KAELITH
I didn't plan to come down here. Not tonight. But after what I saw—what I felt—I needed answers. I had to know if this was just in my head or something real.
The tunnels under the palace were silent. Even the guards never came this far. The air was hot seeming like the walls themselves were holding in heat. I'd been here before, a long time ago and it still hadn't changed.
The deeper I walked, the more tense my body became. These tunnels carried the kind of quiet that makes your skin crawl. Old magic lived here. The kind we were supposed to forget. The kind the council pretended didn't exist anymore.
At the end of the tunnel was a gate made with thick metal and ancient glyphs that only the royal blood could open. I pressed my palm against it, feeling the heat cover my skin, it burned but I didn't move. It unlocked.
Inside was the Sanctum. Obsidian walls. Flickering runes. And in the center, the basin. Still black water that didn't reflect anything—not me, not the room. Just empty.
They say it shows you the truth. Or maybe just what you're scared of. I wasn't sure which I'd get.
I stepped closer. My heart was pounding.
The water shifted.
Aurelia.
But not the girl I carried to bed last night. This version of her looked like a storm given form. Flames wrapped around her like they belonged there. Her face was calm, but her eyes burned with something that didn't feel human. Her lips moved, but no sound came. She looked right at me—as if she could see through the vision and into the room.
Then it changed.
A city in chaos with flame engulfed in flames as the sky blackened with smoke. People screamed and ran. In the distance, a dark figure rose over it all—something massive and shifting like it was made of smoke and ash. I didn't know if it was her… or something else.
I pulled back, breath short. My chest tightened.
The water went still again.
Then I heard it—stone cracking behind me. I turned. A thin glowing red line spread across the wall, veins of energy breaking through like a warning.
Something ancient was stirring and I could feel it.
I stayed there for a moment, staring at the crack. Trying to figure out what it meant, what I was supposed to do.
She didn't belong in this world. And yet, the prophecy, the visions are all pointing to her. I couldn't deny that she was part of this anymore.
I can already imagine the council saying that I brought this on us by letting my obsession get the better of me. Since they've been hinting that I got weak and lost control.
They don't know anything.
They weren't there when she looked at me like she knew I was dangerous but still reached out. They don't see the way she walks through this world like it doesn't scare her. Like she's already seen worse.
I've spent years preparing to take the throne. I've followed every rule. Made every calculated move.
And yet here I am—alone in a forgotten Sanctum, watching a vision of a girl that's going to tear everything apart.
And maybe that's exactly what we need.
If she's the threat they fear, I'll stop her. But if she's something more…
If she's the flame that burns everything down so something new can rise?
Then I'll stand beside her.
And if it comes down to choosing her or the crown?
I've already made that decision.