Chapter 30: One Chance

Morgana did not waste another moment on the thing in the cave.

She raised both hands and spoke a short, brutal word of collapse. The rock ceiling screamed and came down in a thunder of stone and dust, burying the Fleshcraver beneath tons of earth and root. A wet, delighted laugh still echoed for a second after the dust settled—then silence.

She turned and caught up to Nyx within moments, seizing her arm hard enough to bruise.

“We’re leaving.”

Nyx twisted in her grip. “Sister—why are you running? Destroy that disgusting thing!”

“We are standing in its feeding ground.” Morgana’s voice was tight. “That creature is tied to this place. It does not stay dead. It will simply rise again. We return to demon territory. Now.”

Dark wings of pure force formed at their backs. The two sisters lifted into the air and shot south, the mist tearing past them.

Nyx shouted over the wind. “The hero and that elf slut fled north! We still have a chance if we go after them!”

“No.” Morgana’s answer left no room. “That monster has your scent now. It will never stop hunting you. First we scrub that foul smell off your skin, or the larvae it left will begin to grow. You will start becoming like it.”

Nyx’s face went white. “What—become that thing?”

“Not yet. But you need a full ritual bath of cleansing magic. We are going home.”

—

They landed in the citadel courtyard and strode straight into the throne hall without pausing to change. Lilith was already on her feet, descending the steps of the dais. Her eyes locked on them the instant the doors opened.

“Where is she? Where is Elara?”

Morgana met her sister’s gaze without flinching.

“I’m sorry. Your hero fled with an elf.”

Lilith’s expression froze.

“What elf? The dark elves are our allies.”

“Not dark. White.”

A beat of pure disbelief.

“You let her escape.”

Morgana’s voice stayed level. “I did not lose her. The last of the white-elf warriors threw themselves at us so the two of them could run. They never even came within my reach. I killed every remaining white elf. That woman is almost certainly the last of her kind left alive.”

Lilith’s hand swept a crystal decanter from the side table. It shattered against the floor in a spray of glass and dark liquid.

“A woman?”

“Yes.”

Morgana watched the temperature in the room drop and decided to twist the knife just enough.

“And they were holding hands when they fled.”

Lilith’s pupils blew wide. Crimson light flared around her so violently that the floating crystals overhead flickered. Jealousy and rage twisted her face into something almost unrecognizable. Power cracked the air like a living thing.

Morgana felt the danger and changed direction at once.

“A Fleshcraver attacked us. Nyx was nearly taken. It managed to mark her with its larvae. We had to return. The hero and the elf continued north. With your leave, I need to prepare a cleansing bath for Nyx immediately.”

She did not wait for permission. She took Nyx’s arm and pulled her from the hall before Lilith could answer.

The doors sealed behind them.

Lilith stood alone in the sudden silence. She sank back onto the throne, teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached. The hall was empty—every guard and Thalira had already been dismissed with a single look.

She stared at nothing.

I should have claimed every part of you when I had the chance.

The image Morgana had planted—Elara’s hand linked with a white-elf woman’s—kept flashing behind her eyes. Her throat tightened until breathing hurt.

When I catch you, I will put you on your knees properly. No more sweet lies. No more letting myself be deceived. You will give me what is already mine.

She pressed both hands to her face.

“Calm down,” she whispered to the empty hall. “They only ran together. Nothing happened between them. My mind is playing tricks.”

But the thought would not leave.

A long, frustrated sound escaped her.

“Of… of… of…”

—

Far to the north the world had turned to white.

Snow fell in heavy, wind-driven sheets. There was no longer forest—only an endless plain of ice and drifting powder. Elara’s legs had stopped answering her hours ago. Her face was raw and scarlet from the cold. Each breath was a ragged, painful drag of frozen air.

Alvia kept one arm locked around her waist, half-carrying, half-dragging her forward.

“A little farther. Just a little farther.”

Elara’s voice was barely a rasp.

“I can’t… We should turn back…”

“There is no turning back. Not anymore.”

Elara’s knees finally buckled. She sank into the snow, trembling so hard her teeth chattered.

“Leave me. Kill me if you have to. You’re stronger. I’m useless to anyone. I should have died already.”

Alvia’s face twisted with sudden fury.

“My entire clan just died so we could escape! Are you saying they died for nothing?”

Tears froze on Elara’s lashes.

“My legs won’t move… they won’t move. I’m sorry. I wish it had been me instead of them. I’m so sorry…”

Alvia hauled her up again, voice cracking.

“We can still make it. Past this desert of snow there are better lands. Please. Stand.”

Elara tried. Every muscle screamed. She leaned fully against Alvia and managed a few more steps before her body simply gave out. She collapsed into the drift.

Alvia stared at the unbroken white in every direction. Then she dropped to her knees, still holding Elara, and lifted her face to the storm-hidden sky.

“Goddess… please. I beg you. Help us. Just one chance. One single chance. I am asking for revenge. I am asking for a way forward. Please.”

The prayer was raw, desperate, and absolute.

It rose.

—

In the luminous court of clouds the Goddess opened her eyes.

The constant hum of mortal faith shivered around her. One thread of it burned hotter and more urgent than the rest. She turned her gaze downward and saw them: two small figures dying in the snow, one still whispering broken pleas to the empty sky.

Her expression cooled into something between annoyance and contempt.

She lifted one hand.

“Amara.”

The Archangel appeared at once, dropping to one knee, wings folded tight.

“Your Holiness.”

The Goddess pointed with a languid finger.

“Is that filthy little hero the one lying there?”

Amara looked. “Yes, Your Holiness.”

“And the one beside her?”

“Almost certainly the last white elf left in the world.”

The Goddess’s voice turned sharp and cold.

“Why are my allies so pathetic? Why are they always so needy? Does the Demon Queen ever crawl to anyone for help? No. That whore Lilith sits on her throne and nothing troubles her. Yet my own servants never stop begging. I have never once felt pure gratitude without a request attached. This disrespect has gone on long enough.”

Amara pressed her forehead to the glowing floor.

“Your Holiness, I give thanks to you a billion times over. This disrespect toward you is unacceptable. Command me. I await your will.”

The Goddess’s lips curved in a faint, pleased smile.

“Your devotion is exactly as it should be, Amara. Very well. Go and bring both the hero and the elf to me. I wish to examine them closely.”

Amara’s wings gave a tiny, involuntary twitch.

“To… your side, Your Holiness?”

“Yes. Did I speak unclearly?”

“Never. The fault is mine for failing to understand at once.”

The Goddess laughed softly.

“Then I will say it once more so it settles properly in that pretty head of yours. Bring them both to me. Since they need me so badly… since they are asking for a chance… I will give them one.”

Amara rose, bowed, and left the court.

The moment she was alone in the open sky her face twisted with black, burning jealousy.

I will never bring those mortal filths—those lumps of meat—into her presence.

That whore Elara already became the Demon Queen’s plaything. Now she wants to take my Goddess from me as well.

She is dangerous.

In the name of the ancient lights and the old gods, I must destroy this evil for the sake of good.

Yes. My Goddess asked for them, but my Goddess is too kind. Her kindness clouds her judgment.

I will not allow anyone to abuse that kindness.

Amara’s wings snapped open. Light flared around her like a blade being drawn.

She turned her face toward the northern waste and began to descend.