CHAPTER 7
530 Words
Into the Ruins
Aurelia had planned to leave at dawn.
Then the Moonstone changed everything.
Just after sunset, a messenger arrived at the palace with news from the eastern villages.
Another attack.
This time, the attackers had left a message:
Give us the heir, or the next village burns.
Aurelia's stomach twisted.
Elias was still at their family estate.
She couldn't wait.
“I leave tonight.”
Kael looked up from the map.
“No.”
Aurelia stared at him.
“That wasn't a request.”
“It isn't safe.”
“People are already in danger.”
“You think rushing into the ruins will help?”
“I think sitting here won't.”
Kael studied her.
Then he noticed the fear behind her anger.
“Elias.”
Aurelia's expression tightened.
“You don't know anything about my brother.”
“I know he's the reason you're willing to ride into danger.”
She looked away.
“He's my responsibility.”
Kael rolled up the map.
“Then we're leaving tonight.”
Aurelia blinked.
“You're coming?”
“You'll get yourself killed without someone watching your back.”
“I thought it wasn't safe.”
“It isn't.”
He walked toward the stables.
“That doesn't mean I'm letting you go alone.”
---
They left beneath a moonless sky.
For the first hour, the road was quiet.
Then the forest swallowed them.
Tall trees crowded the path, their branches twisting overhead. The air grew colder, and mist curled around the horses' legs.
Aurelia pulled her cloak tighter.
“Does it always feel like this?”
Kael glanced around.
“No.”
That answer bothered her.
The horses slowed.
Their hooves sank into damp earth, making soft, uneven sounds.
Then Aurelia heard something.
A faint rustle.
She turned.
Nothing.
A few minutes later, she heard it again.
Footsteps.
Not theirs.
“Kael.”
“I heard it.”
They continued riding.
The forest grew strangely quiet.
No insects.
No birds.
Not even the wind.
Aurelia's fingers tightened around the reins.
Then her horse suddenly stopped.
Kael's horse stopped beside it.
“What happened?”
Aurelia looked ahead.
A thin silver thread hung between two trees.
It wasn't spiderweb.
It glowed faintly in the darkness.
Kael's face changed.
“Don't touch it.”
Aurelia stared at him.
“You recognize it.”
He didn't answer.
A cold breeze moved through the trees.
Somewhere ahead, a branch snapped.
Then another.
Aurelia reached for her sword.
Kael slowly drew his own.
The horses began to tremble.
Something moved between the trees.
Aurelia held her breath.
Three figures stepped from the darkness.
They wore silver cloaks.
The one in front lowered his hood.
His eyes settled on Aurelia.
Then he bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
Aurelia froze.
“We've been waiting three hundred years for you.”
Kael's grip tightened around his sword.
“Who are you?”
The stranger smiled.
Then looked directly at Kael.
“You already know.”
For the first time, Aurelia saw fear in Kael's eyes.
And she realized the ambush wasn't really about her.
It was about whatever Kael had left behind in these ruins.
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