Without a word, I sat down next to the trio at the main table, trying to appear calm. But my gaze immediately fixed on the door at the far end of the room.
The double doors were wide open. Behind them, the bedroom. And the bed. Large. The blanket spread out — soft, fluffy, almost inviting.
Gods. Why was I staring at it?
Probably because for the past few nights, I've been sleeping on the floor.
On the damn floor.
Something about that bed looked... obnoxiously luxurious. As if it were mocking me.
— Ahem, — Blake cleared his throat.
My gaze snapped away from the bed, his voice like a snap against my skin. He was staring directly at me.
Alright. Time to tear myself away from these bed fantasies. Looks like there's some kind of... meeting?
— First, — he began calmly, with that cold certainty that always makes my eye twitch. — We need to deal with the curse on your pillow.
...What?!
Wait a second. A curse. On my pillow? I was stunned, but didn't dare say a word.
All my attention — solely on him.
— Is that why you couldn't sleep in the bed? — Blake leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering, almost intimate. — Don't want to talk about it?
— Every time I lay in the bed, — I exhaled, feeling my fingers instinctively reach for the back of my head, — I was struck by pain. Right in the center of my skull.
The words escaped automatically but got stuck in my throat.
— I didn't say anything because...
A pause. A heavy, awkward silence. I knew how this would sound.
Like nonsense. Like a pathetic excuse.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nimor raise an eyebrow. Adeel frowned, intently watching me.
And Blake... sat there, as always. Like stone.
No emotions. No sympathy, no anger. Just — a cold, unsettling nothingness.
— Why? — His voice was sharp, edged with military precision. He wasn't asking. He was commanding.
I swallowed.
— I thought... maybe I wasn't who I was supposed to be. That the bed... repelled me. Or I repelled it. — My voice trembled. Even now, after his words that I'm not an imposter... I didn't believe it. Because inside... it was still empty.
I saw Adeel glance at Blake. She was waiting for an explanation.
— I've confirmed it, — Blake's voice was steady, almost icy. — You're the real Biann. The same one as before.
— But... — Adeel started, but Blake turned to her with such a look that her words died in her throat.
— This is not up for discussion, — his voice turned steely. — Biann is the real one. No memory. No magic. But it's her. And now what matters is: who and how managed to cast a dark curse on her pillow. And what it means. No one must know. If the kingdom suspects that the girl from the prophecy has no power, panic will break out.
He looked at me again — his gaze heavy, piercing.
— We stick to the legend: Biann sleeps. But in reality, she will take the role of my permanent Keeper at Ventarion.
I didn't even have time to ask a question — he already read the shock on my face.
— Explain. Was there anything strange about the moment you woke up?
I swallowed.
— Only... pain. In my neck. — My voice came out quieter than I wanted, but clear.
— Then it's clear. A cursed pillow.
— Adeel, find her sitter. Bring her here.
He turned sharply to Nimor:
— Who else had access to Biann's room? Besides Sunny?
— No one, — Nimor replied. — I personally checked on her once a week. Everything was fine.
— A dark shadow... — I whispered, not realizing I said it out loud.
For a moment — everything froze.
I looked up.
— A DARK SHADOW, — I repeated, clearly. Loudly.
Everyone was silent.
— That's impossible, — Adeel cut in, her voice icy and dry, as if trying to cut me off with the words.
— But I saw it, — I blurted out. — Yesterday. In the kitchen. The knight. He... he was strange. When Adeel walked in, he muttered: "You weren't supposed to be here."
He said it as if he knew.
— That's why you were told not to leave the room, — Blake interrupted, sharply. — You don't know and don't remember magic in this world. Do you?
— But I saw it, — I swallowed hard. — He disappeared. Disappeared right before my eyes. And in his place was... a shadow. Black. Alive.
— That's impossible, — Adeel repeated, already irritated, almost daring me to challenge her.
— I SAW IT! — I snapped. My voice wavered, but it grew louder, almost a scream. — Why don't you believe me?!
I wasn't yelling for drama's sake. I was yelling because I felt everything inside me boil.
I wasn't crazy. It happened. It was real.
— First, — Blake began, his voice low and measured, tinged with cold fury, — the whole castle is under the protection of wards. The stones won't allow anyone who is tied to dark magic to enter.
There are only a few exceptions. And that knight — he's definitely not one of them.
He pierced me with his gaze — steel, silver, no trace of doubt.
— Second, knights don't have magic. Not a single one. If you had remembered the structure of the magical army, you would know that. You can't even distinguish a Blessed from a regular mage. A Dark Lord from an Avaddon.
You can't tell them apart — because you don't know anything. — He exhaled slowly. — One thing is to curse a pillow. Quite another is to be a dark mage.
The words hit like slaps. He didn't say it as advice, but as a verdict.
It felt like he wanted to erase everything from me: dignity, confidence, common sense.
— Are you saying I'm crazy? — I exhaled, not holding back my anger. — That my eyes are deceiving me? That I made this up?!
I shot him a glare — angry, sharp, brutally honest.
Adeel looked like she didn't know whose side she was on.
And Blake — his eyes flared.
Cold silver. Anger. And something else. Something dangerously personal.
