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chapter twelve: Roselyn's Truth

I was born into silk and silence.

The Vael estate was grand too grand, perhaps. Its marble halls echoed with expectations, and its windows let in light but never warmth. I was the first daughter, the obedient one, groomed to marry a man of wealth and name. Not for love, never for love, only alliances.

But I longed for something more.

I used to sneak away to the market square, hidden beneath cloaks and borrowed smiles. That was where I saw him for the first time.. Malek.

He was no noble. He carried crates and lifted wagons, but he moved like someone who knew his worth, and he looked at me like I was more than a bargaining chip. He made me feel real.

Foolish, isn’t it?

To believe in love so quickly.

I kept going back. Weeks turned into months. Every meeting made the world feel wider, lighter.

When I told my parents I wished to marry him, they didn’t laugh, they banished me. My name was torn from their books. My belongings were thrown onto the street.

I didn’t care.

I had Malek.

Or so I thought.

We lived in a cottage on the edge of the northern woods. I wove herbs into bundles and hung them from the rafters. He told stories of ancient bloodlines, of destinies, of power locked within those born under rare moons. I thought it was superstition. I laughed, even teased him.

But one night, I woke to find him speaking in hushed tones outside. I recognized my name, then the word children.

I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe.

I listened.

“You’re sure the prophecy speaks of her bloodline?” someone asked.

“Yes,” Malek replied. “The twins she bears will be powerful enough to break the chains of this world.”

Twins.

Prophecy.

Not love.

I packed my things that night, heart in pieces. I was already heavy with child. I didn’t know where I would go, but I knew I had to run. I couldn’t let him have them, couldn’t let him use my babies for some dark future.

But fate is cruel.

The woods were cold. My vision blurred. I bled, but I kept walking. Every step was a prayer. By the time I collapsed, I knew I wouldn’t make it.

I held one of them in my arms, just for a moment.

Both of them.

And then light. One baby cradled against her chest. Her whisper:

“Please… protect them… even from him.”

The dream shattered like glass.

Lior awoke gasping, soaked in sweat.

His hands trembled.

Roselyn.

His mother.

And somewhere out there… a brother.