The hidden Library
363 Words
The queen’s visit left a bitter chill in Aria’s bones. Even hours later, the weight of Malverra’s warning clung to her like a second skin.
“You will burn everything he’s built…”
What did she mean by that? And what exactly was a Flameborn?
That night, while the palace slept under a blanket of cold fog, Aria slipped out of her chambers once more. This time, she wasn’t looking for shadows or whispers — she was looking for answers.
She remembered a strange corner of the palace — a section closed off during the day, ignored by servants. Her curiosity led her there now, candle in hand, footsteps soft on the velvet-carpeted floor.
At the end of the corridor, past a cracked pillar and a faded tapestry, she found a narrow door with no handle — just a strange symbol etched in the wood.
The same symbol that had been burned into the cover of the prophecy book.
As her fingers grazed the mark, the door creaked open on its own.
Inside, the room was massive. Walls stretched high with shelves upon shelves of ancient tomes, scrolls, and relics. A spiral staircase wound upward into the shadows.
Aria stepped inside.
The air smelled of ink, dust, and something darker — like old magic and forgotten blood.
She wandered through the aisles until a glowing book caught her eye. It pulsed softly, as if breathing.
She opened it slowly, heart pounding.
The text was in a language she didn’t know… yet somehow, she could read it.
“The Flameborn are not made — they are born from fire and blood, descended from the mortal queens who once ruled over the Nightborn. Their power is rare. Their blood awakens those bound to the curse. And when bonded to a Nightborn prince…”
Aria stopped reading.
“…the world will either be reborn—or destroyed.”
She dropped the book, her hands shaking.
So this was what they feared. Not just that she was different — but that she was the key to something far greater than a royal union.
A choice.
A war.
Footsteps echoed from the corridor behind her.
She wasn’t alone.
- Writer
