Chapter 9
I didn't return to the Shadow Court immediately.
Instead, I went to the old cathedral—the one where this story began, the one where I'd lost my first love before Kael had ever found me.
It looked smaller now. Less imposing. The stained glass still cast colored light across the stone floor, but it no longer felt like a sanctuary. It felt like a monument to a woman I used to be.
I sat in the front pew, alone with the silence.
My phone buzzed. A message from Caspian: *"The Council has formally charged Vanessa with conspiracy to murder a Fae Royal's offspring. She'll face tribunal. Also—seventeen news outlets want interviews with the 'Lost Princess of the Silver Court.' Shall I tell them all to politely fuck off?"*
I smiled. *"Tell them I'll issue a statement when I'm ready."*
Another buzz. This time, unknown number.
*"It's Maren. The Head Healer. Please don't delete this. I know I don't deserve to contact you, but there's something you need to know. Something about your daughter. Please call me."*
My heart seized.
I stared at the message for a full minute. Then I called.
Maren answered on the first ring. Her voice was shaking.
"Luna—Princess—I'm sorry, I don't know what to call you—"
"Serenity is fine. What is it?"
A long, unsteady breath. "The night of your miscarriage. When I was reassigned to Vanessa—when I came back, hours later, and found you—" Her voice broke. "I told you the baby was gone. And that was true. She was... gone from your body."
"Maren. What are you saying?"
"But she wasn't dead."
The world stopped.
"When I arrived at your side, there was so much blood, and you were unconscious—but your body had already expelled the fetus. She was twenty weeks. Too early to survive outside the womb by normal standards." Maren was crying now. "But she was Fae-blooded. And Fae infants at that stage can survive in a stasis vessel if preserved within minutes."
"Maren." My voice was deadly quiet. "Where is my daughter?"
"The coalition took her. They had agents embedded in the healer's unit. When I was sent to Vanessa, one of them—a wolf named Gregor—he preserved the fetus in a stasis crystal. They wanted Fae Royal blood for their experiments. A living sample was worth more than—"
I couldn't hear the rest.
My daughter was alive.
My daughter had been alive for almost a year, trapped in a stasis crystal, used as a lab specimen by the same monsters who'd engineered my entire life.
"Where?" The word came out as Fae fire—literally. Silver flames licked along the pew beneath my hands.
"I don't know exactly. But the coalition's primary research facility is in the Northern Wastes—it's hidden, warded—"
"Send me everything you have. Location estimates, ward signatures, personnel lists. Everything."
"I will. I—Princess, I'm so sorry. I should have spoken sooner. I was afraid—"
"You're speaking now. That's what matters." I hung up.
My hands were shaking. My entire body was shaking. But not from grief this time.
From something far more dangerous.
Hope.
---
I portaled back to the Shadow Court within the hour. Burst into Caspian's war room without knocking.
He looked up from a map, startled. "What—"
"My daughter is alive."
The words hung in the air like a detonation.
Caspian slowly set down the quill in his hand. "Explain."
I told him everything. His silver eyes went from shock, to fury, to cold, calculated focus.
"The Northern Wastes facility." He pulled a different map from the stack. "I've suspected its existence for decades. It's where the coalition conducts their most classified experiments. Warded against Fae detection—which is why my scouts never confirmed its location."
"Can you find it now? With what Maren sends?"
"Possibly. But breaking through their wards will require significant force." He met my eyes. "This isn't a rescue mission for one person, Serenity. This is an act of war."
"Then it's war."
He studied me. "You've changed."
"I found out my daughter might still be alive. There is nothing in any realm that will stop me from reaching her."
A slow, fierce smile spread across Caspian's face. "Then we plan. Properly. We gather allies, we map their defenses, and we strike hard enough that they never recover."
"How long?"
"Two weeks to prepare. Less if we get lucky with intelligence."
Two weeks. My daughter had already been in that crystal for ten months. Two more weeks of stasis wouldn't harm her—Maren had confirmed that.
But every second felt like bleeding.
"There's one more thing," Caspian said carefully. "Kael Blackthorne has been requesting contact. Daily. His messages are increasingly—"
"I'll deal with Kael."
"Will you?"
I thought about it. Truly thought about it.
Kael was many things—manipulated, compelled, foolish. But he was also one of the most powerful Alpha Kings alive. And our daughter—his daughter—was trapped in an enemy facility.
"I'll tell him," I said. "About the baby. He deserves to know she might be alive. And frankly, we need his army."
"Using your ex-mate's forces for a military operation. Cold." Caspian grinned. "I approve."
"This isn't about us," I said firmly. "This is about her."
"Of course." He pulled out a communication crystal. "Shall I arrange the meeting, or do you want the satisfaction of watching him grovel in person?"
