The cave
1311 Words
Chapter One
ELIANA
One.
Two.
Three.
This isn’t working.
I steadied my breathing for the third time and focused on the magic pulsing through my veins. It felt alive—restless, even—but sometimes it vanished entirely, as though it had never been there at all.
Most noble children could wield their magic by the age of four.
I would be twenty in three months.
And I still had nothing.
I often wondered what gift the gods had meant for me. Mother said I was a late bloomer. Father claimed it hadn’t come because I was too obsessed with it.
But why wouldn’t I be?
My little brother, Lys, had begun weaving magic at eight.
My chest rose and fell as I closed my eyes, reaching for the faint threads that tingled beneath my skin. Grandmama used to say, “The best way to weave magic is to believe you are a seamstress who knows her way with a needle.”
I exhaled slowly.
Come on. It has to work this time.
Nothing.
Just that useless, irritating tingle.
Wonderful.
Maybe my gift was… tingling.
I rolled my eyes at the thought. What lord would settle for a girl with a gift like that? They would see me as weak—a flaw, a stain on their power.
A frog croaked beside me.
I nearly screamed.
I had never been fond of animals. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pressed my palms together and muttered a quick prayer.
“Please, gods, do not give me anything related to animals.”
The frog croaked again.
And my veins tingled.
I had always believed magic lived in the smallest things. The ability to love—that was magic in its purest form. Curiosity, too. And that, unfortunately, was the only gift I seemed to possess.
If curiosity were worth diamonds, I would have been the richest jeweler in Bor.
The frog leapt forward.
I followed it.
“Wait,” I called. “If you keep leaping like that, you’d think I had an extra leg hidden somewhere.”
It didn’t stop.
Of course it didn’t. It was a frog, not a well-mannered noble.
Mud splashed onto my dress as I hurried after it. I glanced down in horror.
If Mother saw this, she would have me buried alive.
I turned to head back toward the house.
The frog croaked again.
Loud. Persistent.
I paused.
For a brief, ridiculous moment, I considered frog soup. I had never tasted it before, but I was suddenly very tempted to find out.
I followed it deeper into the forest.
Branches snagged the sleeve of my dress, tearing the fabric. Thankfully, my skin remained untouched.
The frog finally stopped.
At the mouth of a cave.
My veins pulsed.
Not with a tingle this time—no. This was something else. Something deeper. Older.
Ancient.
A cold wind drifted from the cave, brushing against my skin. For the first time in my life…
I did not feel curious.
The wind whispered.
No—sang.
Of something old. Something buried. Something cold.
Crowned twice in a spindle of fate.
The sound grew louder, clearer. It did not just echo around me—it moved through me. Through my blood. My veins. My very being.
We are old and cold.
Crowned twice in cruel fate.
We call to each heir who seeks, yet none have found us.
We have sounded our song. We wind through stone.
The winds will tell our story—twisted by greed.
My veins throbbed painfully. My hand grew heavy at my side. And yet…
It felt familiar.
Like home.
I stepped back.
Then another.
And another.
Until I turned and walked away—before I became the next girl whispered about in missing tales.
...
I couldn’t sleep.
My dreams were fractured, blurred—but the cave remained.
At its heart… a blue gem.
Glowing.
Calling.
Calling my name—
I jolted upright.
...
“Hello, sweetheart. Glad to see you’re already up.”
Mother picked up a dress, examining it carefully, as though she were measuring me against it.
“What do you think of this dress?”
“It looks beautiful… just like the dozens of others in your closet,” I said, rolling my eyes.
My head throbbed from the dream. I pressed my fingers to my temple.
Mother’s expression shifted instantly. She dropped the dress and sat beside me.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? I keep telling you—you try too much with this magic thing. Is it so terrible, not having magic?”
I gave her a look. She, of all people, should understand how important it was to our house.
Then again… they already had Lys as an heir.
Great.
She tucked a strand of my brown hair behind my ear. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
I gave a short nod.
She stood, picking up the dress again and twirling lightly.
What is wrong with her today?
My head pounded. I couldn’t deal with this right now.
I stood and made my way toward the bathroom—
—and was immediately attacked by a mountain of clothes.
Perfect.
I slipped on a silk red gown and slammed into the wall.
Is the universe against me or something?
I pushed myself up, wincing. I should have cooked that stupid frog.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Mother laughing.
“You should get ready, sweetie. Today is the debut ball.”
What. The. Hell.
It was already time?
And I still had no magic.
Fantastic. The universe might as well kick me in the face while it’s at it.
Oh. I’ve discovered my gift.
A talent for annoying the universe.
Not exactly useful right now.
I picked up the black dress Mother had left draped over my chair.
It was stunning.
A fitted corset traced with intricate lace, the fabric impossibly light—too light to be ordinary. Magic shimmered faintly through it, woven into every thread.
It was a proper ball gown.
Too beautiful.
Too expensive.
“I can’t wear this.”
Mother must have heard the shift in my voice.
“It’s yours,” she said softly. “And it will look wonderful on you.”
“You know I can’t—” I hesitated. “Father is struggling right now. The economy is tight, and I… I don’t have what it takes to attract a proper suitor. A wealthy one. If we sold this, we could raise money for—”
“Eliana.”
Her voice cut through mine.
“You will wear it. You are a nobleman’s daughter—you will not speak like you are lesser. Your father and I may be facing difficulties, but that does not make you any less royal.”
She straightened.
“Now get dressed, and be downstairs before sunset.”
---
I slipped into the black dress, brushing my hair into a bun that refused to stay neat.
The fabric settled against my skin like a whisper.
I could feel it.
The magic.
Every thread hummed against me, and my veins responded—beating, pulsing in a way I had never felt before.
I turned to the mirror to reapply my eyeliner.
And my heart nearly stopped.
My eyes—
They were silver.
Not green.
Silver.
Cold. Bright. Wrong.
“I…” My breath caught.
Something inside me had awakened.
Something ancient.
Something that should have remained asleep.
Something from that cave.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Green.
Just green.
I stared at my reflection, searching for any trace of what I had seen, but it was gone.
Maybe I was losing my mind.
Maybe Mother was right.
“Eliana, it’s almost time,” Lys called.
I tore my gaze away from the mirror and headed for the door.
How much worse could today possibly get?
- Writer
