The book lay open on the floor, completely blank. The letters that had manipulated destiny had vanished, leaving behind a mystery that weighed heavily on Adonis.
"I won't let her go... I'll bring her back, no matter what it takes."
Adonis sat on the sofa, his hands clasped over his head, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. He lifted his head and looked at the fire that played with the shadows of the room, then whispered in an angry voice filled with determination:
"I won't let her be lost. I will find you, Daphne, no matter what it demands."
Yarrow sat beside him, while Marshmallow quietly jumped onto his lap, as if trying to comfort him in her small way.
Daphne stood behind a small opening in the closet, a feeling of anxiety overwhelming her until she felt as if her heart would leap from her chest. The next room buzzed with words charged with secrets and threats, and the sound of their whispers flowed like strands of taut wire.
"Did you send the message to the commander of the Imperial Army?" Hilborn asked in a low voice hidden behind a mask of coldness, but in his eyes, there was a glint of tense determination.
"Yes, my lord. Everything was done as ordered," the soldier Amefira replied, her eyes gleaming with an unmistakable sparkle, as if reflecting the fire that burned within her.
"Then let things take their course, even if it requires us to move in the shadows. If your father decides to grant the title to Adonis, we will all drown in a sea of no return," said the Empress, her voice like black ink seeping into veins.
"Mother, I will not allow this. I will not leave our fate in the hands of destiny. What about my father? Will he truly be just a witness in this game?" said the Prince, his voice catching a tone of defiance and deep unease.
Amefira smiled a two-sided smile, one for humans and the other for darkness. "I will do as I have done before. I will manipulate the blades of grass that make his mind shatter and believe that the one who was to become Empress is merely a traitor, a poisoned dagger in the heart of the kingdom. And no one will doubt his loyalty."
"I heard she was one of the most beautiful the palace had ever seen... wasn't she?" the Prince whispered, his eyes glowing with feverish curiosity, as if the past was asking him to uncover a buried secret.
"Yes, she shone like a star, and we always saw her when your father visited, a meeting where sun and shadow converged. The Emperor introduced her to us as the future Empress. I clearly remember how she would place her hand on her pregnant belly with Adonis, as if confirming to the world that she would not be just a fleeting dream," Amefira replied, her gaze fixed as if redrawing a picture in her mind, a picture that held all hope and betrayal at once.
Daphne froze inside the closet, clutching her notebook in her hand, as if she wanted to write every letter of the truth on the walls of the world. "Adonis... the Emperor's son?"
Hilborn slowly turned around, as if a small movement from him would reveal another world. His gaze swept across the room, but he saw nothing but shadows. Then he said in a mysterious tone, "Who will prepare the herb?"
"An old woman I know. Things will be under control," Amefira replied, as if speaking of a wind that could sweep everything away.
"Well, I'll go now," said the Prince, his brow dripping with sweat, but he insisted on keeping his voice as calm as a stagnant lake.
At that moment, Emperor Bayun entered, his sharp eyes scanning the room, and every step he took was like a strike on hot metal. "Where to, Hilborn? Your father is watching you, and there is no place for games here. Go and train, or reality will speak of you with the tongue of shame."
"Yes, my lord," the Prince replied, then departed, his footsteps sounding like a groan from another world, leaving behind an atmosphere charged with threats and hatred.
In the distant past, Aster, the girl whose beauty and intelligence were legendary, was the focus of the former Emperor's attention. To him, she was like the daughter he never had, and he saw her shining amidst the palace like one of his sacred secrets. But while Bayun was busy with wars and expanding the kingdom's borders, he knew nothing about that girl except what the stories told. And one day, the former Emperor decided to introduce his son to her. At first, there was hesitation in his heart, but something mysterious drew him towards her, as if a melody in his heart told him she would be part of his destiny. Over time, she became his beloved, and one day he discovered that Aster was pregnant. This news was a ray of hope that did not last long.
On the day of the current Emperor's coronation, the shocking news came: the former Emperor had died poisoned, and the accusation was directed at Aster. Although the truth was more complex than that, the Emperor could not punish her, so he ordered her banishment from the palace, to live in the unknown. Thus, Emefira became the new Empress.
Moments after everyone had left, Daphne felt her heart pounding as if it were about to explode. She slipped out of the closet, and the shadows that danced on the walls with the dim light gave her temporary cover. She was hurrying away, determined to escape the palace. But suddenly, she stopped. The sound of his footsteps was as clear as thunder in the silence of the night.
"Where do you think you're going?" Hilborn said, his voice carrying not so much anger as a deadly curiosity. He stood there, tall, his eyes fixed on her as if reading hidden secrets. Although his features were frozen, there was something in his eyes that Daphne couldn't quite define.
Daphne hesitated for a moment, then quickly wrote in her notebook, "I won't hurt you, please let me go." She held the notebook up high, her eyes pleading with sincerity.
Hilborn laughed bitterly and took another step towards her. "You think it's that easy? No one leaves here without permission, and no one snatches secrets from the palace as they please."
At that moment, Daphne felt an iron grip around her wrist, and her eyes widened in shock. It was a soldier of Adonis, wearing gleaming black armor, holding her as if she were a trapped bird. But he was staring at her with eyes that reflected tension and confusion.
"My lord, she is not from here," the soldier said in a strained voice, his gaze shifting between Hilborn and Daphne, then he added softly, "I will speak to him... as my little sister."