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
"In person. Let him come to me this time."
Instead, I went to the old cathedral—the one where this story began, the one where I'd lost my first love before Kael had ever found me.
It looked smaller now. Less imposing. The stained glass still cast colored light across the stone floor, but it no longer felt like a sanctuary. It felt like a monument to a woman I used to be.
I sat in the front pew, alone with the silence.
My phone buzzed. A message from Caspian: *"The Council has formally charged Vanessa with conspiracy to murder a Fae Royal's offspring. She'll face tribunal. Also—seventeen news outlets want interviews with the 'Lost Princess of the Silver Court.' Shall I tell them all to politely fuck off?"*
I smiled. *"Tell them I'll issue a statement when I'm ready."*
Another buzz. This time, unknown number.
*"It's Maren. The Head Healer. Please don't delete this. I know I don't deserve to contact you, but there's something you need to know. Something about your daughter. Please call me."*
My heart seized.
I stared at the message for a full minute. Then I called.
Maren answered on the first ring. Her voice was shaking.
"Luna—Princess—I'm sorry, I don't know what to call you—"
"Serenity is fine. What is it?"
A long, unsteady breath. "The night of your miscarriage. When I was reassigned to Vanessa—when I came back, hours later, and found you—" Her voice broke. "I told you the baby was gone. And that was true. She was... gone from your body."
"Maren. What are you saying?"
"But she wasn't dead."
The world stopped.
"When I arrived at your side, there was so much blood, and you were unconscious—but your body had already expelled the fetus. She was twenty weeks. Too early to survive outside the womb by normal standards." Maren was crying now. "But she was Fae-blooded. And Fae infants at that stage can survive in a stasis vessel if preserved within minutes."
"Maren." My voice was deadly quiet. "Where is my daughter?"
"The coalition took her. They had agents embedded in the healer's unit. When I was sent to Vanessa, one of them—a wolf named Gregor—he preserved the fetus in a stasis crystal. They wanted Fae Royal blood for their experiments. A living sample was worth more than—"
I couldn't hear the rest.
My daughter was alive.
My daughter had been alive for almost a year, trapped in a stasis crystal, used as a lab specimen by the same monsters who'd engineered my entire life.
"Where?" The word came out as Fae fire—literally. Silver flames licked along the pew beneath my hands.
"I don't know exactly. But the coalition's primary research facility is in the Northern Wastes—it's hidden, warded—"
"Send me everything you have. Location estimates, ward signatures, personnel lists. Everything."
"I will. I—Princess, I'm so sorry. I should have spoken sooner. I was afraid—"
"You're speaking now. That's what matters." I hung up.
My hands were shaking. My entire body was shaking. But not from grief this time.
From something far more dangerous.
Hope.
---
I portaled back to the Shadow Court within the hour. Burst into Caspian's war room without knocking.
He looked up from a map, startled. "What—"
"My daughter is alive."
The words hung in the air like a detonation.
Caspian slowly set down the quill in his hand. "Explain."
I told him everything. His silver eyes went from shock, to fury, to cold, calculated focus.
"The Northern Wastes facility." He pulled a different map from the stack. "I've suspected its existence for decades. It's where the coalition conducts their most classified experiments. Warded against Fae detection—which is why my scouts never confirmed its location."
"Can you find it now? With what Maren sends?"
"Possibly. But breaking through their wards will require significant force." He met my eyes. "This isn't a rescue mission for one person, Serenity. This is an act of war."
"Then it's war."
He studied me. "You've changed."
"I found out my daughter might still be alive. There is nothing in any realm that will stop me from reaching her."
A slow, fierce smile spread across Caspian's face. "Then we plan. Properly. We gather allies, we map their defenses, and we strike hard enough that they never recover."
"How long?"
"Two weeks to prepare. Less if we get lucky with intelligence."
Two weeks. My daughter had already been in that crystal for ten months. Two more weeks of stasis wouldn't harm her—Maren had confirmed that.
But every second felt like bleeding.
"There's one more thing," Caspian said carefully. "Kael Blackthorne has been requesting contact. Daily. His messages are increasingly—"
"I'll deal with Kael."
"Will you?"
I thought about it. Truly thought about it.
Kael was many things—manipulated, compelled, foolish. But he was also one of the most powerful Alpha Kings alive. And our daughter—his daughter—was trapped in an enemy facility.
"I'll tell him," I said. "About the baby. He deserves to know she might be alive. And frankly, we need his army."
"Using your ex-mate's forces for a military operation. Cold." Caspian grinned. "I approve."
"This isn't about us," I said firmly. "This is about her."
"Of course." He pulled out a communication crystal. "Shall I arrange the meeting, or do you want the satisfaction of watching him grovel in person?"
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
"In person. Let him come to me this time."