Chapter two: The beast’s bargain
1082 Words
I couldn’t breathe.
The Emperor’s words echoed through my mind like a bell that refused to stop ringing.
“They failed to erase every heir.”
An heir?
The word made no sense.
I had spent my entire life believing I was the daughter of Rowan Ashmere, the quiet Chief Archivist who had taught me that books were worth more than gold and truth was worth more than comfort. My world had always been built from crumbling shelves, forgotten manuscripts, and evenings spent listening to my father read stories by candlelight.
There had never been room in that life for crowns or ancient bloodlines.
The Emperor turned away from me and walked toward the towering windows overlooking the capital. Moonlight spilled across the polished marble floor, outlining the broad shape of his shoulders beneath his black coat.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
“They’ve hidden the truth from you,” he said at last.
His voice was calm, almost gentle, but it carried a weight that settled heavily in my chest.
“My father has never lied to me,” I answered before I could stop myself.
The words came out stronger than I felt.
He glanced back at me, his storm-grey eyes unreadable.
“Then explain the pendant you’re wearing.”
Instinctively, my fingers closed around the cool silver resting against my neck.
“It belonged to my mother.”
“So you’ve been told.”
Something about the certainty in his voice made my stomach tighten.
He crossed the room with slow, measured steps and opened a drawer in the massive oak desk. From it, he removed an old parchment sealed beneath a thin sheet of crystal.
He placed it in front of me.
My eyes fell to the faded illustration.
A woman.
She wore the exact same crescent-shaped pendant.
Beneath her portrait was a crest carved into silver ink—a crescent enclosed within a circle of thorned branches.
My breath caught.
It was identical to the symbol hanging around my neck.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered.
“No,” he replied quietly.
“It’s history.”
I looked back at the drawing.
The woman’s face was unfamiliar.
And yet…
She looked uncannily like me.
The same dark hair.
The same eyes.
The same shape of her jaw.
A chill crept down my spine.
“What does this have to do with me?”
The Emperor’s gaze lingered on the portrait before settling on me once more.
“My family destroyed House Aster three centuries ago.”
The confession struck me harder than I expected.
“They opposed a decision that saved the empire.”
“They paid for it with their name.”
His expression didn’t change.
There was no pride in his voice.
Only weariness.
“The official records state that every member of House Aster died.”
He paused.
“They were wrong.”
I stared at him.
“You think I’m one of them?”
“I don’t think.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“I know.”
Before I could respond, the great doors opened behind me.
I turned to find a tall woman in silver-trimmed black armour stepping into the chamber.
She moved with effortless confidence.
Every step was precise.
Every movement controlled.
She bowed her head.
“Your Majesty.”
The Emperor acknowledged her with a slight nod.
“What is it, Lady Selene?”
“The council has assembled.”
“They’ve learned about the girl.”
My heart lurched.
Of course they had.
Secrets never stayed buried inside a palace.
“They demand answers.”
“They’ll wait.”
“They may not.”
A flicker of irritation crossed the Emperor’s face.
“I wasn’t asking for their permission.”
Lady Selene fell silent.
For the first time, she looked directly at me.
Her eyes were cold.
Not cruel.
Simply cautious.
As though she were trying to decide whether I was a frightened girl…
Or a disaster waiting to happen.
“If the nobles discover who she is,” she said carefully, “the court will divide before sunrise.”
“I know.”
“They’ll try to use her.”
“I know.”
“They may try to kill her.”
A long silence followed.
When the Emperor finally spoke, his voice was so quiet it barely rose above the crackling fire.
“Then they’ll discover why they call me the Beast.”
Even Lady Selene lowered her gaze.
She bowed once more before leaving without another word.
The doors closed behind her.
I swallowed hard.
“They’re afraid of you.”
He looked at me for a moment before answering.
“They’re afraid of what desperation makes people do.”
He walked toward a towering bookcase that stretched from floor to ceiling.
Unlike the shelves in the Royal Archives, every volume here was bound in plain black leather.
No titles.
Only silver numbers.
He removed one.
Then another.
Then a third.
“The empire wasn’t always one nation,” he said.
“It was once divided into twelve kingdoms.”
He handed me the oldest book.
Its pages weren’t filled with writing.
They held paintings.
Cities burning beneath crimson skies.
Mountains split open by impossible light.
Creatures made of living shadow pouring across the land.
Then I reached the final page.
A young emperor knelt before an endless darkness beneath a mountain.
In his hands rested a crown.
I looked up slowly.
“What am I looking at?”
His eyes remained fixed on the painting.
“The day I surrendered my humanity to save the empire.”
For the first time since entering the palace, I noticed the faint silver markings disappearing beneath the collar of his coat.
They weren’t scars.
They shimmered beneath his skin like cracks filled with moonlight.
“The darkness never disappeared,” he said.
“It became my burden.”
As if responding to his words, thunder rolled through the mountains outside.
The windows trembled.
The blue flames inside the fireplace flickered black for a heartbeat.
The Emperor closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the grey had vanished from his irises.
For the briefest instant…
His eyes were nothing but darkness.
Then they returned to normal.
He drew a slow, controlled breath.
“The prison is weakening.”
His gaze settled on me with unnerving intensity.
“And somehow…”
“…your blood may be the only thing keeping it from breaking.”
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