Chapter 15: Shadows and Silks
By Joy Daud
They said they came in peace.
But peace doesn't wear armor beneath royal robes. Peace doesn't sketch war runes beneath palace halls. And peace doesn't whisper ancient spells into the palace walls while smiling with false grace.
The emissaries from the northern kingdom moved silently, carefully. But their plan was already blooming like poison.
And the king... the king dreamed.
---
He thrashed in his sleep, tangled in velvet sheets, drenched in sweat.
"Elira..." he whimpered.
In the dream, she stood in firelight — radiant and angry, her crown crooked on her head, her eyes full of tears.
"You let them hurt him," she said. "Our son. Our Kimo."
"I tried," the king wept.
"No," Elira whispered. "You tried to break him."
She turned away, walking into a storm of black petals.
"Please!" the king cried. "Please don't leave again! I don't know why he hates me! I am trying! Elira—"
He woke with a scream, eyes wide, hands trembling.
The guards rushed in.
The king sat on the bed, staring at nothing.
"Elira... don't leave... I'm sorry... I'm still trying..."
---
Elsewhere, in the stillness of Prince Kimo's chamber, the prince stood shirtless before his tall mirror, pulling on a tunic.
His fingers trembled.
He hadn't slept well.
He hadn't stopped thinking about Oki.
And as he reached for his coat—
A blast of black fire exploded through the wall.
The queen stepped in, veiled in shadow and magic, her face twisted in murderous glee.
"You were always in the way," she hissed. "You should've died with her."
Kimo stumbled back, breath caught. He tried to summon his power—but it sparked uselessly in his fingers.
He wasn't ready.
He wasn't strong enough.
The queen raised her arm, chanting—
And then—
The storm froze.
The flames bent backward.
A wind swept through the chamber, cool and green and glowing.
And standing in the doorway...
Oki.
Hair loose and wild, eyes glowing like twin moons. She wore only a silky nightdress, her bare feet crackling with light. Her shape curved like a flame, her aura pulsing like thunderclouds.
She lifted a hand.
The queen was slammed against the wall with invisible force.
"You never learn, do you?" Oki said, walking closer.
The queen snarled, rising—only to be struck down again with a single gesture.
Oki leaned close, whispered into her ear:
"Next time, I won't be gentle. Stay. Away. From him."
A final blast sent the queen screaming into the shadows, vanishing with a trail of blood and black smoke.
---
Silence.
Prince Kimo could barely breathe.
He stared at Oki—her, in moonlight and power, soft and terrifying.
"You..." he whispered. "You're not—how did you—why did you—?"
Oki turned to him, her smile slow and teasing.
"Eyes up here, Prince."
His mouth parted, but no words came. She stepped closer. The scent of jasmine and wind clung to her.
"You're staring," she teased.
"You lied to me," he said, almost accusingly.
"Did I?"
"You said you were just a maid—"
"I said I serve the palace," she whispered, brushing her fingers across his chest. "And I do."
Kimo's breath hitched. His heart was on fire. His hands itched to hold her—but he didn't dare move.
Oki leaned up, close enough that her lips almost brushed his.
Then she winked.
"Sleep tight, Your Highness."
And vanished in a gust of wind, leaving Kimo frozen, breathless, confused—and angry.
Because now he knew.
She wasn't just magic.
She was a storm he couldn't control.
---
To be continued…