Her Unseen Destiny

Chapter Twelve — Elderstar

Neither of them spoke for several moments after the kiss.

The morning light filtered softly through the tall windows of Vaelthar's chambers, painting long golden lines across the dark stone floor.

Isella still sat close to him.

Close enough that she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her fingertips.

Vaelthar looked at her as though committing every detail of her face to memory.

Then, slowly, another memory surfaced.

"The tome."

She blinked.

"...The tome?"

"The one beside the fireplace."

His voice regained some of its usual composure, though it remained gentle.

"When I found you."

Understanding flickered across her face.

"Oh..."

"I noticed it."

He smiled faintly.

"I simply had more pressing concerns."

A small blush warmed her cheeks.

"I suppose nearly dying takes priority over old books."

"It usually does."

She laughed quietly.

The sound eased something inside him.

He reached for her hand once more, turning it over carefully in his own. The scratches she had left upon herself the previous night had almost vanished.

"I think..."

he said softly,

"...it's time you tell me everything."

Isella nodded.

She drew a slow breath.

"It started after I came here."

"The dreams."

Vaelthar listened without interruption.

"They weren't really dreams."

"They felt..."

She searched for the words.

"...Like memories."

She described the silver forest.

The crystal mountains.

The immense tree whose branches reached into the stars.

She told him about the voices.

"The woman called me 'little star.'"

His expression grew thoughtful.

"And the man?"

"He kept telling me I'd find my way."

Her fingers tightened unconsciously around his.

"Every time I got close enough to see their faces..."

"They disappeared."

Vaelthar remained silent.

She continued.

"They're my parents."

"You remember them?"

"No."

She shook her head.

"I just..."

Her hand rested against her chest.

"...know."

The certainty in her voice left little room for doubt.

"And then..."

She hesitated.

"There was one word."

She looked directly into his crimson eyes.

"Elderstar."

The room became utterly still.

Vaelthar repeated the name under his breath.

"...Elderstar."

His brows drew together.

"I have lived for thousands of years."

"I know."

"I have studied the histories of every kingdom."

She watched concern slowly replace curiosity.

"I have never heard that name."

Her shoulders sank slightly.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"But the book..."

His gaze sharpened.

"You recognised the word there?"

She nodded eagerly.

"I couldn't read anything else."

"The language is unlike anything I've ever seen."

"But that one word..."

"It was there."

She looked away.

"I've spent weeks trying to translate it."

"You found nothing."

"Nothing."

Silence lingered.

Finally, she laughed quietly.

"It sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud."

"No."

Vaelthar answered immediately.

"It doesn't."

She looked at him, surprised.

"I believe you."

The words came without hesitation.

"You do?"

"You have no reason to invent such a story."

He studied her thoughtfully.

"And considering everything else that has happened..."

His gaze drifted briefly toward the fading marks upon her arms.

"...I would be a fool to dismiss it."

Something inside Isella relaxed.

She hadn't realised how much she had feared being thought irrational.

"There was another reason..."

she admitted quietly.

"For not bringing it to you."

Vaelthar looked at her expectantly.

"The day I finally decided to ask..."

Her expression softened.

"I found you in your study."

He already knew where this was going.

"The letter."

She nodded.

"You looked..."

She searched for the right word.

"...alone."

His eyes lowered.

"I saw enough to understand what it was."

"The ball."

"The marriage."

"I thought..."

She gave a small, embarrassed smile.

"...compared to finding a wife for the realm..."

"My strange dreams could wait."

Vaelthar closed his eyes briefly.

"So you left."

"I didn't want to burden you."

He exhaled slowly.

"You never could."

She frowned.

"What?"

He looked back at her.

"Isella."

His voice was quieter than ever.

"You have spent your life believing your problems mattered less than everyone else's."

She didn't answer.

Because it was true.

"You hid your suffering during the fever."

"You hid this."

"You even tried to spare me from carrying your questions."

He gently lifted her chin until she met his gaze.

"You are not a burden."

The words settled heavily between them.

No one had ever said that to her before.

Not once.

Her eyes shimmered.

"I..."

Her voice broke.

"I don't know how."

"How what?"

"...How to let someone help me."

Vaelthar's thumb brushed lightly across her cheek.

"Then we'll learn."

He smiled.

"Together."

A tear escaped despite her efforts to stop it.

She laughed through it.

"I seem to cry a lot around you."

"I've noticed."

She nudged his shoulder.

"Don't sound so pleased."

"I am not pleased."

"No?"

"I simply consider it an honour."

She blinked.

"What?"

"That you trust me enough to do so."

The words struck her harder than any declaration could have.

Without thinking, she leaned against him once more, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

Neither spoke.

The silence no longer needed filling.

After several peaceful minutes, Vaelthar finally broke it.

"Where is the tome now?"

A small smile crept across Isella's face.

"Hidden."

"Hidden?"

"In the library."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You hid a mysterious ancient book... in my library."

"I hid it behind one of your bookshelves."

"...In my library."

"I thought it was a clever hiding place."

He stared at her for a long moment.

Then, to her utter delight...

He laughed.

A genuine laugh.

Warm.

Rich.

Entirely unrestrained.

The sound echoed through the chamber.

"I have ruled this castle for over two thousand years," he said between quiet chuckles.

"And somehow..."

"You managed to hide something from me... inside my own library."

She couldn't help laughing with him.

The last remnants of the previous night's fear dissolved between them.

When the laughter finally subsided, Vaelthar stood and offered her his hand.

"This time..."

he said, a spark of curiosity returning to his ancient eyes,

"...we're going to retrieve it together."

Somewhere deep within the forgotten shelves of the royal library, the ancient tome waited in silence.

As though it had known all along...

That the time for its secrets had finally come.