VEIL OF EDEN

AFTERMATH

Morning came quietly.

Too quietly.

I woke with my back against the cold wooden wall, my neck stiff and every part of my body aching.

For a few seconds, I didn't move.

I listened.

Nothing.

No explosions.

No screaming.

No soldiers running past.

Just silence.

I slowly looked toward the servant.

He was already awake.

He sat near the door with his back against the wall, staring at the floor.

The tiny Anix floated beside him.

It looked exactly as it had the night before.

Round.

Small.

Bubbly.

That ridiculous little face somehow made the whole thing feel even stranger.

I looked at the servant.

He looked at me.

Neither of us spoke.

Honestly, I didn't know what to say.

Hello, thank you for saving my life by throwing me out of a fifth-floor window?

That seemed awkward.

So I said nothing.

He didn't either.

After a while, I pushed myself up.

My body protested immediately.

I winced.

The servant glanced at me.

"You hurt?"

I looked at him.

"Everything hurts."

He nodded as though that was a perfectly reasonable answer.

Then he stood.

He opened the small door.

Light spilled into the room.

I squinted.

The palace grounds outside looked nothing like they had the night before.

The smoke had cleared.

The fires were gone.

Soldiers were everywhere.

Some were carrying bodies.

Others were cleaning blood from the stone.

Broken pieces of the palace were scattered across the grounds.

The aftermath was somehow worse than the chaos.

During the attack, everything had moved too quickly to understand.

Now I could see what had been left behind.

I stepped out of the hiding place.

The servant followed.

Neither of us spoke.

We walked out of the stable together.

I looked at him.

He looked at me.

Then he walked in the opposite direction.

I blinked.

"Wait."

He stopped.

"You're just leaving?"

He looked at me.

"Yes."

He looked at me for a moment.

Then he turned away.

I watched him walk away.

I had no idea who he was.

But apparently, he had decided that was enough conversation for one lifetime.

I sighed.

"Great."

I barely made it ten steps before two soldiers stopped in front of me.

"You."

I looked behind myself.

"Me?"

"Yes. You."

One grabbed my arm.

"Wait—"

"Come with us."

"Where?"

"You'll be questioned."

Of course.

Because apparently surviving the palace attack wasn't enough.

Now I had to explain it.

Again.

They took me into one of the smaller chambers inside the palace.

There were two men waiting for me.

Neither looked particularly interested in being there.

One sat behind a table.

The other stood against the wall.

"Name?"

"Nerezza."

"Position?"

I stared at him.

"Slave."

His pen stopped.

He looked up.

"Who do you belong to?"

I hesitated.

"Madam Elara."

There was a brief pause before he continued.

"What were you doing in the palace?"

"I was brought here."

"By whom?"

"Madam Sapphire."

The two men exchanged a look.

"Why?"

I shrugged.

"Ask her."

The man behind the table didn't appreciate that.

"Where were you when the attack began?"

"With madam Elara."

"General Vale's sister?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

I told them.

The explosions.

The attackers.

Cassian.

Kairo.

I left out the servant.

I wasn't sure why.

Maybe because I didn't know his name.

Maybe because I didn't understand why he'd helped me.

Or maybe because something about him told me that mentioning him would only create more questions.

The questioning continued.

What did I see?

How many attackers?

Which direction did they come from?

Did I see anyone helping them?

Did I recognize any of them?

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The man leaned closer.

"You're an Anixless."

I stared at him.

"I've been aware."

His expression tightened.

"For a slave and someone without an Anix, you have a sharp tongue," he sneered.

I gave him a forced smile.

"You expect us to believe someone without an Anix survived inside the palace during an attack like this?"

I shrugged.

"I'm beginning to think surviving things is my only talent."

He didn't laugh.

Shame.

I thought it was funny.

The door finally opened.

Cassian walked inside.

Both men immediately straightened.

"That's enough."

The man behind the table looked surprised.

"General—"

"I said that's enough."

The room fell silent.

Cassian looked at me.

"Come."

I stood.

