickled from the deep burns where the celestial bonds had seared her skin.

The poison they had forced into her veins burned like liquid fire, every nerve screaming in protest, yet something inside her had finally snapped.

The two priests raised their hands again, pale celestial light gathering at their fingertips for the final rite of unmaking.

Their voices rose in a haunting, ancient chant, pulling at the fragile threads of her soul as if they could unravel her very existence.

Lumina’s silver eyes blazed brighter than their gathered light.

"Then I will not let that happen!," Her voice exploded with full force, energy erupted from her in a violent, uncontrollable wave.

She thrust her hand toward the nearest priest. Invisible threads of absolute will shot forward, wrapping around his throat and chest like iron cables.

His chant cut off in a choked gasp. His eyes widened in pure terror as she tightened her grip with nothing but thought. Bones cracked audibly. His body convulsed once, twice, then went limp. He collapsed to the stone floor in a heap, dead before he hit the ground.

The second priest stumbled backward, horror twisting his pale face. "Abomination..."

Lumina turned on him. Another surge of energy slammed into his chest, lifting him clean off the ground. She squeezed.

His ribs shattered with sickening cracks. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he screamed, a wet, gurgling sound that echoed off the towering bookshelves.

She did not stop until his body went completely still, then dropped him like a broken doll onto the marble.

King Ryker staggered back, his face ashen. "Lumina..." What have you done?"

Before he could reach for the sword at his side, Lumina’s power lashed out again.

Threads of compulsion wrapped around his arms and legs, freezing him in place as effectively as the chains that had bound her moments earlier. He strained against the invisible bonds, muscles bulging with effort, veins standing out on his neck, but he could not move an inch.

"You tried to kill me," she said, her voice shaking with rage and pain. "Again."

She stepped closer, tears streaming down her cheeks even as her silver eyes glowed with dangerous, otherworldly light.

"I gave you chances. I begged you. But you chose them over your own daughter."

Ryker’s eyes widened as she raised her hand toward him. The poison still burned viciously through her blood, but her will was stronger now. It no longer felt like death. It felt like fuel.

Ryker wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with slow, fingers, though the tremor in his hand betrayed his fear. He stared at Lumina as though he no longer recognized the daughter he had chained to the floor only moments ago.

"You cannot control that power," he said, voice low and sharp, forcing every ounce of kingly authority back into his words. "Look at yourself."

Lumina stood in the center of the reading chamber, chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. The shattered remains of the celestial chains lay scattered around her feet like broken promises. Blood trailed down her wrists where the bindings had burned into her pale skin. Her white robe clung to her sweat-dampened body, stained crimson at the sleeves.

Yet none of it weakened her.

Silver light coiled around her fingers like living flame, crackling with barely contained energy.

The two priests who had held her moments ago backed away until their shoulders struck the towering shelves of ancient books.

Their pale faces glistened with sweat. One muttered desperate prayers beneath his breath, words tumbling over one another in frantic whispers. The other could not stop staring at her eyes those silver eyes they had once tried to seal from the world forever.

Lumina took one slow step toward her father.

The chamber itself seemed to groan around them. Dust drifted lazily from the high ceiling. Scrolls trembled on their shelves as if afraid of what was coming.

Ryker straightened his spine, trying to reclaim the image of the unyielding king.

"You are unstable," he snapped. "Exactly what I feared. Exactly why enchantresses had to be purged from this realm long ago." Lumina’s lips curved.

It was not amusement but pity "No," she said softly, her voice carrying through the vast room like a blade. "This is what you made."

With a casual flick of her fingers, one of the priests was dragged screaming across the marble floor by an unseen force. His nails clawed uselessly against the stone, leaving bloody trails before he crashed heavily at Ryker’s feet.

The second priest cried out and bolted for the heavy oak door.

The door slammed shut on its own with a thunderous boom that shook the walls.

He pounded against it wildly, fists hammering in desperation.

