CHAPTER 4——The kingdom of shadows
1100 Words
The journey began before sunrise.
Lyra looked back only once.
From the top of the hill, Elden Hollow looked exactly as it always had peaceful cottages nestled among rolling fields, smoke curling from chimneys, and the old chapel standing proudly at the heart of the village.
It was home.
Or at least, it had been.
“You don’t have to keep looking back,” Kael said quietly as he adjusted the saddle on his horse. “The village will still be there.”
Lyra forced a smile.
“I’m not afraid it’ll disappear.”
“What, then?”
She lowered her gaze.
“I’m afraid I won’t recognize myself when I return.”
Kael didn’t answer.
Instead, he climbed onto his horse and extended a hand toward her.
After a brief hesitation, Lyra accepted it.
Within moments, they were riding toward the eastern mountains, leaving the only life she had ever known behind.
By midday, they reached the edge of the Silverwood Forest.
The trees there were unlike any Lyra had seen before. Their trunks shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight, and silver leaves drifted through the air even though there was no wind.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t always.”
She looked at Kael.
“What happened?”
“The curse.”
His answer was short, but his eyes told another story.
“The curse doesn’t just destroy people,” he continued. “It poisons everything it touches.”
Lyra’s heart tightened.
She glanced at the black mark creeping across the back of his hand.
“Does it hurt?”
He gave a humorless laugh.
“Only when I breathe.”
She frowned.
“Kael…”
“I’ve learned to live with it.”
“No one should have to.”
For the first time since they’d met, Kael looked at her with something softer than caution.
Hope.
“You really believe everyone can be saved, don’t you?”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“Because if I stop believing that…” she said gently, “…then I’d have to believe you’re already lost.”
Kael quickly looked away.
No one had ever spoken to him like that before.
⸻
As evening settled over the mountains, they arrived at an abandoned watchtower overlooking the kingdom.
In the distance, Lyra finally saw it.
Asteria.
Its white stone walls stretched for miles, surrounding a magnificent castle whose towers reached into the clouds.
She recognized it instantly.
It was the castle from her dreams.
Her breath caught.
“I’ve seen this place.”
Kael turned sharply.
“When?”
“In my dreams.”
Silence.
“You’ve dreamed of Asteria?”
She nodded.
“Almost every night.”
Kael’s face paled.
“Then the prophecy has already begun.”
Before Lyra could ask what he meant, another voice interrupted them.
“I was beginning to think you’d never make it.”
A young woman stepped from the shadows, dressed in deep green leather armor with a bow slung across her back.
She smiled at Kael.
“You certainly know how to make an entrance.”
Kael relaxed for the first time all day.
“Lyra,” he said, “this is Seraphine.”
The woman bowed slightly.
“I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Lyra blinked.
“You have?”
“For years.”
Something about the answer made Lyra uneasy.
How could so many people know who she was…
When she didn’t even know herself?
⸻
That night, the three of them sat around a small campfire inside the ruined tower.
Seraphine handed Lyra a steaming cup of herbal tea.
“You’ll need your strength.”
“For what?”
Seraphine glanced at Kael.
“He hasn’t told you?”
“Told me what?”
Kael stared into the flames.
“There is a reason they call you the Lost Princess.”
Lyra’s pulse quickened.
“I knew it.”
“You were born in Asteria.”
The world seemed to stop.
“Your parents ruled this kingdom.”
She couldn’t breathe.
“No…”
“When you were only a few months old, the kingdom was attacked by the Order of Ash.”
“The people who sent those creatures?”
Kael nodded.
“They wanted your family’s bloodline erased forever.”
“So… Mrs. Briar…”
“She never lied to you,” Kael said gently.
“She found you exactly as she told you.”
Lyra looked into the fire, her thoughts spinning.
Everything she believed about herself…
Everything…
Had been a lie.
A sudden scream echoed outside.
Seraphine shot to her feet.
“They found us.”
Kael grabbed his sword.
“Stay behind me.”
The tower doors burst open.
This time, only one figure entered.
An old man wearing a black robe.
His silver hair fell to his shoulders, and a long scar crossed one side of his face.
He wasn’t smiling.
He wasn’t angry.
He looked…
Disappointed.
His eyes settled on Kael.
“You were supposed to bring her to us.”
Lyra frowned.
“What?”
Kael’s grip tightened around his sword.
“I changed my mind.”
The old man’s gaze shifted to Lyra.
“My child… do you know who he really is?”
Lyra looked between them.
“What is he talking about?”
The old man took another step forward.
“The curse on Prince Kael was not an accident.”
Kael closed his eyes.
“Enough.”
“He accepted it willingly.”
Lyra stared at him in disbelief.
“No…”
“It was the price he paid…” the old man continued, “…for surviving the night your parents died.”
The words struck like lightning.
“You knew my parents?”
Kael finally met her eyes.
Pain filled his expression.
“I did.”
“You never told me.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he whispered, “I was there the night the royal family fell.”
Tears filled Lyra’s eyes.
“You’ve been hiding the truth from me this whole time.”
“It wasn’t to hurt you.”
“Then why?”
Kael took one step toward her.
“Because I was afraid that once you knew…”
His voice broke.
“…you’d never look at me the same way again.”
The fire crackled between them.
For the first time since meeting him…
Lyra stepped back instead of forward.
And in that single moment…
Kael realized that losing the battle would have hurt less than losing her trust.
- Writer
