Chapter 13
992 Words
“Yes, my love, but I think we should come back here every now and again to just me and remind us where it all started.”
The club's walls seemed to pulse in agreement, the crystalline architecture resonating with our shared intention. I squeezed Costa's hand, feeling his love flow through our completed bond.
"I'd like that," I replied. "A place where we can just be Ariella and Costa, not the hybrid princess and her Novan prince."
Vera approached us once more as we stepped toward the entrance, her newly awakened markings glowing with quiet dignity.
"Before you go," she said, pressing something into my palm, "take this. It belonged to your mother."
I opened my hand to find a small crystalline key, its surface etched with patterns that matched the ones now flowing across my skin.
"What does it open?" I asked.
Vera's smile held centuries of secrets. "Her private archives. Everything she and your father collected about hybrid potential, about the binding ritual knowledge that could help guide New Nova through the transition."
Costa examined the key with reverence. "Where are these archives?"
"In the palace itself," Vera replied, "hidden behind walls that respond only to Solmere DNA. The Council never found them, though they searched for decades."
The knowledge that my mother had been planning so far ahead, preparing for a future she wouldn't live to see, brought tears to my eyes. They slid down my cheeks, crystallising into luminescent droplets that shattered on the floor with musical notes.
"Thank you," I whispered, embracing my aunt. "For keeping faith all these years."
When we finally emerged from the Le Glow Club, the plaza transformed into a celebration. Humans, Novans, and newly revealed hybrids mingled freely, their markings pulsing in synchronised patterns that reflected their shared excitement. News of our completed binding had spread throughout Voidhaven and beyond.
Lady Arinna awaited us at the crowd's edge, her formal robes replaced by more practical attire. Her markings pulsed with relief when she saw us.
"The palace awaits," she said, gesturing toward a sleek transit pod that hovered nearby. "The moderate Council members have called an emergency session."
"And Lord Vexan?" Costa asked as we made our way through the crowd, accepting the touches and greetings of our people.
"Under house arrest," Lady Arinna replied with satisfaction. "His closest allies are scrambling to disavow their connections to him."
As we boarded the transit pod, I looked at the Le Glow Club and the vibrant district around it: no longer a hidden sanctuary, but the birthplace of a revolution centuries in the making.
"Ready?" Costa asked, his thoughts entwining with mine.
I nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility settling onto my shoulders—not as a burden, but as a purpose I'd been born to fulfil.
"Ready," I confirmed. "Let's go change the world."
The transit pod accelerated through the crystal tunnels with smooth precision, carrying us away from Voidhaven's chaotic energy toward the ordered grandeur of the palace district. Through the transparent walls, I watched the city transform around us—the organic, twisted architecture of the entertainment quarter giving way to soaring spires that pierced the sky like frozen lightning.
"The Council is split," Lady Arinna explained as we travelled. "Three members openly support the binding, two remain undecided, and four are calling for immediate intervention."
Costa's markings darkened with concern. "Intervention meaning what, exactly?"
"They're proposing a complete lockdown of the hybrid districts, claiming the awakening represents a public health crisis," Lady Arinna replied grimly. "They want to study the transformation before allowing it to spread further."
I felt rage flare through our bond not just mine, but Costa's as well. The idea of caging our people again, of treating their awakening as something to be contained rather than celebrated, struck at the very heart of what we'd fought to achieve.
"They still don't understand," I said, watching my reflection in the pod's walls. My transformed features looked back at me human and Novan in perfect harmony. "This isn't something that can be stopped or contained. It's evolution."
The palace complex loomed ahead of us, its seven spires catching the light of New Nova's three suns. As we approached the main landing platform, I could see guards in ceremonial armour flanking the entrance but their markings pulsed in the new synchronised patterns I was learning to recognise. The awakening had reached even here.
"Your Highnesses," the guard captain bowed as we disembarked. "The Council awaits your presence in the Chamber of Moons."
Costa straightened, his royal training asserting itself. "Then let's not keep them waiting."
As we walked through the palace corridors, I marvelled at how different everything felt compared to my fragmented memories. The living crystal walls sang softly as we passed, their bioluminescent veins pulsing in rhythm with our footsteps. Servants and courtiers lined our path, many displaying their own newly awakened markings.
"They're beautiful," I whispered to Costa, watching a human servant whose skin now shimmered with subtle opalescence.
"They're free," he replied, and I felt his wonder through our bond.
The Chamber of Moons rose before us like a crystalline cathedral, its domed ceiling displaying real-time images of New Nova's seven satellites. Seven Council members sat at a crescent-shaped table, their faces illuminated by the shifting light from above.
As we entered, three of them rose in greeting their markings bright with welcome. The others remained seated, their expressions carefully neutral.
"Princess Ariella of the Solmere line," announced Councillor Thyss, one of the standing members. "Prince Costa of the Nova Crown. The Council recognises your transformed state and welcomes the return of the Royal line.”
Costa slipped his arm protectively around my waist as if to warn those who weren’t too happy about our return to know their place.
The gesture was not lost on the seated Council members. Councillor Meren, her markings pulsing a warning shade of amber, leaned forward in her chair.
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