Lumina did not even glance at him.

Her gaze remained locked on her father.

"You poisoned me as a child," she continued, each word measured and heavy.

Ryker’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

Silver light pulsed brighter around her, casting eerie shadows across the ancient tomes.

"You murdered my mother."

The shelves lining the chamber shook violently. Several books tumbled free and struck the floor with loud thuds, pages fluttering like dying birds.

Still, Ryker forced a cold, mocking laugh. "She was a curse upon this realm."

Lumina went dangerously still.

Then she raised one hand.

The priest kneeling by Ryker’s feet lifted screaming into the air, his throat clasped by invisible fingers. His legs kicked helplessly above the floor, boots scraping empty air.

Ryker’s eyes flickered.

Fear flashed across the king’s face for the first time and Lumina saw it.

And for the first time in her life, it satisfied something bitter and hollow inside her.

"You always spoke of curses," she said quietly. "But do you know why enchantresses become feared?"

Her voice deepened, layered with something ancient and powerful that seemed to echo from another age.

"Because men like you create them."

The floating priest crashed hard into the long oak table in the center of the room, splintering the heavy wood beneath him with a deafening crack. He lay there groaning, broken.

The second priest fell sobbing to his knees near the door, pressing his forehead to the cold stone in terror.

Lumina stepped closer to her father until only a few feet separated them.

"You called my mother evil." Her silver gaze sharpened like a blade.

"You called me dangerous before I could even speak." Ryker backed away one involuntary step.

"An enchantress is not born cruel." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The tall arched windows shattered outward in a shower of glittering glass, cold night air rushing into the chamber.

"She turns cruel when she is pushed too far." Ryker’s breathing grew rough and uneven.

"She turns wrathful when her mother is slaughtered before her eyes."

The marble beneath his boots cracked in a spiderweb pattern.

"She turns merciless... when her father teaches her that love was never real."

"Enough!" Ryker roared, thrusting one hand forward in desperation.

A bolt of celestial light shot from his palm, streaking toward her. Lumina caught it in midair with effortless grace.

The force twisted in her grasp like a living serpent, writhing violently before dissolving harmlessly into shimmering silver dust that drifted to the floor.

Ryker staggered backward, shock spreading nakedly across his face.

Lumina tilted her head, studying him with calm curiosity.

"Did you truly believe I was weak?"

"No," he said hoarsely, chest heaving. "I believed you broken."

The words lingered heavily between them.

Then Lumina laughed softly, low, and utterly devoid of warmth.

"You should have known better."

She moved so quickly he barely registered the motion. One moment she stood before him.

Next, Ryker was slammed violently against the nearest bookshelf. Ancient volumes rained down over his shoulders as the invisible force pinned him there. His feet dangled inches above the floor, boots kicking uselessly.

The second priest shrieked in pure panic. Lumina ignored him completely.

She approached her father slowly, each measured step echoing through the vast, ruined chamber like a death knell.

Ryker clawed desperately at the pressure crushing his throat, his face reddening, his eyes bulging.

Still, he glared at her.

Lumina stopped directly before him, close enough to see every line of fear and defiance etched into his face.

"My mother said something before she died." Ryker froze.

Lumina leaned closer, her voice almost tender, almost loving.

"She told me to live like my name."

Ryker’s entire body jerked violently against the invisible hold.

The force holding him faltered just enough for him to choke in a ragged breath.

"No," he rasped, voice cracking.

His stare searched her face wildly, desperately.

"No... that is impossible."

Lumina said nothing, letting the silence stretch.

He shook his head harder, sweat beading on his brow.

"I thought you were blind." His voice broke completely.

He struggled harder against the grip, horror rising with every frantic word.

"I thought you had lost those memories." His eyes widened as the full truth struck him like a physical blade.

"You..." His lips trembled uncontrollably.

"You deceived me."

Silver light danced across Lumina’s fingers as she offered him a cold, triumphant smile.