novelraw Chapter 540: One Must Die
Chapter 540: One Must Die
Sera knew she was dreaming.
The knowledge that she was only trapped inside of her own head came without panic or confusion, settling into her awareness as easily as breath.
Dreams, for her, had always carried a certain clarity once they crossed a threshold, and there was a certain sense of relief in them as well. As long as she knew she was dreaming, she could always change it, manipulate it if needed.
She was safe, even if she didn’t know where she was.
Looking around, she took stock of where she was.
She stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast, light-blue ocean that stretched endlessly toward the horizon. Waves broke far below in a slow, patient rhythm that seemed to soothe her very soul, and the sound of gulls crying overhead made her smile. Their calls, sharp and alive against the open sky, seemed to remind her that no matter what, she was free.
Behind her, a forest pressed close, dense and green, old growth threaded with younger trees, wild and orderly at the same time.
Everything here felt balanced, intentional.
The air was warm in the way summer was warm, heavy with salt and sun, carrying the smell of water and leaves and stone. Wind moved freely, tugging at her hair and clothes, but never hard enough to feel hostile. This place was not dangerous, but it was not gentle either. It existed without apology.
There was a soft sound, brining her attention back to the spot in front of her as someone cleared their throat.
The woman was absolutely stunning. Her lavender skin seemed to glow in the sunlight softly, and her long white hair moved with the breeze like it had never known restraint. Her posture was perfect without being rigid, her stance relaxed but certain, as if she belonged to the land itself.
And she had a face that Sera saw every time she looked into the mirror.
"Is this the part where I say welcome home?" the woman asked, her voice calm and familiar, as she turned slightly away to face the water again. "Or is this where we have an epic battle for the body that belongs to both of us?"
Sera stepped closer until she stood beside her at the cliff’s edge. The proximity felt natural, not intrusive, like standing next to someone she had always known how to stand with.
"Is there a third option?" Sera asked dryly.
The woman smiled, small and sad, without turning. "I don’t know. I can’t see one."
Sera studied the landscape again, letting her gaze drift from the ocean to the trees behind them, to the way the sunlight filtered through the leaves. It felt like summer, like a season suspended between growth and decay, and that unsettled her more than any sense of threat.
"I’m not uncomfortable here," she said slowly. "But it doesn’t feel like home either."
She paused, then asked the question that had been circling her thoughts. "Do we really have to fight for the body? I mean, can’t we just keep going the way we have been?"
"I wish we didn’t," the woman replied, finally turning to face her. "But we can’t keep this up. We can’t stand with one foot in two different worlds forever."
Sera let out a quiet breath and walked to the very edge of the cliff. She sat down carefully, her legs dangling over the side, the ocean stretching endlessly beneath her. The height didn’t scare her. It felt appropriate.
"I’m guessing the men with the swords are what brought this to a head," she said.
"After a fashion," the woman replied. "I was content to remain in the background for as long as we lived. But their presence, and their certainty that killing us was the correct solution, means we can’t keep pretending this doesn’t matter."
Sera tipped her head back to look at the sky, squinting against the sun. "I don’t think I’m going to like this, am I?"
"No," the woman said gently. "Probably not."
Sera sighed and leaned back on her hands. "But if they’re the catalyst, then I need to know why."
The woman’s expression didn’t change as she spoke. "You were born of a Fae Queen and human sperm. You were the halfling Adam always wanted—he just didn’t know that he had it."
Sera blinked and turned to stare at her. "So I can go back and tell six-year-old me that I really am a princess with a sparkling tiara and everything? That my mother really is a Queen like I always dreamed and I can talk to mice?"
"Less sparkling tiara," the woman replied dryly, "and more blood up to the elbows. But yes."
She continued without softening it. "The men who should have been our fathers were killed. Our mother was taken by Adam and experimented on. It never should have happened, but a queen is only as strong as the people who ground her. When they die—"
"They leave her vulnerable," Sera finished quietly. "That sucks," she added after a moment. "But here’s the question. If I’m you, and you’re me, how do we know what happened before I was even born?"
"Bloodlines determine more than rank in Seelie society," the woman replied. "They carry memory. History. I experience it directly. You don’t."
Sera snorted. "I really didn’t need to know my parents fucked."
The woman’s smile turned wry. "I’ll try to preserve what little innocence you have left."
Sera shook her head, amusement flickering briefly before fading. "Someone wants our throne badly enough to kill us for it."
"Yes," the woman said. "And we need to find out who that is."
"And take it back," Sera added.
"Exactly."
Sera tilted her head, studying the sun as it hovered high above the ocean. "Why would I want to be Queen?" she asked. "That sounds like a different kind of cage. And I promised myself we wouldn’t live in cages this time."
The woman stepped closer and stopped just behind her, close enough that Sera could feel her presence without being touched.
"You rule," she said evenly, "or you die."
Sera closed her eyes.
"Everything is a choice," the woman continued. "But sometimes the choice is terrible. In the end, you live and I disappear, or I take complete control of our body and you disappear. Each of the men bound to us either have faced that truth or soon will."
She paused.
"We are the same as them," she said softly. "This is the only part that isn’t negotiable. One must die for us to survive."