Chapter 15: The Page He Stole
1191 Words
Destiny did not sleep.
Mostly because betrayal was exhausting.
Partly because Kael had delivered catastrophic news in the same tone one might use to discuss weather.
“The prisoner escaped.”
Normal voice.
“He stole the second page.”
Still calm.
As if men did not routinely flee royal dungeons carrying pieces of her life.
By sunrise, she was pacing Kael’s private study like an offended ghost.
“You waited until midnight to tell me.”
“I told you immediately after confirming it.”
“You brought tea first.”
“I was prioritizing hydration.”
She spun toward him.
“You are impossible.”
Kael sat behind a desk buried in reports, looking infuriatingly composed.
“I’ve heard warmer descriptions.”
Princess Lyra lounged on a nearby sofa eating grapes she had definitely not been invited to.
“He likes when you yell,” she said.
Kael did not look at her.
“Leave.”
“No.”
Destiny pointed at Lyra.
“Why is she here?”
“Because this is excellent,” Lyra said.
“Also because I know the tunnels better than anyone alive.”
That mattered.
Annoyingly.
Destiny resumed pacing.
“What was on the second page?”
Kael’s expression sobered.
“I only saw a few lines before the theft.”
“Which were?”
He held her gaze.
“A name.”
Her pulse jumped.
“My mother?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Yours.”
Silence.
Destiny stopped moving.
“My name was on the first page.”
“Not the one you know.”
Cold slid down her spine.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” Lyra said, tossing a grape stem aside, “your mother appears to have hidden more than bloodlines.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“The second page also mentioned a place.”
“Which place?”
“I don’t know. The lower half was torn before I saw it.”
Destiny stared at him.
“You run a kingdom.”
“Yes.”
“And still lose pages.”
“Repeatedly bringing this up feels personal.”
“It is personal.”
Lyra laughed so hard she nearly fell sideways.
---
By noon the palace had become a machine in motion.
Search teams deployed through the city.
Interrogations began.
Every gate was watched.
Cassian coordinated guards with terrifying efficiency.
Corvin complained while healing people who deserved it.
Destiny was told to remain inside.
She ignored this immediately.
Wrapped in a dark cloak, she slipped through the east corridor toward the old archive stairs.
She made it three turns before Kael’s voice came from behind her.
“You are terrible at escaping.”
She froze.
“I wasn’t escaping.”
“You’re wearing stealth badly.”
She turned.
He stood with arms crossed, coat half-fastened, silver eyes tired.
“You followed me?”
“I noticed the suspicious absence of your arguing.”
“That is manipulative.”
“That is pattern recognition.”
She should have been angry.
Instead she noticed the shadows beneath his eyes.
“You haven’t slept.”
“Neither have you.”
“I’m not the king.”
“Correct. My workload is tragic.”
She sighed.
“I need to do something.”
His expression shifted.
Less ruler. More man.
“I know.”
That quiet understanding nearly undid her.
He stepped closer.
“Then do it with me.”
---
The hidden vault had been resealed under guard.
Moonstone doors reopened at Kael’s command.
Destiny entered beside him.
This time the chamber glowed softly, as if awake but resting.
The pedestal stood empty except for faint silver dust.
She touched the carvings on the wall.
The pulse inside her answered.
Kael watched carefully.
“What are you looking for?” he asked.
“Anything my life forgot to mention.”
She traced one symbol shaped like a crescent wrapped around a star.
It lit beneath her fingers.
Then another.
And another.
Lines spread across the wall, forming a map.
Lyra, who had absolutely ignored orders and followed them in, whistled.
“Well. Boundaries continue to mean nothing.”
The glowing lines converged on a marked point in the northern mountains.
Evelyne entered behind her as if appearing from old air.
“The Sanctuary.”
Everyone turned.
Destiny clutched her chest.
“Can people in this family stop arriving like ghosts?”
“No,” Evelyne said.
She approached the wall.
“The last refuge of House Selaris. Hidden after the purge.”
Kael frowned.
“You knew of it.”
“I knew rumors.”
“You enjoy withholding.”
“I enjoy surviving.”
Destiny looked at the marked point.
“My mother could be there?”
“Or the answers she left,” Evelyne said.
Lyra brightened.
“Road trip.”
“No,” Kael said instantly.
“Yes,” Destiny said at the same time.
They glared at each other.
Lyra clasped her hands.
“This is my favorite courtship stage.”
“It is not courtship,” both said.
Evelyne smirked.
“Children.”
---
Later that evening, Destiny packed in her suite while Nora folded clothes with military aggression.
“You’re going,” Nora said.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“You don’t think it’s dangerous?”
“I think staying still while others hunt you is dangerous.”
Nora shoved boots into a bag.
“Besides, mountain journeys improve posture.”
Destiny smiled faintly.
Then hesitated.
“What if I find nothing?”
Nora looked up.
“Then you still found yourself willing to look.”
A knock sounded.
Kael entered after one second, as if doors were ceremonial.
He carried a leather satchel.
“Travel maps. Provisions. Spare blades.”
“You assume I’m coming.”
“I accepted reality hours ago.”
He set the satchel down.
Their eyes met.
The room felt smaller.
“I won’t be hidden here,” Destiny said quietly.
“I know.”
“I won’t be managed.”
“I know.”
“I won’t obey blindly.”
“That one I already knew.”
She almost smiled.
Then asked the question sitting between them.
“Why are you really coming?”
His answer came too fast to be rehearsed.
“Because whoever stole that page now knows something about you.”
A beat.
“And because I’d rather face mountains than wonder if you’re safe elsewhere.”
Her breath caught.
Nora suddenly found curtains fascinating.
Destiny looked away first.
Dangerous man.
---
At dawn, four riders left the palace through the north gate.
Kael.
Destiny.
Lyra.
Cassian.
Nora had attempted to come and been bribed into staying with kitchen authority.
The city shrank behind them as the mountain road climbed.
Cold wind bit sharp.
The sky stretched pale and endless.
Destiny touched the pendant at her throat and looked ahead.
Somewhere beyond the peaks waited her true name.
Somewhere behind them, a man carried the stolen page.
And somewhere beside her rode a king who watched every shadow like it might dare touch her.
By midday, the first arrow flew.
- Writer
