Chapter 6 THE HEART OF SHADOWS

The words he uttered clung to my mind like icy tendrils, refusing to let go.

“So, what does my prophecy foretell?” I inquired.

A muscle in Kaelith's jaw twitched, a subtle yet telling sign. “That's a truth you're not yet prepared to face,” he replied.

I took a step closer. “Then help me become ready.”

His shadows stilled.

So did he.

Slowly and deliberately, Kaelith turned to confront me. The air grew thick as his eyes locked onto mine. Silver light burned through the violet ring, resembling twin moons caught in an eclipse.

“Don't seek truth until you're certain you can bear its weight,” he murmured softly.

“I can,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“You think you can.”

“I know I can.”

“No.”

He advanced towards me.

The world seemed to shrink. His breath brushed my skin like the caress of cold silk.

My heart skipped a beat.

“You're eager to know,” he murmured. “But eagerness doesn't equal knowledge.”

I swallowed hard. “Tell me regardless.”

His silence lingered for a heartbeat too long.

Before he could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed behind us.

Kaelith reacted instantaneously. He positioned himself between me and the corridor, his shadows rising like an impenetrable shield forged from primal instinct and raw fury.

Lucen emerged from the hallway, casually brushing dust from his sleeves as if he had just strolled through a tempest of bones.

“Ah, there you are,” Lucen said nonchalantly. “The scouts have crossed the river. They've found a trail. Yours.”

Kaelith's voice grew sharp. “How many are there?”

“Six initially,” Lucen replied. “More now. And one of them is a Seeker.”

The word sent a chill down my spine.

“A Seeker?” I whispered, my voice trembling. “What is that?”

Lucen answered before Kaelith could. “Someone who can detect your magic. They can track you through fog, stone, ash, and bone. You can't outrun them.”

My breath caught in my throat.

Kaelith spun around to face me. “We have to move. Now.”

Lucen leaned against the wall. “You could flee, or...” His eyebrows arched suggestively. “…you could hide her in the lower halls.”

“No,” Kaelith snapped.

Lucen's grin widened, his teeth glinting like blades. “So, the prophecy girl is special, huh?”

Kaelith remained silent.

He looked at me. “Follow me.”

I hesitated. “Where to?”

“Somewhere the Seeker can't reach,” Kaelith said.

“Where is that?”

He met my gaze directly.

“The heart of the fortress.”

The shadows behind him swelled like a raging tide as the wind from the Veil wailed through the narrow windows.

I swallowed hard.

The heart.

The place even the Veil regarded with trepidation.

And I was being led straight into it by the Shadow Prince.

I had no inkling of what to expect from the heart of the fortress.

But nothing could have prepared me for the reality.

We descended a spiral staircase of stone that plunged deep into the mountain's core. The air grew colder and more oppressive, as if the walls were closing in on us, watching our every move. The blue flames behind us dimmed as deeper shadows engulfed us, lurking at the edges of my vision.

Kaelith and Lucen remained silent.

The silence between them was heavy with centuries of unresolved tension that I couldn't begin to fathom.

“What exactly is the heart?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.

Kaelith's answer was curt. “A place near the epicenter of the curse.”

Lucen, as usual, provided what Kaelith withheld. “It's where the Shadow Crown was either forged or shattered,” he said, flashing a smile as sharp as a dagger. “Depends on whose version of the story you believe.”

I looked at Kaelith. His jaw was set, his eyes fixed forward. The shadows around him pulsed with a tension that mirrored his silence.

We reached a colossal door of polished obsidian, carved from a single massive slab. There were no hinges, no handles. Just smooth black stone veined with silver markings that throbbed like a slow, steady heartbeat.

“Step aside,” Kaelith commanded.

Lucen moved to the side.

Kaelith lifted his hand, holding it just above the surface of the door. His shadows rippled forward, curling into the silver veins like ink seeping into cracks. The veins glowed brighter, intertwining until the entire door shuddered.

It opened with a deep, resonant groan.

A rush of cold air swept out, carrying the scent of ancient stone and something faintly sweet, like crushed night - blooming flowers.

I hesitated.

Kaelith turned to me. “It won't harm you.”

“You keep saying that,” I murmured.

“And you keep doubting me,” he replied.

Lucen chuckled softly. “She's a smart one, Kaelith.”

Kaelith ignored him.

He stepped inside.

I followed.

The chamber was surprisingly small, yet every inch of it hummed with a subdued power. The air pressed gently against my skin, as if assessing whether I belonged there.

In the center of the chamber stood a circular platform etched with runes that spiraled outward like frozen ripples in stone.

Above it floated a crown.

It defied description in the mortal world's limited vocabulary.

It was a seamless blend of shadow and light, constantly shifting and reforming. One moment it took a distinct shape, the next it wavered like a wisp of mist before re - solidifying. As if it were unsure of its own existence.

It cast no shadow and emitted no light.

It simply hovered in the air, a defiance of the known laws of reality.

I found myself taking a step towards it before I even realized I was moving.

“Stop.”

Kaelith's voice cut through the chamber like a whip.

I froze in my tracks.

He stepped between me and the crown, his shadows trembling beneath his skin. His eyes darkened to a menacing hue, almost violent.

“Never touch it,” he repeated in a soft but firm tone. “Not ever.”

I swallowed hard. “What is it?”

Lucen answered. “The Shadow Crown. The last remaining relic of the Umbral Kings.”

Kaelith's jaw tightened. “It's a prison, a curse, and a weapon all in one.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Then why bring me here if it's so dangerous?”

Kaelith studied my face with an intensity that made me uncomfortable, as if weighing every truth he considered sharing with me.

Finally, he said, “Because this is the only place where the Veil can't sense you.”

My breath caught. “What does that even mean?”

Lucen waved his hand dismissively. “The Veil is all - seeing. Magic spreads, and information seeps into the forest. A girl with eclipsed blood and a prophecy attached to her? The Veil is already whispering your name.”

Kaelith shot him a warning look.

Lucen merely smiled.

“The heart is the only place where your magic can't be detected,” Kaelith said quietly. “The Seeker will reach the outer gates soon. Once he sets foot where you last were, he won't stop until he finds you.”

“The Seeker hunts magic, not people,” Lucen added.

My stomach churned.

“So, this chamber can hide me from the Seeker,” I said.

“Yes,” Kaelith replied.

“And from the Veil.”

“Yes.”

“And from you?”

Kaelith held my gaze unflinchingly.

“Nothing can hide you from me.”