Eryx's disturbing smile filled the room. Victória stood in the centre, unresponsive, unable to move. She looked at her hands and noticed they were covered in blood. She couldn't tell whose it was, but she knew that even if it was her own, she couldn't stay there. She tried to move, but her legs wouldn't obey her.
She looked down and saw that the floor was completely red. All around her, nobles, soldiers, and servants lay dead. She couldn't see the Queen, but she knew the Queen needed her. She had to save her. But fear kept her rooted to the spot, her feet stubbornly refusing to move.
Victória raised her head. She was alone. There was no sign of the Queen, the Commander, the guards – no one. Only Eryx, who now focused all his attention on Victória.
He approached slowly, drawing his sword with equal slowness, savouring the moment.
– Little bird – he said, continuing to advance, with his crooked and sadistic smile. – You flew too high. I have no use for birds that don't know how to stay in their cage.
The tip of the sword pointed at Victória's heart. She wanted to run, to cry out for help, to scream for her Queen, but not a single one of her muscles moved, and no sound escaped when she opened her mouth. The sword drew closer, and she remained there, frozen.
When the blade touched her neck, she could feel its coldness. It was a quiet cold, calm as death. Victória closed her eyes, unable to look at her killer.
– No, no… – Eryx said, in a tone devoid of emotion. – That's not how you die. You will die, that much is certain, but not like this. Open your eyes… OPEN THEM! – he shouted, now out of patience.
Victória, perhaps out of mere curiosity, opened her eyes; but she didn't expect to see what she now saw. She was unclothed, naked as the day she was born, yet she was floating. Not in the sky, but in the depths of an ocean. She could see many marine creatures, all indifferent to her presence.
Looking up, she could see the hull of a ship. She tried to swim towards it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move from her spot. She gave it her all, but in the end, she closed her eyes and accepted that this would be the place where she died.
As she closed them, she felt something stir within her. She couldn't say what it was, but she knew it was something powerful, something protective.
– Not yet, my child.
Victória opened her eyes, terrified, and realised she was being watched by a woman. But she wasn't entirely a woman, for from the waist down, she had the body of a fish.
– Wake up – said the strange fish-woman, speaking within Victória's mind. – Your time has not yet come. The one who haunts your dreams cannot harm you, for he is far away. Your companions saved you that night, and you still belong to the world of the living. You have no place by my side here… not yet. Now… wake up!
And, involuntarily, Victória sat upright in bed, breathless. She tried to breathe, but her body forced her to double over, and she felt salty water spill from her throat and lungs.
– In all my years, I've never seen anything like this – said Dr. Alarico Solvan, seated on a stool beside the bed, astonished. – I didn't know if you would live. I treated you as best I could, but your cranial injuries were too severe… or at least, I thought they were.
– Where are we? – asked Victória, still dazed. – Where is the Queen?
– Calm yourself, Victória, calm yourself. We're no longer in Caelestis, if that's what you want to know. The Queen is safe. I'll inform her now that you've woken up.
The doctor rose from his chair and left, giving Victória no chance to ask more questions. What happened in that palace?, she asked herself. I thought I had died… I should have died… we were cornered, Eryx's blades at our throats…
Before she could spiral further into solitary despair, Luna Caelestis entered her room, her arm bandaged with gauze and her face bearing a visible expression of discomfort – but also relief at seeing Victória.
– I'm glad to see you well. Our good doctor had already told us not to hold out hope that you would open your eyes again.
– My Queen, I thank you for your concern. But I don't understand. Where are we? How did we escape Eryx?
– We are not yet welcome in the realm of the dead. Honestly, I cannot say how we managed to escape with our lives, but I assume that, since only we, Livia and Amandus survived, my guards must have sacrificed themselves so we could flee. After being shot, I don't remember much of what happened that night. I only recall lying in a carriage while people shouted around me, and then setting sail on my ship. When I woke up, we were here.
– And where is here?
– The only place where no one will be able to find us: the Torre del Silenzio.
– Are we on the island where I was born?
– Yes, but we will not stay here. This place chills me to the bone, and I do not wish to remain longer than necessary. Fortunately, we won't have to grow old here. The representatives of Marellia were meeting with me in Caelestis to hire our services for a looming conflict. Doge Luciano Marinos himself has requested our presence in Marinova.
– But, My Queen, what will you do about Eryx? He must be searching for you. You are still the Queen of the Kingdom of Isolara, and he is nothing but a usurper and a king-slayer.
– No one will dare come near this place. Even after all these years, they still believe it to be cursed. Do you know the story of this tower?
– No, My Queen, it's a forbidden topic on the Island of Pearls. Even the slightest mention or allusion to this place strikes fear into the hearts of the locals. No one ever explained why. Even my own father told me never to ask questions about the tower, only to fear it and never come near it.
