VEIL OF SHADOWS

CHAPTER 3: THE WORLD UNDER THE WORLD

The mirror shut itself behind them with a soft, echoing sigh, and the café above might never have existed.

Evelyn was very still.

The bunker beneath the Moon & Mortar shone with a soft, alien radiance. Lanterns floated, chainless, against the stone walls, their flames dancing colors from gold to violet to silver, as if in response to unseen drafts. Alien symbols seared into every face pulsed softly, like veins beneath skin.

"This is…" Evelyn gulped. "This is real."

Selene crossed her arms, attempting a veneer of nonchalance she couldn't pull off.

"Congratulations," she said, dryly. "You've officially fallen through the cracks of reality."

Evelyn turned in a leisurely circle, heart thumping.

"You knew about all that? How long?"

Selene flinched.

"Long enough to know it's better not to tell normal people."

Evelyn cast her a 'look.'

"I'm normal."

Lucien exhaled a soft, mirthless breath.

"You stopped being normal the moment the Veil noticed you."

It hurt more than it should have.

Evelyn wrapped her arms around herself.

"So what now? More monsters? More truths that make my head hurt?"

Selene looked at him, into Lucien's eyes.

"He should explain," she said severely. "You owe her that much."

Lucien nodded once. He stepped farther into the room; the light from the lanterns danced across his face, illuminating sharply cut angles. When he looked at Evelyn, something flashed behind his eyes, his silver eyes, that she couldn't read.

"The Veil," he began, "is not a place. Not exactly."

Evelyn frowned.

"Then what is it?

"A boundary," he said. "A living barrier between worlds. It exists to divide magic from mankind-to keep both sides alive."

"And I'm guessing it's failing," Evelyn said softly.

Lucien's jaw clenched.

"Yes"

Selene touched a rune etched into the wall, and it returned with a pulse of light.

"The Veil's been weakening for years. Earthquakes that shouldn't happen. People see things they can't explain. Your paintings?" She nodded at Evelyn. "Those are symptoms."

Evelyn's stomach twisted.

"So I'm not crazy."

"No," Lucien answered softly. "You're awake."

A strange feeling coursed across her chest with the phrase.

"Awakening to what?" she asked.

Lucien stopped. Then he reached under his coat and pulled out the little silver pendant Evelyn had seen once before. It glimmered as he slipped it into her hand.

The moment her skin touched the metal, the room vanished.

She was nosediving.

Not through air, but through remembrance.

Light and darkness curled about her, sceneries merging into one another like wet paint. And she had seen cities grow and collapse in heartbeats-towers of crystal forests burning beneath a cosmic fire.

And then

She stood on a rock under a sky that had turned violet.

The wind blew her hair around her face. She was draped in white robes smeared with blood. Her hands shone with power so fierce it ached to look at them.

Someone was standing behind her.

She needn't have turned to know who it was.

Lucien.

Only not as she knew him now.

His wings were whole. Immense. Luminous.

Golden radiance was blazing in his eyes.

"You can't do this," he cried, holding her shoulders. "The Veil will tear you apart."

She turned to him and the other Evelyn and smiled regretfully.

"If I don't," she added, "both worlds die."

The earth quaked violently.

"I love you," he whispered.

She placed her forehead against his.

"And that is why you must betray me."

The vision snapped.

Evelyn gasped, stumbling backward.

Strong hands held her before she collapsed.

Lucien.

Her breathing was quick, terrified rushes.

"That wasn't a dream," she muttered. "That was… me."

Lucien did not deny anything.

Selene muttered a curse under her breath.

She pulled herself out of Lucien's clutches, eyes aflame.

"You knew," she accused. "You knew all this time."

Lucien spoke with a gruff voice.

"I knew pieces, fragments. I didn't want you to remember that."

She laughed short, broken.

"You let me fall in love with you without telling me we were already doomed?"

Selene lifted her hands.

"Alright, everybody takes one deep breath before somebody destroys the city.

Evelyn wheeled around on her.

"You knew too?"

Selene's shoulders slumped.

"I suspected," she said. "But I didn't know the truth would hit you like a celestial freight train."

The silence fell heavily between them.

Evelyn shoved her hands through her eyes.

"So I built the Veil," she muttered. "I separated the worlds. I began all of this."

Lucien approached her, but this time did not attempt to touch her.

"You saved them," he said. "At a terrible cost."

"And you betrayed me," she added with softness.

His breath hitched.

"Yes."

Her heart tore open once more, but this time something was smoldering beneath the agony.

"Why?" she asked.

Lucien did not break eye contact with her.

"Because if I hadn't, the Seraph Council would have destroyed you. Betraying you was the only way to keep you alive even if it meant losing you forever."

Tears were streaming down Evelyn's cheeks.

"You realize how heartless that is?" she whispered.

"Yes," he replied. "I have spent centuries atoning for it."

The chamber began to shake. Selene's gaze shot to the ceiling. "That's not good." The runes blazed red. Lucien cursed. "They've found you." Evelyn dried her eyes, and the dread was replaced by something sharper. "Who?" "The Keeper of the Veil," Lucien said. "And his hunters." A c***k tore open in the air. Through it flowed darkness, like smoke. Evelyn's pulse steadied. "No," she said softly. "I'm done running." Lucien stared at her. "Evelyn," She raised her hands. Light answered. Fierce, instinctual, silver fire coiled around her fingers. The shadows recoiled, hissing. Selene's jaw fell. "Well," she mumbled. "That explains a lot."

Evelyn caught Lucien in her gaze, the power surging through her veins. "You said my blood is the key." "Yes." "Then I want to learn how to use it," she said. "Not for revenge. Not yet. But for control." Lucien fell on one knee before her.

A knelt Seraph: bowing. "I will teach you," he said. "I will guard you. Even if you decide to destroy me in the end." Evelyn didn't respond. The rent in the air grew larger. Beyond that, the veil-keeper smiled.