The moon hung high in the night sky, bathing the palace towers in a pale glow. Behind the stained glass windows of the western hall, Lyra stood still, watching shadows move slowly through the palace garden. They didn't know she was watching—and that made her wary.
Since the letters had been discovered, Lyra no longer felt alone. But she didn't feel safe either.
"The quietest people often hold the deepest secrets," Queen Yseult had told her two nights ago. "And in the palace, secrets are weapons."
Lyra was beginning to understand.
---
That morning, the Royal Council convened earlier than usual. Their faces were tense, their voices low, and the round table where they normally sat felt narrower than ever.
Duke Merva, an aging noble from the southern provinces, began the meeting with a grim tone.
"Our latest reports mention a name—'The Veiled One.' We don't know who it is, but every uprising along the borders seems to follow this figure's orders."
"That name has surfaced among the merchants too," murmured Lady Veltria. "In the granaries, in the night markets, even among the palace servants."
Lyra straightened. "Is... is it one of you?"
"No," replied Lord Halden, his voice cold. "But it may be someone far closer than we think."
---
That day, Lyra explored the deepest corners of the palace under special permission from the Queen. Hidden corridors unused by ordinary folk, chambers of old records, and statues of forgotten gods stood in silence behind layers of dust.
In a small room tucked behind the library wall, she found an ancient altar. Upon it was a symbol—an eye, veiled and closed—the mark of the Order of Shadows, a forbidden cult erased from history by past kings.
Lyra touched the engraving. Her heart trembled.
"The Veiled One."
---
Later that afternoon, she attended a closed meeting with Queen Yseult, Captain Rael, and the royal mage, Arin Valen.
"They do not merely want to overthrow the king," Arin murmured, his voice like wind. "They seek a divine relic—an artifact from before the gods ever descended to earth."
"For what purpose?" Lyra asked.
"To awaken a power that can break the barrier between heaven and the mortal realm."
Queen Yseult stared deeply at her. "And if you are the key to that boundary, they will come for you."
---
That night, Lyra couldn't sleep. She returned to her chamber, lit a candle, and opened the ancient tomes given to her by Arin Valen.
On one page, she saw the sketch of a winged woman with veiled eyes and flames in her hands.
"The Divine Reversed."
"She who descended without permission, bearer of chaos and hope."
Lyra looked into her mirror.
That face... wasn't just familiar.
It was hers.
---
The next day, the palace was rocked by a small explosion in the weapon storage corridor. No one was harmed, but a guard found a torn piece of cloth bearing the veiled eye—symbol of The Veiled One.
The Queen immediately ordered tighter security. Anyone suspicious would be interrogated.
Lyra, on the other hand, began to notice other things.
Certain servants vanished. Letters were resealed with false wax. Even the food she received sometimes smelled odd.
"Poison," Arin Valen concluded after testing her supper in secret. "Not fatal, but enough to weaken you over time."
---
Amidst the storm, one figure started to stand out—Lord Halden.
He was silent. Too silent.
And when Lyra trailed him one evening into the lower corridors of the palace, she saw him enter the same chamber where the altar of the Order of Shadows had been found.
She crept closer.
In the dark, Halden was speaking to someone—but she couldn't see who.
"—we can't take her yet. But she's starting to remember. Sooner or later, the power will awaken."
A second voice replied—in a language not of this world.
"The time will come. And when it does, the throne will belong to no mortal."
---
Lyra backed away, slowly. Every heartbeat felt like a thunderclap in her chest.
There was a conspiracy—not just against the king, but against the world itself.
And she was at the center of it.
---
The next morning, Lyra faced Queen Yseult. She told her everything—with calm, and without fear.
The Queen wasn't surprised.
"I knew Halden couldn't be trusted. But this... this is larger than I imagined."
Lyra grasped the Queen's hand. "We need to act. Before they do."
Yseult nodded. "Then we'll give them exactly what they want."
---
Two days later, the palace announced that Lyra would undergo the Skyfire Ritual—a public ceremony where a supposed 'Child of the Heavens' would be tested by the Divine Council.
The people rejoiced.
The traitors... would surely stir.
And somewhere deep beneath the ground, beyond broken altars and sealed scrolls, someone opened eyes that had remained shut for centuries.
"The Heaven-Forsaken One... has awakened once more."