Chapter 15 – The Oathkeeper's Veil
The name lingered in the air like smoke. Selene.
Lucian studied the cloaked woman, her bow still strung, her movements as fluid as the shifting mist around them. Kaelen kept a wary hand on his blade, though exhaustion weighed heavily on him.
"Oathkeeper," Kaelen muttered under his breath. "I've heard the whispers. Shadows in shadows. Vows sharper than steel."
Selene's smirk was faint but unmistakable. "Whispers serve us well. Fear serves us better. The High Father calls us traitors, heretics, but in truth we are the only ones still bound to an oath higher than his lies."
Her words carried weight, each syllable deliberate. Lucian felt a strange pull in them—not enchantment, but conviction. She spoke not as a recruiter, but as someone testing whether he was worth the risk.
"You've drawn blood from the Blades," Selene continued, her tone sharpening. "Few can boast as much and still stand breathing. That earns you a choice."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "And what choice is that?"
Selene lowered her bow, though she did not release the tension in her posture. "You can continue as you are, stumbling through alleys, hunted and half-blind. Or you can walk in shadow with us, where secrets burn brighter than the sun itself. But every step deeper binds you. The Oathkeepers do not suffer deserters."
Kaelen spat on the ground. "A pretty offer, but one soaked in poison. You'd have us trade one leash for another."
Selene's eyes flickered to him, cold and assessing. "Better a leash tied to truth than a crown of lies. Besides…" She tilted her head toward Lucian. "It is not your decision. He carries the weight. He is the one the Blades stalk like wolves. Not you."
The words struck harder than Lucian expected. He clenched his fists, jaw tight, fighting the echo of what Maltherion's emissary had told him: A flame in the dark, too dangerous to let burn free.
"What oath?" Lucian finally asked, his voice low. "What binds you?"
Selene stepped closer, the fog curling around her like a living veil. "To seek the truth that the High Father buries. To expose the rot that festers beneath holy light. To fight not for salvation, but for freedom from the chains of gods and men alike."
She extended her hand. A simple gesture, but one heavy with unspoken meaning.
"Take my hand, Lucian. Step into shadow, and I will show you the truth that even gods fear."