Chapter 4 QUESTIONS IN THE DARK

I found myself unable to drift off to sleep. The night enveloped the windows, soft as the finest velvet yet burdened with an unspoken promise whose meaning eluded me. I lay awake on the edge of the bed, attuned to the gentle respiration of the Veil. The silence was far from empty; it was filled with faint sounds that served as a reminder of my existence. The slow, rhythmic drip from the basin, the hushed murmur of the wind threading through the silver leaves, and the distant echoes of creatures that moved like malevolent phantoms born from fervent prayers.

Each sound was like an anchor, preventing my panic from erupting like an open wound.

Kaelith had vowed to disclose everything come morning. Yet, he had remained silent on the extent of the truth he would share, the reason behind his rescue of me from the Luminous knights, and why the prophecy was a fabrication.

Promises uttered under the cover of night often take on a menacing edge.

A part of me yearned to slip out of the room and flee until the Veil swallowed me whole. Another part was determined to stay and demand answers from a prince who wore shadows like a regal mantle.

As if sensing my indecision, a dark substance seeped beneath the door and spread across the floor like spilled ink. It glided towards my feet, pooling into a shallow expanse of shadow that seemed to breathe with a slow, deliberate intent.

“Stay put,” I whispered, well - aware of how absurd it sounded.

The shadow paused, curled once in a gentle ripple, and then retreated.

It was observing.

Guarding.

Waiting.

Sleep came in fragmented pieces. Each time I drifted into slumber, the same dream haunted me. A black crown plunging into a silver sea, accompanied by a faint voice whispering, “one will fall, one will rise”. Every time I awoke, my throat was raw from screams I couldn't recall.

Dawn crept over the horizon like a faint, purplish bruise of light. Along with it came footsteps, slow and measured, approaching my door down the corridor.

Kaelith entered without knocking.

In the daylight, he appeared less terrifying, less like a being carved from the very essence of night. Shadows clung to him like stubborn morning fog that refused to dissipate. He studied me in silence for a moment, gauging the distance between us.

“Are you alive?” he inquired.

“Yes,” I replied, surprised by the steadiness of my voice. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Enough,” he said, closing the door behind him. “We don't have time for games, Seren. The Luminous scouts will scour the Veil today. They won't stop until they find you.”

I sat up and pulled the blanket closer around me. “You promised to tell me everything.”

Kaelith didn't sit. He surveyed the room as if determining where truth could be safely placed. “Sharing everything comes at a high cost. Truth is heavier than a blade,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Let's start with the basics. I am Kaelith Draven Noxaris, the last heir of Noxvale.”

“You've already told me that,” I pointed out.

“And yet you still asked,” he retorted.

His gaze drifted towards the silver leaves outside the window. “You were born when a war tore the Veil asunder. In the old days, our people and yours were intertwined. Two realms sharing a common boundary.”

“The boundary,” I repeated. The word seemed too insignificant for something that had shaped entire worlds.

“Yes. Where two fabrics meet,” he said, his voice growing deeper. “When the boundary was torn, the Balance was disrupted. To safeguard both realms, a crown was forged from the union of light and shadow.”

“What became of it?” I asked.

“It was shattered,” he replied, his jaw tightening. “Not by a single individual, but by many. Fear is a cunning master when it seeks to rule. The Luminous priests rewrote history and painted us as monsters so that they could monopolize the light.”

“So the stories are lies,” I whispered. The revelation felt like a long - held breath finally released. “They turned you into the monster.”

“And they've maintained that false image,” he replied.

I swallowed hard. “Why? What did they gain by distorting the truth?”

“Power,” he said. “An order built on fear. Devotion molded by deception. To stay on top, you create an enemy beneath.”

My stomach tightened. “And why would the Veil call for me?”

He looked at me. The cold mask of royalty cracked just enough to reveal the raw truth beneath.

“Because you are an anomaly. You possess eclipsed blood,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that caressed my skin. “You are the missing piece the priests failed to find. You carry light, but there's something else woven within it. That makes you dangerous, not because you'll end the world, but because you can transform it.”

My knees felt weak. “How can I transform it?”

He held my gaze. “By choosing which story becomes the truth.”

The weight of his words bore down on me. I had anticipated clear, straightforward answers. Instead, I was drowning in riddles and the centuries of history reflected in Kaelith's eyes.

“Then why save me?” I whispered. “If you think I can unravel everything, why not hand me over to the priests and let them finish what they started?”

A soft sigh escaped him. “Because they would corrupt the remaining world. Because they would twist you until nothing of you remained. And because your presence keeps my curse from consuming my soul.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Curse?”

“Yes,” he said, looking away for the first time. “A price I paid to survive the destruction of my realm. You are the thread that keeps it from devouring me.”

“You're saying I'm your salvation,” I said.

“You're putting it into words,” he replied softly.

Before I could respond, a knock sounded at the door.

Soft. Controlled.

A sound that seemed out of place in the fortress.

“Enter,” Kaelith said.

A tall man stepped inside. His hair was dark, streaked with silver, and his posture exuded the confidence of someone who had never known the fear of being hunted. His grey eyes were steady and calculating.

“Kaelith,” he greeted with a slight bow. “I bring news from the outer patrols. The Luminous scouts have penetrated deeper into the Veil. They've found signs of mortal camps near the old river. They'll be here by midday.”

“Thank you, Lucen,” Kaelith said.

Lucen.

The name resonated in my mind, a familiar yet unsettling echo.

Lucen's gaze shifted to me. His eyes held an unreadable glint.

He studied me openly.

“Is this one yours?” he asked.

“She is,” Kaelith replied.

Lucen's attention lingered on me for an uncomfortably long time. His smile didn't reach his eyes.

Something in the atmosphere changed.