– It was a tale told by my father, may Solarius preserve him, as a warning against excess power and arrogance. Today, the Torre del Silenzio lies in ruins, but once, it was the tallest tower of a majestic castle. A lord once lived there, whose name has been lost to the centuries. He was the most powerful of the three kings who ruled the Solitary Isles, at a time when Caelestis was no more than a handful of fishing huts and the Faro Eterno did not yet exist.
– How long ago did this story take place, My Queen?
– Unfortunately, no monk recorded the details I'm about to tell you. No one knows why – she paused and continued. – This Nameless King was the most powerful, but he was not the wealthiest. The richest house was House Valleoro, whose fertile lands and ports welcomed ships from five kingdoms. Their crest was a golden coin surrounded by vines. However, it was ruled by a weak man, Aurelio Valleoro. He lent money to both houses, money that was never repaid, and whose debts were forgotten. Everyone thought the Valleoro were fools. When Aurelio Valleoro died; fat, drunk, and surrounded by scrolls of unpaid debts, everyone believed his son, Lucenzo Valleoro, would be just as feeble as his father.
– But they were wrong, weren't they?
– Utterly wrong, yes – said the Queen, letting slip a smile of admiration. – After the seven days of mourning for his father, he met with his collectors and scribes and sent out thirty-one letters, one for each loan his father had made that had never been repaid. The Nameless King and the other monarch laughed at him. Lucenzo sent back the heads of their envoys with a letter that read: "Times have changed. I am not my father."
– I remember hearing whispers about this Lucenzo: he was the first unifier of the Solitary Isles, wasn't he?
– He united them, yes, with iron and fire. The following spring, he declared war on the two houses that dared laugh at him and raised the banner of his house, but the golden coin of his crest was now entwined by a serpent. A great battle was expected on the island of Volcanova, the closest island to him, but the two monarchs, now allied, garrisoned the island with the finest of their soldiers. It should have been an easy victory, for every soldier Lucenzo had, the coalition had three. But he did not land immediately. He waited for something. On the tenth day, the earth trembled. The old volcano of Volcanova, dormant for over a century, roared. The castle and villages on the island were buried in ash and lava. The monks of the Templum Solis shut their doors to the people. There was no escape.
– So that's how the island of Volcanova became a wasteland, except for the Templum Solis? I thought Solarius would protect his followers, especially so close to one of the most sacred temples in his name.
– The cowardice of the monks wasn't the only thing that happened that day – interrupted the Queen. – Lucenzo raised white banners, the symbol of truce. The soldiers and villagers, seeing the flags, thanked Solarius for granting them salvation. It seemed the war was over. That was when Lucenzo said, "He who flees the volcano, flees the debt. And he who flees the debt, flees from me." With those words, he ordered the massacre. The white of the banners slowly turned crimson. The truce had been a lie, and Lucenzo's justice, a cruel farce.
– But it is our duty as followers of the Cult to protect those in need. How were these events never recorded in the chronicles?
– There are some stories that are not meant to be passed on. This, unfortunately, is just another among a long list of forbidden tales.
– And how do you know this story in such detail, My Queen?
– One of my ancestors was one of Lucenzo Valleoro's commanders, long before we became governors of the realm. He wrote his own account of that day and passed it down, secretly, to his eldest heir, a tradition that has been preserved to this day.
– And how does the story end, My Queen?
– It ends with unification. Half a hundred soldiers, survivors of the massacre, arrived at the Island of Pearls to face the final storm, which did not take long to arrive. They fought until their last breath. When there was nothing left to defend, the Nameless King and his family fled to a hidden cave within the depths of the highest tower, and waited there in silence for a chance to escape. But Lucenzo, with cold and meticulous cruelty, ordered all exits to be sealed, and then set the entire castle ablaze. Only one thing survived: the Torre del Silenzio. Those who approach the stairs leading to the tower's cave swear they can hear voices in the walls. Hoarse, muffled, weeping voices. Voices pleading for revenge.
Victória felt a shiver down her spine. She was not someone who believed in such tales, but being there, in the very place where all the tragedies Luna had just recounted took place, she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Commander Livia, who had been standing by the door silently listening to the story, interrupted the Queen:
– Your Majesty – she said without delay, – everything is ready. We await only your command.
– Victória – said the Queen, – can you walk?
– Yes, Your Highness, I can. Give me a few moments to gather myself and I will leave this place.
– Excellent – said the Queen, with happiness in her eyes. – I will need you. I haven't yet thanked you for what you did in Caelestis, but I want you to know I am in your debt. I am still alive and able to fight thanks to you.
Victória blushed. This was the first time she had been praised in such a way and she had never felt this sensation, not even from her own father.
– Livia, any sign of enemies? – asked the Queen.
– None, no one. They must have been frightened when we entered the outskirts of this cursed tower.
– Excellent. I want everyone on the ship in fifteen minutes. We sail to the Republic of Marellia and towards our destiny.