Daphne froze, and the blood began to flow in her veins again, but she didn't dare show her relief. The soldier, in this action, had placed himself in grave danger.
Hilborn looked at the soldier, then at Daphne, and said in a cold tone, "If you are his sister, why were you hiding here?"
The soldier swallowed hard, then looked at Hilborn and said in a quiet voice, "She came looking for me, my lord. And she... she was looking for me, and I didn't want her to be surprised."
Hilborn smiled faintly, but it did not bode well. "It's strange, but I'll give you a chance. Next time, don't get involved in things bigger than you." Then he looked at Daphne and said, "Go, but remember, there is no room for mistakes here."
As the soldier stepped back, Daphne moved forward with hesitant steps, looking at the soldier with a silent smile of gratitude, then stepped out of the shadows, with a strange feeling that she was not out of danger yet.
Daphne left the palace, her heart pounding, but she felt a sense of relief when the soldier approached her and began to watch the horizon cautiously. There was a seriousness in his eyes, as if danger lurked around every corner.
"I will escort you home," the soldier said in a low voice, his gaze scanning the area with concern.
Daphne raised her notebook and wrote, "How do you know me?" and tilted her head questioningly, as she was sure they had never met before.
The soldier took a deep breath, then replied, "You are Lord Adonis's beloved. I saw you with him at the festival. He seemed... different then. He watched you as if you were a star in a dark sky."
Daphne froze for a moment, then felt a warmth spread through her heart at the mention of Adonis, and she smiled shyly. The soldier, who was watching her carefully, noticed her smile as if it were an unexpected message from him.
They reached the eastern edge of the city, where the buildings embraced the sky. The soldier stopped her and said seriously, "This is where our role ends. Be prepared, you will not be safe if they know you left the palace without permission."
Daphne looked at the soldier, then wrote in her notebook, "Thank you, I will not forget what you did." Then she stepped back, a feeling of gratitude and anxiety mingling in her eyes.
"Be careful not to be in the square during the day, this time you will be the center of attention," the soldier said, then disappeared into the darkness, leaving Daphne standing there, thinking about Adonis and his broken heart, and the lessons she would learn in the coming days.
The fire in the hearth danced with its quiet movements, casting a dim light across the spacious room. Adonis sat on the sofa, his features tight, his wide eyes moving between the flames as if searching for an answer amidst the darkness that surrounded him. Yarrow, his loyal dog, rested his head on his leg, as if sensing the weight of sorrow that plagued his friend Marshmallow, the small white-furred cat, sat nearby, her gleaming eyes watching the situation with concern.
Adonis had found no rest since Daphne's disappearance, as if a deep chasm had opened in his heart, swallowing every sense of security. He searched for a solution, as if testing every path in the world to find her, but nothing gave him reassurance. Every thought of losing her squeezed his heart tightly, making him rush in his search, as if time had stopped to stand on the edge of despair.
But everything changed in an instant. As he sat, a faint light flooded the room from the entrance, and Adonis's eyes met Daphne's gaze, who suddenly appeared as if a dream had returned to reality. His heart felt like it would burst with joy and hope, but at the same time, astonishment was etched on his face. Her violet hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her violet eyes shone with that longing gaze, as if telling him, "I have returned."
Adonis approached her with hesitant steps, barely believing she was here, in his arms. And cautiously, he raised his hand to place it on her cheek, feeling the warmth of her face that still pulsed with life. "Daphne..." he whispered her name, as if afraid the sound would vanish into the air, as if he feared this moment was just an illusion.
Tears danced in her eyes, and she raised her hand to place it on his, as if wanting to assure him that she was here, that she was alright. The moment of silence between them was filled with all the emotions that words could not express. It was a moment filled with the desire to stay, with the safety they found in each other's embrace, and everything else became unimportant.
"I am here, Adonis, and I will not leave again," she wrote in her notebook, her handwriting shaky, but it said everything.
Adonis realized at that moment that the heart does not lie, and that there is nothing stronger than the love he felt for her. He snatched her into his arms, as if wanting to ensure she would never disappear again.
Daphne wrote in a shaky hand: "Didn't you receive a message from the palace?"
Adonis looked up at her, his eyes filled with worry. "Yes, I received one, but I haven't opened it yet. I couldn't... you disappeared suddenly, and I didn't know what to do."
Daphne hesitated slightly before writing, "Good, I was scared."
Adonis's expression froze for a moment, as if they were frightening words. "So, how did you disappear? Where did you go?"
Daphne replied in her notebook: "When I read that sentence, I found myself in a closet in one of the palace rooms. There was an old candle, and there was something else, a message from Prince Hilborn. It was a trap."
Adonis's face hardened, and he could no longer control his expression. "Wait, wait... are you saying you were in a closet inside the palace?"
Daphne looked at him, her eyes filled with fear. Then she wrote, "Is that strange to you?"
He shook his head quickly. "No... it's beyond that. What else did you hear?"
Daphne took a deep breath, then wrote, "I heard that Prince Hilborn is planning to capture you, and that he wants to seize control of the palace. I also learned that you are the Emperor's son."
Adonis's features froze, as if struck by lightning. Daphne looked at his surprised expression, realizing that this discovery might change everything between them.
Adonis looked at Daphne with his deep eyes, as if reading every letter in her notebook. Then he sighed deeply and began to speak in a quiet voice, tinged with sadness: "I will tell you a story, Daphne. A story of distant days."