I watch him breathe, slow and steady. The lines of his face are softer now, smoothed by sleep, and I catch myself memorizing them - the curve of his lashes, the way his lips part slightly. He looks so unguarded like this, so unaware of me watching. I don't move, not wanting to disturb him, just letting myself exist in this quiet moment. Where once sweat and dirt had masked him, now his true form shone through. His long dark hair fell in heavy waves down his shoulders, catching the light from the windows like polished silk. The dim light traced the line of his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw, revealing the kind of face I hadn't expected beneath all these battle skills.
Without the mask of blood and dust, there was something startlingly refined in his features, a quiet strength softened by sleep. His long, clean hair spilled carelessly across the pillow, framing him in a way that felt almost too graceful for a warrior. While resting, there was a gentler beauty in him, raw but captivating, as though sleep had stolen away the killer and left only the man.
And he woke up.
"Huh? What?" were his first words.
"Good morning, Alet!" I smiled and pushed myself up from the floor, brushing off the numbness in my legs. I hadn't realized how long I'd been sitting there, one hand resting on the edge of the mattress, just looking at him.
His eyes blinked open, still heavy with sleep, confused when they found me. I felt a little foolish being caught like that, yet I couldn't help the way my lips curled into another smile.
"I would swear yesterday that you might be a God. But since I saw you sleeping, like a human, I think you are not even close to the Stars."
"Every God's human incarnation is different."
"So you don't deny?"
"But I wouldn't confirm either." He shrugged lightly, trying to play it cool, then lazily ran a hand through his bed hair as if that could fix it.
Long, unfamiliar shape of ears pierced through the veil of his hair. I think I stared at them a little longer than what I wanted, his coughing intrerrupted my scaning of this unfamiliar human trait.
"Get ready, we are having breakfast in a bit downstairs."
"Could you wait outside the room?"
"No."
I glanced toward the mirror at the far end and crossed to it in quick steps. My reflection stared back, my face, my ears. I brushed my fingertips lightly along their edge before turning sharply. My hair fanned around me with the sudden motion, and I caught the way his eyes widened.
"You can do that?"
"Not every trace of divinity was sealed away in this human body." I answered.
"I can only imagine… if this is just a speck of it."
I smiled faintly, though inside I knew the truth, what he saw wasn't even a fragment of the fragment of divinity I still carried. Then the emotions came, unbidden. First a hollow sadness, then a flare of anger, and then sadness again, heavier this time. I could do anything but one thing - shatter this human vessel and return to where I truly belonged. And stop those hideous human feelings.
"I will go downstairs now, the breakfast should be ready."
I felt his eyes on me, following every step until I reached the door. It was a bit creepy, though I have to admit, earlier I was probably a little creepier than he was.
***
The dining hall smelled of warm bread, eggs and bacon fresh from the pan. I always loved how the chef was preparing the plates with beautiful decorations. Since I was not much into eating at least I was enjoying the ornaments. I sat at the long table, a plate before me, and started a small talk with Onet. After some minutes Alet entered the room.
He moved with a natural grace, shoulders loose despite the sharpness in every line of his body, he didn't have a walk of a warrior like Erzion and I thought that it might be as if they have swapped roles. An emperor and a warrior. Funny.
Onet started moving her chair left and right and eventually decided to pull it even closer to the table. The legs scrape against the floor with a long, loud drag, echoing through the room despite the small adjustment. I looked at her, surprised, because she usually had better manners than that.
"You've been staring," she murmured, voice pitched for my ears alone.
"No, I have been looking at the bread in my plate."
"If bread could look back at you the way he does, I might believe that."
"Are you sure?? He was looking at me??"
I glanced toward Alet again just in time to find his eyes on me.
"He's dangerous," Onet said at last, his tone shifting, quiet but edged. "You know that, don't you?"
"So am I."
For a moment, silence hung between us, heavy with things neither of us spoke aloud. Then Onet leaned back, folding her arms loosely. "That's not the only thing that worries me."
"He can also be in help to understand how to get out of here. So it's worth the shot."
"If you say so."
Onet wouldn't understand, but I also didn't expect from her to see the things through my eyes.
"So, Alet!" I turned my head again in his direction, he had already stared eating but I didn't care so I still asked him my question. "Where you come from?"
He swallowed his first bite and answered: "From a far."
I got my answer pretty quick. Okey, the next one then. "Did you came here with someone or you are alone in the city?"
"What is this question even?"
"Just curious."
He left his fork on the napkin next to his plate and slightly opened his mouth, I was waiting for a reply but sadly his voice was interrupted by the fierce guard entering the hall.
"Miss Vilendra, Your Majesty is waiting for you."
"So early?? I didn't even have a breakfast yet!" I snapped, lacing my words with bitterness.
The guard's face remained the same, emotionless expression staring at me with a dose of annoyance, and coldly replied: "You don't even eat, come on. His Majesty told me to forward his words."
I hate how random his mood is...
***
"You said to come here after I am done with Alet!"
"Is that his name? O!" he teased, leaning closer with a crooked grin like a man convinced he personally invented all the alcohol in the world.
"Stop it." I protested, trying to wriggle free as he tugged playfully at my sleeve.
"At least you got to know his name, I think that's some progress." he brushed a strand of hair out of my face with infuriating ease and winked at me. Idiot.
"…Wait," he murmured, eyes narrowing with sudden interest. "Are those a bit more pointy?"
I froze, heat crawling up my neck. "Don't."
His grin widened, sharper now, wicked with triumph. "They are pointy. Gods above, you have been trying to hide this! What are you, some elusive forest elf?"
I swatted his hand away, glaring. "I said stop it."
"Too late," he laughed, leaning back just enough to admire the discovery, smug as though he had just uncovered a national secret. "The mighty Goddess with ears sharper than her tongue, adorable."