As I passed him, I glanced at his face.

No blood.

No scales.

No red eyes.

Just Cassian.

The terrifying thing was how normal he looked.

I followed him outside.

We walked through the corridor in silence.

Eventually, he broke it.

"The palace is under lockdown."

I stopped.

"What?"

"No one enters or leaves without permission."

I stared at him.

"So we are trapped here?"

"For now."

I looked around the corridor.

"Bullocks," I muttered under my breath.

Cassian turned toward me.

"You'll be given somewhere to stay. Stay close to Elara and report back to me if anything goes wrong."

He continued walking.

Suddenly, the same soldier who had carried Elara appeared from the shadows and guided me to where I was going to stay.

I found Elara later.

She was sitting in a quiet room near the eastern wing, wrapped in a blanket.

Her little Anix hovered beside her.

The moment she saw me, she stood.

She looked taken aback, as though she couldn't believe I had survived that.

Shocker.

Then the door opened.

A woman stepped inside.

She was tall, with strong, beautiful features and dark hair pulled neatly away from her face. Her military uniform was immaculate despite the chaos that had taken place the night before.

Her eyes moved toward Elara.

Then toward me.

She stopped and gave a short bow.

"Commander Veyra."

"Elara," she said, with a hint of happiness.

Elara quickly stood up and rushed toward her.

"Thank God you are safe. What of Sapphire?"

She looked like she was about to speak when she noticed me.

"You are..." she said, looking at me.

"Nerezza."

"Elara's aide?"

"An aide without an Anix," she said, furrowing her brows.

"So, where were you with Elara during the invasion?"

"Uhm... no."

"An Anixless girl survived this?"

I know. Shocker. Why don't you all stab me if you wanted me dead

Suddenly, Sapphire entered the room.

She stopped immediately.

Then she spoke.

"Nezza."

Wow.

She really had to stop doing that weird, creepy s**t.

As if looking for me, she stretched out her hand.

Commander Veyra looked genuinely surprised before furrowing her brows at me.

I reached for Sapphire's hand and held it.

She held me for a second before pulling away and taking a deep breath.

"I was worried about you."

"At least someone was worried," I mistakenly blurted out.

I immediately corrected myself.

"I mean... thank you, my lady."

I looked around to see if anyone had heard me.

But Sapphire's laugh was all I needed to hear.

Commander Veyra finally spoke.

"You. Give us some space."

Looking at me, she gestured toward the door.

I walked out of the room.

As I stood outside, I saw someone from a distance.

It was the servant who had saved my life.

I quickly went to meet him—or at least tried to.

After losing my way, I finally found him.

As I passed through the palace grounds, I saw soldiers moving between the buildings.

Servants cleaned the remaining blood from the stone.

The stables were busy again.

I heard the sound of a horse kicking against wood.

I followed it.

And there he was.

The servant.

Except he wasn't dressed like a palace servant anymore.

He was wearing rough work clothes, sleeves rolled to his elbows, cleaning one of the stalls.

I stopped.

He looked up.

His expression changed slightly when he saw me.

I smiled.

He went back to cleaning.

I stepped closer.

"So..."

Nothing.

"What is your name?"

He continued working.

I waited.

He finally looked at me.

"Why?"

"Because I can't keep calling you servant boy in my head."

He stared at me.

I stared back.

Eventually, he sighed.

"Kael."

I smiled.

"Kael."

He nodded.

I leaned against the stable door.

"So you're a stable boy."

"Yes."

"And you have an ice Anix."

"Yes."

"And you saved my life."

He shrugged.

I smiled.

"You really don't talk much, do you?"

"No."

At least he was honest.

I watched him work for a while.

Then I pointed toward the stall.

"You need help?"

"No."

"Okay."

I stayed.

He glanced at me.

"Why are you still here?"

"I don't know."

He shook his head and went back to cleaning.

I smiled.

I walked to the end of the stable and sat there, watching him.

He didn't pay attention to me, and I didn't mind.

I didn't know when it happened, but slowly, I drifted to sleep.