A Kingdom of Secrets
522 Words
Seraphina spent the next few days learning the truth about Varyndor’s curse.
It was more than just an affliction on the land—it was alive. A force woven into the very foundation of the kingdom, infecting its people, its magic, and now… her.
Kael told her of the past rulers who had tried to fight it. Of the failed attempts to banish it. Of the heir who had once been destined to break it… and instead, had been consumed by it.
The Forgotten Heir.
A name that sent ripples of unease through the castle walls.
Seraphina had read about him in Eldoria’s records, but the stories were vague. A prince who had once held the power to end the curse—only to vanish without a trace. Some said he had died. Others whispered that he still roamed the Shadowlands, waiting for a chance to reclaim his throne.
"Do you believe he’s still alive?" Seraphina asked Kael one evening as they walked through the dimly lit corridors.
Kael’s expression darkened. "I believe that if he is, we are all in danger."
Seraphina frowned. "Why?"
Kael stopped walking, turning to face her fully. "Because if he was the key to breaking the curse, and he failed—" His voice dropped lower. "Then what exactly did he become?"
A shiver ran down Seraphina’s spine.
Something told her she did not want to know the answer.
---
The First Attack
The night the shadows came for her, Seraphina understood the truth.
She was claimed.
Not just by Kael. Not just by the castle.
By something far worse.
The attack came without warning.
One moment, she was asleep in her chamber, and the next, the air was thick with darkness. Not the absence of light—but something alive. Something that breathed.
She woke with a gasp.
The shadows moved along the walls, stretching, twisting. Whispering.
Mine.
Seraphina bolted upright, her heart hammering.
The mark on her wrist burned.
And then—
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Not Kael.
Not a guard.
Not human.
It had no face, no features—just an endless void of black, its form shifting like smoke.
Seraphina tried to scream, but the sound never left her lips.
The shadow lunged.
She threw up her arms, bracing for impact—
But something exploded in the air around her.
A barrier.
An invisible force that sent the creature reeling.
Seraphina gasped. She hadn’t done that—had she?
Before she could process it, the doors to her chamber burst open.
Kael.
His sword gleamed in the dim light, and the moment he stepped inside, the shadows shrank back.
But not before he saw what they had been after.
Her.
Kael cursed under his breath, striding toward her. "Are you hurt?"
Seraphina shook her head, but her pulse was erratic. "What was that?"
Kael’s jaw tightened. "Proof."
"Of what?"
His gaze darkened.
"That the curse has no intention of letting you go."
Seraphina’s breath caught.
She had thought she would marry a prince.
Instead, she had become something far more valuable.
And the shadows?
They had just laid their claim.
- Writer