"Adorable?" I echoed, my voice dripping venom.
"Yeah! How did you end up with those?"
"I… I saw them from the warrior this morning," I admitted softly, fingers twitching toward my hair as if to cover them again.
For a few seconds, silence settled between us. Relief washed over me because finally that humiliating small talk was behind us. But just as we reached the tower's door, he spoke again:
"They actually fit you quite well. Good Stars, I could lend you a book for forest creatures so you could do this earlier if I knew you would be interested! But I guess this warrior was useful at least for something. "
Erzion was the only person who could annoy me so much, always when I look at him I feel mix of emotions, everything that you can think of. I get reminded of all the times I was spilling tea on his lab on purpose, every time he was pushing me down the wet ground making me dirty. He was a kid even now, standing with his sword dressed in a spotless white shirt and tailored trouser, wearing his royal ring.
"What is it this time? The tower's entry hall was quiet, so you probably didn't inform many people," I muttered.
He didn't answer, only gave me that look, the one that said that I should not thing of trivial things but just do my job. Then he turned, and I followed.
The prison tower was colder than usual. Our steps echoed off the stone as we entered the Great hall. A line of prisoners already stood there, some trembling, some trying too hard to look calm. They avoided my eyes, but I felt the weight of their fear pressing against me like a tide.
Erzion's voice rang sharp and steady. "You know what to do, Vilendra."
I sighed, but I moved forward, letting my eyes roam over the line. This was my task: to see what others could not. My divinity, even sealed, still gave me a sharp spirit vision. One by one, I looked into their faces, not just at their expressions but into the hollows of their souls.
"This one… guilty," I said for the first person, my voice quiet but final. The man flinched as if I had already sentenced him.
I stepped to the next. "Not guilty." Relief cracked the woman's composure, and she almost collapsed in her chains. The trick was not only to see the past moments in their memories, but also if they believe they are guilty. I could glimpse only a few hours into their past but feel their fear from milion years ago if I had to, and they didn't know that.
Erzion said nothing, only watched. It was always like this, he was sitting on the bench next to the wall oposite the prisoners, watching. His dead father's idea to bring me here was for me to help this kingdom conquer other countries. And I ended up in a house arrest all day long for the past years, just looking at some random people in front of me at time to time while they piss themselves from fear. No no, I am serious. The next person pissed themselves before saying that he is not guilty. Cringe.
Erzion called some guard to pick him up and since it would start stink, some maid came quickly to clean. I had to wait for her to finish so I could move to the next prisoner.
"Let's see if you going to shit yourself then." I said jokingly, but the man closest to me didn't laugh. Eh, I thought it was a good joke. The man's lips trembled as he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, only a dry rasp. "I will take that as a yes." My tone was casual, almost bored.
His knees buckled slightly, and for a moment I thought he might collapse before I even could look in his soul. I sighed. "Pathetic." My gaze fixed on him, and the familiar pull began, the threads of his life unraveling in my vision, the shadows of guilt and innocence rising like smoke around his figure. It was as if I were drawing out a vast fabric, forced to examine every string, one by one, searching for the knot where guilt lay hidden. If no such knot existed, then the fabric was whole, and the person stood in the right.
Sometimes, the threads revealed stories that weighed heavier than any chains. A girl, for instance, who had raised a knife only to shield herself or her sisters, her younger brothers, her friends, from the cruelty of men who thought them weak. In her case, the stain of blood was not guilt but desperation, a cry of survival woven into every strand. And I always will find her innocent.
This man before me, though his threads trembled. Fear seeped through them, but fear was not the same as guilt. I followed the strands deeper, past the surface terror, to where truth waited, silent and bare.
"Guilty." I said finally. Not because of what was the last thing he had done, there he was innocent. But before that... Oh, to be able to hit this man with my own hands, but I would never touch this nasty man again.
***
Before I even realized, night had fallen again. I had spent the whole day here, buried in the tower's stale air, sifting through lives like pages of a book I didn't care to read. Faces blurred together after a while, fear, denial, trembling hands, tears staining the stone floor. Some begged, some cursed me, in the end it was always the same.
Erzion was still there, of course, he was still checking some documentations for the prisoners I have inspected today. I leaned back, letting my head rest against the cold wall. For a moment I closed my eyes and let the silence press in. The Never Ending Night stretched outside, vast and eternal, and I didn't want to go outside in the cold yet. I knew winter was coming soon, but I kept forgetting to switch to thicker clothes.
"Come on, Vila. We are done for today." He finally finished with his tasks and gave me a sign to follow him outside.
I followed him out, my steps heavy, I was still exhausted from using so much divine power. The corridors of the tower gave way to the open court guarden, and from there I needed only a few minutes to the temple.
The moment I stepped inside my garder, the air changed. I didn't have the energy to go and inspect Alet at the moment, so I preferred to regain my strenght here. Warmth embraced me, carrying the earthy scent of flowers and . I let myself collapse onto the cushioned bench by the fountain. Beyond the glass, the Never Ending Night spread on, endless and icy-cold, but in here… it was softer. Contained. Did I mentioned that I love this garden? I absolutely adore it here. The only place I can rest peacefuly.
I closed my eyes, breathing in the quiet. For once, I was alone. No more milions of voices that I had to listen from different people, no more dirty heavy air and dust of dirt. I was all alone and-
The door creaked open. Whatever. Light footsteps pattered across the floor, far too cheerful for the hour. I opened one eye to find Yona standing there, his small arms struggling with a plate that held a towering slice of cake.
"Miss Vila!" he whispered loudly, such a weird child. "I brought you something sweet. And… and you have to tell me a story now!"
He marched toward me, determined, his little face flushed with effort and triumph. For the first time all day, I felt a genuine laugh stirring in my chest.