Chapter 20 - The Eternal Light
The tension in the grand courtyard of Sunspire was thick enough to cut with a blade.
Emperor Valerius looked at Nathaniel’s glowing blue eyes, then out toward the harbor where three dozen northern war galleys had turned their heavy catapults and ballistas directly toward his palace domes. He knew the stories of the Alpha King’s unstoppable wrath in battle.
"Wait," Valerius said quickly, holding up a trembling hand to stay his own nervous guards. "There is no need for bloodshed over old contracts."
Valerius signaled to his Grand Vizier. "Bring out the northern women. All of them."
An hour later, the heavy iron doors of the royal dungeons beneath Sunspire opened.
Forty-seven women, dressed in simple white robes, walked out into the bright southern sunlight. They were thin and tired, but as they looked up and saw Queen Grace standing at the top of the stairs, wearing her silver crown and holding her daggers, tears began to stream down their faces.
Among them was a woman with soft grey eyes—Grace’s long-lost elder sister, Clara, who had been declared "dead from fever" six years ago.
"Clara?" Grace whispered, her voice choking with emotion as she ran down the steps.
"Grace?" Clara gasped, collapsing into her younger sister’s arms. "Is it... is it really you? We heard rumors... we heard a Silver Queen had freed Moon Hall..."
"I came for you, Clara," Grace sobbed, holding her sister tightly as Nathaniel stood guard beside them, his broad frame shielding them from the human court. "I promised I would never let anyone be forgotten again."
The forty-seven rescued Omegas were safely escorted onto the royal flagships, fed, clothed, and tended to by Grace’s personal healers.
As the sun began to set over the sea, turning the water into a shimmering sheet of liquid gold, the northern fleet raised its anchors and set sail back toward the Silver Realm.
Grace stood on the quarterdeck of the lead flagship, watching the distant golden towers of Sunspire fade into the horizon.
Nathaniel walked up beside her, wrapping a warm velvet cloak around her shoulders. He held her close against his chest as the cool sea breeze tossed her hair.
"We did it, Grace," Nathaniel said softly, kissing the side of her head. "Every single one of them is coming home."
Grace turned in his arms, looking up into the eyes of the man who had trusted her when the whole world called her a reject, who had fought beside her through fire, snow, and war.
"We rebuilt our kingdom, Nathaniel," Grace whispered, resting her hand over his heart, their silver marks glowing softly together in the twilight. "Not with fear, but with love."
Nathaniel smiled, dipping his head to press his lips to hers in a long, sweet, passionate kiss that carried the promise of a lifetime of peace.
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Behind them, on the decks of the surrounding ships, forty-seven women who had once been lost in the dark looked up at the rising moon. They stripped off their old rags, tied white silk ribbons around their wrists, and sang a song of freedom that echoed across the endless blue sea.
The realm was whole. The reign of the Silver Moon had officially begun, and its light would never fade again.