— Let's all calm down, — Nimor interjected, calmly, as though this whole tension between me, Blake, and Adeel was just... a misunderstanding. — Biann, calm down. Listen. If everything you said is true, then there's a dark mage in our territory. And that means: at least one of the ancient protection stones is broken.
I froze. Inside, it felt like something clicked. A stone. Broken.
— These stones were created with pure, primal magic. Removing their protection isn't as simple as a wave of a hand. It's not a minor spell. Destroying it takes years. Sometimes — decades. And if one of them really fell... we would've already seen an invasion.
He spoke calmly. Without accusations. Without judgment. Just — facts. His voice was like water.
But every word was like pressure on something I didn't understand. And that was where the power lay.
I swallowed. Everything inside me argued — I saw the shadow. But logic... was on their side.
— I think we need to be more careful, — Nimor added. — And pay more attention to the details. Especially considering that the High Priestess of the Temple is due to arrive soon.
— Fine. Step by step. — Blake's voice became commanding again. — Adeel, bring Sunny.
She nodded silently and almost immediately disappeared through the door.
I didn't have time to catch my breath before Blake turned to me. His gaze — sharp, cold, like a silver blade.
— Now, about you, Biann.
Again, this "about you" — as if I were just a file, not a person.
— Until you remember everything. Or at least relearn it all — you are not leaving the inner walls.
— Inner walls? — I blinked. What does that even mean?
He sensed my confusion and, of course, decided to explain in his usual "I command, you listen" style.
— The area beyond the river — that's the outer zone. And you stay inside.
You don't leave the boundaries. Under no circumstances.
He paused. Then added, as if throwing it in my face:
— And you don't have the right to wander around the main castle. Especially not before the Priestess arrives. Is that clear?
His voice was chilling. Commanding. There wasn't a single gap where I could slip in a "but."
He had already decided for me.
— Can I... go to the river? — My voice was softer than I wanted. Uncertain. Almost childish.
Blake's face — exhaustion. Like I had drained all the patience out of him in one day. He closed his eyes for a moment... and then relented.
— Yes. But only to the river. — As if he wasn't conceding to me, but to my annoying persistence. — And remember: to everyone else, you are my Keeper at Ventarion.
I opened my mouth — to object? To ask something?
— But I... — And then it hit me: I didn't even know what Keepers did.
According to Adeel, they were some kind of blessed mages. The ones who heal warriors, treat people, infuse light into wounds.
I'm nothing like them. I don't even have magic.
— Yes, — Blake nodded, as if he had already anticipated my thoughts. — But externally, you fit the part. Height, face, it all matches. Only Blessed mages from the Temple, like Nimor or Solemir, can recognize magic. — He grew even darker. — Or those who serve the Priestess.
He fell silent. Then added harshly:
— So keep away from the main castle. Temple officials don't go there. Here — they won't care. As long as you stay here and don't poke around where you're not wanted — everything will be fine.
Fine.
So my new life is silence, pretending... and the river.
Wonderful.
I pouted.
Just like a little girl who's been scolded for something she hasn't even done yet.
His words — "don't poke around where you're not wanted" — stung more than I cared to admit.
I hadn't done anything yet. No mistakes. No rebellious attempts.
And he already sees me as a problem. A danger on two legs.
And then it hit me.
He's known me from the start. He's seen me before. That Biann.
And if he's this persistent in warning me... if he's trying to control, hold me back, guide me...
It means I've already blown everything up once.
It means I know how to create chaos. Even if I don't realize it yet.
— Nimor will stay with you, — Blake said, lowering his voice. — He'll teach you. Magic, structure, what's happening in the kingdom — everything. Maybe it'll wake something up in you. You need to understand who you're dealing with. And who's in front of you.
He narrowed his eyes, studying my face. I knew I looked upset. I didn't hide it.
Let him watch.
Let him see what it's like to wake up in a world where you're marked but no one tells you who you were before you fell asleep.
— If you want to go beyond the river... — He tilted his head slightly. — You'll have to understand where you are first.
I nodded. Slowly.
— Fine.
My voice came out soft. Too soft.
As if I'd surrendered.
As if he got exactly what he wanted from me.
And strangely... his gaze softened.
The cold didn't disappear. It turned into steel. Cold, but not cutting.
— I'll be staying one floor below, — Nimor said calmly, as if it was just a matter of casual observation.
— Tomorrow after breakfast, I'll come for you. We'll start with the basics.
He had already turned to leave when there was a knock at the door.
And immediately, Adeel entered — as direct, fast, and efficient as always.
— We have a problem, — she reported, as though delivering a field report. — I found Sunny. Dead. In her bed.
Nimor's face flashed with genuine surprise — sharp, unguarded, alive.
But Adeel didn't finish.
— And that's not even the strangest part, — she spoke flatly, but there was barely contained anger in her voice. — According to the first signs... she's been dead for weeks.
I exhaled — not because I wanted to. But because the air was squeezed out of my lungs.
— Weeks? — the words slipped out of me. My lips barely moved.
In my head — noise. My heart seemed to stop.
Sunny had been here all this time. She talked. Fed. Helped...
Who had been here with me all this time?