The locket against her chest pulsed — a gentle warmth spreading across her skin, as if agreeing with her.
She closed the diary, her thoughts hardening.
"I couldn't save Mira," she murmured. "But I can't let this girl's story end the same way."
She turned toward the window. The sky outside was streaked with crimson and gold — beautiful, but heavy with warning.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Elara took a deep breath and tried to calm her maid, offering a faint, reassuring smile.
"Lina, don't worry. I just need some rest," she said softly. "Tell the others not to disturb me for a while."
The girl hesitated, still anxious, but finally nodded and bowed. "Yes, my lady. I'll stay nearby in case you call."
When the door closed behind her, silence filled the room — only the faint sound of thunder outside remained.
Elara exhaled slowly, pressing her hand against her heart.
The poison still flowed inside her veins —slowly moving towards her heat spreading under her skin. She closed her eyes and tried to feel it, focusing her energy the way mages in her world used to do.
Her inner energy flickered weakly, unstable. The toxin wasn't ordinary — it was subtle, nearly invisible, laced with some kind of spiritual seal that blended into her life force. It should have been given to the original owner since childhood.
Someone must have used a rare alchemical method… no wonder the healers couldn't find it, she thought grimly.
Still, she wasn't entirely helpless.
she murmured "clever really clever but not more than me"
When Lina returned, Elara lifted her head.
"Bring me a few herbs from the garden — moonleaf, starblossom, and a bit of red sage," she said. "I wish to take a bath with them. It will help my body recover."
Lina blinked in surprise. "My lady, those are simple herbs for cleansing wounds. Will they truly help?"
Elara smiled faintly. "They'll be enough for now."
The truth was, they wouldn't cure the poison — only slow it. But for now, she needed time. Time to regain her strength, to gather knowledge, and to uncover who had poisoned her — or rather, poisoned this body.
and To cleanse it completely, she would need something rarer — a herb said to grow only in the Shadow mist Forest, a forbidden land filled with ancient creatures and spiritual beasts.
She would need to go there someday. But not yet. Not until she was ready.
That night, steam rose from the large bath chamber as Elara sat among the floating herbs. The scent of moonleaf filled the air, soothing and cool. Her pale face reflection shimmered in the water. She looked fragile, weak but ethereal.
She traced a finger along the locket resting against her skin. Its light pulsed faintly — slow, steady, alive.
"You've always been protecting me, haven't you?" she whispered.
The warmth from it spread gently across her chest, almost like an answer.
She closed her eyes again and focused on her breathing, pushing her inner energy to move along her veins. The process hurt — her body wasn't strong enough — but she didn't stop.
Every pulse of pain reminded her she was still alive, and that she still had a purpose.
Later, as she lay in bed, she thought back to the diary's final words — the eastern tower.
That place had been sealed ever since her mother's death.
From the fragments of the original Elara's memories, she remembered whispers among the servants: that strange lights used to appear around the tower at night, and sometimes faint cries could be heard when the wind blew.
Her mother had left her the locket.
Her mother had mentioned the tower.
There had to be a connection.
Elara's hand tightened around the locket.
She turned toward the window once again, eyes drifting to the far land . Beyond the manor walls, a dark outline of forest could be seen at the edge of the plains.
"The Shadowmist Forest…" she whispered. "And the eastern tower."
"I'll find out," she murmured to herself. "No matter what's hidden there in the eastern tower and also the herbs."
The rain outside softened into a steady rhythm, almost like a heartbeat.
Somewhere deep within the manor, she thought she heard the faint sound of a door creaking open — but when she looked toward the window, there was only darkness.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone — or something — had started watching her.
And as thunder rolled again in the distance, the locket pulsed once — as if warning her of what awaited in the eastern tower.