The shock stole my voice. No sound wanted to escape my throat, as if my body refused to admit what was happening. Everything around me churned like a nightmare, a surreal storm I couldn't wake from. Could this stranger have something to do with it all?
"Who are you? And what do you want from us?" I finally forced out, my voice hoarse but sharp, pulling Lia tightly behind me. I hated myself for letting this happen—she was only fourteen. Always bright, always full of joy, she'd loved our parents more deeply than anyone. Perhaps she resembled them most of all.
"Calm down. I'm not a threat to you," the stranger replied. His voice was rough and low, yet he looked no older than me—perhaps only a little older.
"Still, the two princesses would fetch quite a price," another voice cut through the dark. From the shadows stepped a woman. Her short hair framed sun-bronzed skin marked by a scar running from the corner of her mouth, splitting her smile in two. Her eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, a stark contrast to her deep brown hair. Her clothes matched the silver-haired boy's: a sleeveless black top, tight trousers clinging to her frame, and a dagger strapped to her thigh. I would have given anything to be dressed like her instead of trapped in this heavy ceremonial gown.
"Don't you dare come any closer!" I shouted, snatching a branch from the ground and holding it between us like a weapon.
"You don't really think a little stick will stop us, do you?" the boy frowned and stepped closer. Before I could react, he pressed a cloth over my nose.
The scent was unmistakable. Ginger poison—its sweet, stinging aroma was something you never forgot once you'd studied it. I used to be fascinated by herbology; it had been one of the few things that truly bonded me with my mother. This toxin put a person into deep sleep within moments. I struggled and fought, but he was taller, stronger. I had no chance to escape.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the palace. I was in a forest, where autumn leaves drifted soundlessly from the branches, as though the season itself danced overhead. A small stream whispered nearby, its waters clear and calm. In the distance I saw Lia as Igni tried to teach her how to catch fish.
Closer to me, someone was building a fire. Lavern. I pushed myself up and threw my arms around him. He had always felt like part of our family.
"You're awake at last!" he exhaled in relief. "I thought you'd never wake up.""How are you even here?" I asked, still trying to piece together what had happened."I found Igni and Ash during the attack," he said quickly. "They told me you were with them, and that we had to get out fast. There was no time to explain, and you were hostile, so they knocked you out to smuggle you away."
Ash. He was the one who'd used the ginger poison on me. As angry as I was, some part of me still owed him thanks—he saved Lia.
"Where is he?" I asked at last."He went to gather wood," Lavern replied.
I couldn't sit still. I rose and slipped into the trees in the direction Ash had gone. The damp leaves crunched softly beneath my boots until I finally saw him. He stood with his back to me, arms full of kindling. Black, vine-like tattoos crept up from his neck, shifting subtly with every movement like living shadows. His short white hair caught the light, almost glowing.
"Why did you do it?" I asked, my voice rough, more accusation than question.
Ash turned slowly toward me. His gaze was empty, his face unreadable, as if our conversation meant nothing."If I hadn't knocked you out, neither of you would be alive now. I didn't do it for your sake. It was just easier that way."
"I hate you for it… and yet I'm grateful," I forced out. "Because you saved Lia."
Ash shrugged."Don't make me into a hero. I'm just a thief. I acted out of calculation, not kindness."
It hurt to hear, but I knew it was the truth. This stranger would never be our savior—and yet our survival depended on him.
"What happens now?" I asked at last, dreading the answer.
He dropped the wood to the ground and spoke in a cold, steady voice:"The crown is gone. Without it, the power of the fae will fade day by day. Your wings, your magic… all of it will weaken. And where the light dies, the dark spreads. The creatures can already feel it. Soon they'll hunt you."
His words cut into me like blades. My parents' deaths, the loss of the crown—all threads in the same unraveling chain pulling our world toward collapse.
Ash looked at me once more. In his dark eyes there was no pity, no hatred—only facts."Their deaths are your loss. Mine is simply that I must live in a far more dangerous world now." His tone stayed calm but hard. "If you want to survive, you'd better get used to it."
I didn't answer. I just stood there among the trees, gripped by grief and fear. He was right. Pain didn't matter now—only Lia did. And the duty to keep her alive.