CHAPTER 317: CHAPTER 317 NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT (BONUS)

I took a step back instinctively. "What is the meaning of this?"

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he took a slow step forward, his gaze sharp and calculating. "You have caused quite the stir on the night before your wedding day," he finally said. "Running away from your duties, consorting with enemies, and now returning only when summoned by force. How... disappointing."

My stomach twisted. "You planned this?" I turned to face Rhydian, but he averted his gaze. My shoulders shook with rage.

Zeir’s lips curved slightly, not quite a smile. "Rhydian did what was necessary. You were becoming far too... independent for your own good."

I clenched my fists at my sides, anger bubbling in my chest. "If you wanted me dead, you could have just said so."

His eyes darkened. "Dead? No, my dear Aeris. You are far too valuable to kill."

His words were cold enough to freeze my blood. I took another step back, but guards moved instantly, blocking every path around me.

My heart pounded violently in my chest. Damon’s name echoed in my head like a prayer I couldn’t say out loud.

"Where is my mother?" I asked.

"Don’t worry your mother is fine." He raised his head to stare at the figure watching from the window.

And when I followed his line of sight, my breath hitched. My mother’s eyes met mine, she remained as graceful and elegant as always. She doesn’t look like someone who was dying.

A bitter laugh tore from my throat. I knew it was all good to be true.

I turned to King Zeir. "You think you can hold me back?" My eyes burned purple with golden rings, my wings unfurled from my back, spreading beautifully behind me.

A look of surprise flickered through the guards’ stoic faces, but King Zeir remained indifferent.

"Let me go, and we can avoid this fight." My voice was detached, brimming with power.

"I’m afraid I can’t let you go." He said as if he was humming.

"I’m not the Wingless fae you all knew before..." My eyes widened when I felt a pressuring force over me, and that was when I realized King Zeir was already unleashing his powers.

The pressure slammed into me like a tidal wave, crushing the air out of my lungs. The marble beneath my feet cracked, veins of gold light spreading out where I stood. My wings flared wider, straining against the invisible weight that pressed me down.

"You dare raise your power against your King?" Zeir’s voice echoed through the hall, calm and cruel, his silver eyes glinting with delight. "Do you think your wings make you equal to me?"

My lips curled into a snarl. "I know who I am, and I’m not your equal."

’Because I’m stronger than you.’

With a sharp flick of my wrist, the air crackled. A violent gust surged from my palms, shattering the ornate glass chandeliers above. The shards rained down like falling stars, slicing through the air. The guards moved instantly, forming a circle, their spears glowing with runes.

I moved faster. My magic burst outward, gold light intertwining, wrapping around me like a storm. I lunged at the nearest guard, my hand blazing with light. His weapon shattered the instant it touched my magic, and before he could react, my palm slammed into his chest. He flew across the room, crashing into a pillar that splintered on impact.

Another came from behind. I turned, my wings sweeping sideways with the force of a hurricane. He screamed as he was thrown into the wall.

"Stop her!" Zeir’s voice thundered.

Five more guards rushed me at once, their blades humming with enchantments. I ducked under one strike, twisting gracefully, my foot snapping up to meet another’s jaw. The impact cracked his bone. I caught a blade mid-swing with my bare hand, heat searing through my skin, but I didn’t flinch. My power surged into the weapon, and it melted into molten silver.

Rhydian stood frozen a few steps behind Zeir, torn between guilt and hesitation. "Aeris, stop this! You can’t win!"

I turned my gaze to him, my voice cold. "You should have thought of that before betraying me."

His lips parted, but no words came.

Zeir raised his hand, and the ground trembled. A surge of silver energy burst from beneath me, shooting upward like a pillar. I leapt aside, my wings catching the air as the beam sliced through where I’d been standing. The shockwave sent a few guards flying, but Zeir stood untouched, his aura gleaming like moonfire.

"You disappoint me," he said, his tone almost pitiful. "All that potential, wasted in rebellion."

"You talk too much." I flew toward him, my fist glowing with blinding light. When I struck, the impact rippled through the air, colliding with his barrier. The explosion shook the entire ground, cracks formed on the wall, and the floor parted beneath the force.

For a brief moment, I saw his face twist in surprise.

"You shouldn’t have tried to control me," I whispered.

His answer came in the form of a spell. The air trembled, and tendrils of pure energy shot toward me like serpents. They coiled around my limbs, searing through my magic. I screamed as pain coursed through me, the binding spell trying to tear my wings apart.

But pain had always been my teacher.

I forced my energy outward, raw and unrefined. Purple and gold light exploded from me in a blinding flash. The bindings disintegrated, and the blast threw Zeir back several steps.

The guards hesitated, fear flickering in their eyes. I could smell their panic.

I turned, spotting my mother still standing by the window. Her face remained calm, too calm for a mother watching her daughter on the verge of being overpowered. "Did you know?" I shouted. "Did you know about all of this?"

She didn’t answer. Her silence was worse than any lie.

I felt something inside me snap. My power surged uncontrollably, the air around me humming with intensity. Lightning-like streaks of violet carved through the walls. The guards fell one by one, unable to withstand the force of my fury.

When the dust began to settle, Zeir rose again, his robes torn, his expression dark with rage.

"This is for your own good," he said in a low, venomous voice.

I met his gaze, breathing hard, blood trickling down my arm. "My own good? You gist."

He lifted his hand once more, his magic crackling with blinding silver-blue light. I spread my wings wide, ready to meet his next attack head-on.

The castle trembled again, as if the heavens themselves were holding their breath.