The temple was collapsing.
Lysandra and Kastian ran, their footsteps pounding against the trembling stone. The once-grand sanctuary, a place that had imprisoned them for so long, was now coming undone—shadows curling like dying embers, pillars crumbling under the weight of ancient power.
The Forgotten God was gone. Its presence had vanished, but its words remained.
"Curses do not disappear. They only change."
Lysandra pushed forward, refusing to let the warning take root in her mind. They had won. They had broken free. That was all that mattered.
The Final Trial
A jagged fissure split through the temple floor ahead of them. Beyond it, an opening—moonlight streaming through, their escape. But the gap was too wide to jump.
Lysandra skidded to a stop, chest heaving. No. Not now. Not when they were so close.
Kastian turned to her. "You have your power now. Use it."
Her heart pounded. The darkness within her pulsed—not wild, not cursed, but hers.
She reached for it, willed it forward.
And for the first time, the shadows did not resist.
Dark tendrils shot from her fingertips, coiling like living vines. They lashed onto the broken edges of the chasm, solidifying into a bridge of pure darkness.
Kastian grinned. "Not bad."
She almost laughed. Almost. Instead, she grabbed his wrist and ran.
They crossed the bridge just as the temple gave one final, deafening roar—a sound like stone and magic unraveling into dust. As soon as they set foot on solid ground, the bridge disintegrated, swallowed by the void.
The temple collapsed behind them.
And then—silence.
The Dawn of a New Era
Lysandra exhaled shakily, turning to Kastian. The moonlight bathed them in silver, the weight of everything settling over her. She reached for her wrists, still expecting to feel the cold bite of chains.
But there was nothing.
Kastian watched her. "You're free."
She met his gaze, her throat tight. Free.
She had spent years fearing her power, believing it made her a monster. But the real curse had been doubt. Fear of what she could become.
Now, she stood at the edge of a world that had once shunned her. A world that had called her a beast, a prisoner, a cursed heir.
She would show them what she truly was.
A Kingdom in Ruin
Kastian's expression shifted. "You know it's not over."
Lysandra followed his gaze toward the distant city—her home.
The once-proud kingdom was crumbling. From here, she could see the shattered towers, the flickering fires in the streets. Chaos had taken root in their absence.
She straightened. "Then we fix it."
Kastian gave a short laugh. "That easy?"
She smirked. "No. But we didn't come this far to let it all fall apart."
She turned toward the city, a new kind of certainty in her veins. Whatever came next—whatever the Forgotten God's warning had meant—she would face it.
Because Lysandra was no longer a prisoner.
She was a queen.
She was The Cursed Heir.
And her story was only beginning.