Chapter 5: The Prince Behind The Mask
675 Words
The battle showed no mercy.
Rain mixed with blood.
The palace courtyard was filled with the sound of swords, magic, and angry wolves.
Nysera stood behind a broken stone pillar.
Her hands shook.
She had never seen so many people fighting.
She wanted to help.
But she didn't know how.
A wounded guard fell beside her.
He tried to stand, but another Shadow Clan warrior raised his sword.
Without thinking, Nysera grabbed a fallen spear.
"No!"
She ran forward.
Clang!
The spear blocked the sword just in time.
The warrior looked at her in surprise.
"You should have stayed hidden," he growled.
He attacked again.
Nysera stepped back quickly.
She wasn't stronger than him.
She wasn't faster.
But she remembered something an old palace guard had once taught her.
"Never fight your enemy's strength. Make him lose his balance."
As the warrior rushed toward her, she moved to the side.
His foot slipped on the wet stones.
He crashed to the ground.
Before he could get up, another guard knocked him unconscious.
"You saved my life," the guard said, breathing heavily.
Nysera smiled weakly.
"I think we saved each other."
Across the courtyard, Prince Zepharion cut through the enemy like a storm.
His sword shone with golden light.
No one could stand before him.
Yet his eyes kept searching for only one person.
Nysera.
Prince Kaelor noticed and laughed.
"You are fighting a whole army, but you're watching one girl."
Zepharion answered without looking away.
"I made a promise."
"What promise?"
"To keep her alive."
Before Kaelor could ask another question, a sharp whistle echoed across the battlefield.
Every warrior of the Shadow Clan stopped fighting.
They stepped back at the same time.
The palace became strangely quiet.
Then...
A single man walked through the rain.
He wore a long black cloak.
Half of his face was hidden behind a silver mask.
His black hair reached his shoulders.
His eyes were the same deep amber as Nysera's.
He walked calmly, as if no battle was happening around him.
Even the wolves lowered their heads when he passed.
He stopped a few steps away from Nysera.
For a long moment...
He simply looked at her.
His voice was soft.
"You've grown."
Nysera frowned.
"Do... I know you?"
The man smiled sadly.
"I prayed you wouldn't remember me."
He slowly removed the silver mask.
A scar crossed his left cheek.
His face looked young, but his eyes carried years of pain.
Nysera stared at him.
She had never seen him before.
Or had she?
A memory flashed through her mind.
A little boy holding her hand.
A warm laugh.
A burning house.
Someone shouting...
"Run, Nysera!"
The memory disappeared as quickly as it came.
She held her head.
"It can't be..."
The man's eyes filled with tears.
"My name is Caelis."
"I am your brother."
The words struck her harder than any sword.
"My... brother?"
"I watched our home burn."
"I thought you died that night."
"I searched every kingdom for you."
"I never stopped."
Before Nysera could answer, Emperor Cassian stepped forward.
His face turned cold.
"Seize him."
The Imperial Guards surrounded Caelis.
But he did not draw his weapon.
Instead, he looked only at Nysera.
"There is no time."
"They lied to you."
"You are not a servant."
"You were born in this palace."
"The imperial family stole your life."
Gasps spread through the courtyard.
The Emperor's eyes narrowed.
"Silence him."
At once, arrows flew through the air.
Caelis leaped backward and shifted before everyone's eyes.
His body changed.
Bones cracked.
Dark wings burst from his back.
In a heartbeat, a giant black raven rose into the stormy sky.
The Shadow Clan retreated with him.
The battle was over.
But his final words remained in Nysera's heart.
"Find the Hall of Silent Stars."
"Only there will you learn who you really are."
As thunder rolled across the sky, Nysera looked toward the ancient palace.
For the first time...
She wondered if the place she had always called home had been built on a terrible lie.
- Writer
