Chapter 22: The Mask of Lies
Storm clouds brooded above the Spire of Winds, and within its halls, tension crackled like lightning in the air. The Queen's shadow had done its work—whispers, doubt, suspicion. Someone among them was a traitor.
And now, Kavin would uncover the truth.
🕯️ The group gathered in the Hall of Echoes—where no magic could be cast, no illusions sustained. Only truth could survive here.
Kavin stood at the center, hand resting on the Starforged Blade. Around him stood Lyra, Theron, Riven, Seraphine, and Elyria.
Everyone's eyes flicked toward Elyria.
She raised her chin, silent.
Seraphine stepped forward. "We need answers. Now."
But Elyria spoke first. "I will open my mind."
Gasps rippled through the group.
"You don't have to—" Kavin began, but she held up a hand.
"I do. I won't have anyone else bleed for my silence."
🌀 Riven raised his hands and began the mind-ritual, ancient symbols glowing between his fingers. As his magic touched Elyria, her memories spilled into the room—projected like mist.
They saw her chained in the Queen's fortress… tortured… infused with shadow… and then… freed.
But then—something else. A secret memory, buried deep.
A meeting.
A whisper.
"You will return to them. You will earn their trust. And when I call… you will open the gate."
The memory vanished.
Everyone stood frozen.
Kavin's voice was like thunder. "You were her spy?"
Elyria collapsed to her knees, shaking. "I didn't know. She planted it… deep. I only remembered now."
Lyra reached for her dagger. "How do we know this isn't another trick?"
"She let Riven inside," Seraphine whispered. "That magic cannot lie."
But Theron wasn't convinced. "She could still be dangerous."
The group fractured again.
Until Kavin raised the Starblade—and it flared with white light.
He placed the blade over Elyria's chest.
"You have one chance," he said quietly. "Swear to us now."
Elyria looked up, tears streaming.
"I swear. By fire and star and everything I have left—I fight for you, Kavin. I fight for this world."
The blade pulsed gently… then dimmed.
It had accepted her vow.
🌌 That night, Elyria remained alone in her chamber, the weight of betrayal and redemption crushing her.
Outside, Kavin sat atop the spire, blade across his knees. Lyra joined him silently.
"You trust her?" she asked.
"I trust what I saw," he replied. "And I trust my instincts."
Lyra's jaw tightened. "One mistake could kill us all."
"I know."
She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Then don't make it."
🕷️ Far away, the Queen watched from her obsidian mirror.
"She broke the spell," Kael whispered, surprised.
The Queen smiled. "Let her think she's free. The seed is already planted. When the time comes…"
She turned from the mirror and extended her hand toward a cage.
Inside it was a new creature—shaped like a boy, but made of smoke and eyes.
"Release the Hollow."
⚠️ Back at the Spire, another warning arrived.
A messenger hawk landed in the courtyard, wings singed.
Its scroll bore only one line:
"Vhalgate has fallen. The Queen marches with her army of ash."
Gasps erupted around the war council.
"She's not waiting anymore," Seraphine murmured. "She's coming."
"And fast," Theron growled. "Too fast."
Kavin stepped forward.
"Then we take the fight to her. No more waiting. No more hiding."
"But if we face her now," Riven warned, "we do it without the full support of the Eastern Realms."
Kavin looked around the table.
"We have the Blade. We have truth. And we have each other."
He turned to Elyria.
"Even when it's hard."
She looked back at him, broken but stronger than ever.
"I'll never betray you again."
⚔️ The chapter closed with the party standing before a war map, watching as red markers spread like fire across the land.
The Queen's army was on the march.
And at the center of her forces was a new commander…
A Hollow who wore Kavin's face.