Chapter 6 The One Who Applauded
754 Words
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The slow applause echoed through the Great Hall, each clap louder than the last.
Every head turned.
A man stepped out from the line of Council Elders.
His silver robes marked him as one of the kingdom's most respected healers.
High Healer Cassian.
The very man who had examined me every year since I was twelve.
He smiled.
Not with warmth.
With amusement.
"Magnificent," he said, looking directly at King Kael. "I wondered how long it would take you to notice."
The room erupted.
"High Healer!"
"What are you doing?"
"Have you lost your mind?"
Cassian ignored them all.
His pale blue eyes settled on me.
"My, my..."
He sighed dramatically.
"You've grown into quite the inconvenience."
A chill raced through my body.
"You..."
Memories flashed through my mind.
His cold hands checking my pulse.
The bitter tonics he insisted I drink.
His constant reminder that I would never become a proper Luna.
"Accept your limitations, child."
"You're simply weaker than the others."
I had trusted him.
All those years...
I had trusted him.
"You poisoned me."
It wasn't a question.
Cassian chuckled.
"No."
"I maintained the poison."
The distinction made my stomach twist.
"Someone else began the process long before I met you."
The entire hall gasped.
My heart pounded painfully.
"What do you mean?"
Cassian's smile widened.
"You were already dying when you arrived at Silver Hollow."
"No..."
"Someone wanted you weak before you were old enough to speak."
I felt the floor sway beneath me.
My whole life...
Had been a lie.
Kael took one step forward.
"Who gave you the order?"
Cassian shrugged.
"A physician never reveals his clients."
The King's aura exploded.
The marble beneath his feet cracked.
"You mistake yourself for a physician."
His voice was ice.
"You are nothing more than a torturer."
Cassian laughed.
"I've heard worse."
Before anyone could react—
Kael disappeared.
One second he stood ten feet away.
The next...
His hand was wrapped around Cassian's throat.
The healer's feet left the ground.
Gasps erupted throughout the chamber.
I had never seen anyone move that fast.
Cassian clawed desperately at the King's wrist.
"You... can't..."
"I can."
Kael's voice remained terrifyingly calm.
"And I will."
His golden eyes blazed.
"Give me a name."
Cassian smiled despite the hand crushing his throat.
"You think killing me changes anything?"
His gaze shifted toward me.
"It has already begun."
"What has?" I whispered.
"The final seal."
My breath caught.
The mark beneath my collarbone burned again.
This time...
It spread.
Silver veins of light crawled beneath my skin, weaving across my neck before disappearing beneath my dress.
Pain unlike anything I had ever known tore through my body.
I screamed.
The sound wasn't entirely human.
Every candle in the Great Hall burst into silver flames.
The chandeliers shook violently.
Cracks spread across the marble floor.
A powerful gust of wind swept through the room, sending nobles stumbling backward.
Kael released Cassian immediately and turned to me.
"Lyra!"
I dropped to my knees, clutching my chest.
It felt as though something inside me was trying to claw its way free.
"Make it stop..."
Tears blurred my vision.
"It hurts..."
Lyra...
Nova.
Her voice.
It was clearer than before.
Weak...
But alive.
"Nova!"
Don't fight it...
Fight what?
Another wave of pain crashed through me.
A pulse of silver light erupted from my body.
Boom!
Everyone within several feet was thrown backward.
Ronan barely managed to keep his footing.
Iris screamed as she crashed into one of the banquet tables.
Even the High Elders staggered.
Only Kael remained standing.
He walked through the storm of silver energy as though it were nothing.
Then he stopped in front of me.
"Look at me."
I couldn't.
The pain was unbearable.
"Lyra."
His voice softened.
"Look at me."
Slowly, I lifted my head.
His golden eyes held mine.
"Listen carefully."
His expression was unlike anything I'd seen before.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Recognition.
"Your seal isn't breaking because of the rejection."
My breathing hitched.
"It's breaking because..."
Before he could finish—
Cassian burst into laughter.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Too late!"
He threw something onto the floor.
A black crystal.
The moment it shattered...
The Great Hall was swallowed by darkness.
Screams echoed in every direction.
The windows exploded inward.
A freezing wind roared through the chamber.
And from within the darkness...
A voice I had never heard before whispered directly into my mind.
At last...
I have found you, my little Guardian.
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