Elara's POV
I couldn't sleep, not after what I saw in that mirror, every time I closed my eyes I saw her silver eyes staring at me through bleeding glass, I heard her voice whispering mine like a song that won't fade.
By dawn, the castle stirs to life, footsteps and low murmurs echoing down corridors, I wrap my cloak around me and step into the hall, my breath visible in the cold air.
"Does it always do that?" I whisper, staring at the walls.
Liora appears from around the corner carrying tea, "Do what, my lady?" She said
"Breathe," I say, "the walls sound like they're breathing."
She glances at the stone walls, her face tightening, "The castle remembers, my lady, it always has," she sets down the tray with shaking hands, "it listens too, so choose your words carefully."
Before I can ask what she means, Kael's voice echoes from the end of the hall, "Elara, come with me."
He stands there dressed in black, his silver hair catching the torchlight, his expression calm but his eyes shadowed with something I can't read, I follow him, our footsteps soft against the cold marble.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"To the garden," he says without looking back, "you should see it, it belonged to her."
Her… the word cuts through the air like a knife.
"The first queen?"
He nods once, his jaw tight, "It's called the Silver Garden, nothing grows there except what she planted, every petal remembers her touch."
When we step outside the air hits me cold and sharp, the garden stretches out like a dream, flowers that shimmer like starlight, silver vines curling around black stones, a faint mist rising from the ground, it's beautiful but dangerous.
"She built this?" I breathe.
"Yes," Kael says softly, "and when she died the garden mourned her, everything turned to silver overnight."
"Is that why you brought me here?" I ask, "to see her ghost?"
He turns to me then, a faint smile touching his lips but not his eyes, "I brought you here because the castle wants you to see it," he says, "it has chosen you, whether I agree or not."
There's pain in his voice, something raw and human.
"Kael," I step closer, "what aren't you telling me?"
Before he can answer a low hum rises through the air, soft but clear, like a woman's sigh, the lake ripples, moonlight breaking across it in trembling waves, I lean closer, my reflection staring back, pale and tired.
Then she appears.
Her face blooms over mine in the water, those same silver eyes, her lips curved in a knowing smile.
I gasp and stumble back, "Did you see that?"
Kael's hand catches my wrist, "See what?"
"The reflection," I whisper, my heart pounding, "it changed, she was there, right there in the water."
He looks down at the lake but his expression doesn't change, "You saw nothing."
"No," I shake my head, "she was smiling at me.
The reflection ripples again and this time I hear it, her voice faint but sharp as glass: "You took my place."
I freeze, the words sinking into me like poison. She spoke.
Kael pulls me back roughly, his face pale, "Enough," he snaps, "don't look at it again."
"Kael, she said….
"I said enough!" His voice cracks through the night like thunder, crows scatter from the trees, his chest heaves as he drags a hand through his hair.
The silence stretches thin and fragile between us.
"Who was she really?" I ask softly, "tell me the truth."
He stares at me for a long moment, "She was my wife," he says quietly, "and she should have been my only one."
The words cut deeper than I expect, I want to ask more but his eyes are full of grief that silences me.
"The castle does not forget," he says, turning away, "and neither does she."
"My lord," Liora's voice calls from the archway, trembling, "the council waits."
Kael nods without looking at me, "Return to your chambers," his says in a calm tone "do not wander tonight."
When he leaves the garden feels emptier, colder, I stare back at the lake one last time and there she is again, faint but there, her smile softer now, almost pitying.
"Why me?" I whisper.
But she doesn't answer.
Back inside the corridors feel longer, narrower, the whispers louder, like the castle is murmuring secrets I'm not supposed to hear, portraits seem to follow me with their painted eyes, I hurry to my chambers but when I reach the Queen's Wing the door is already open.
A woman I've never seen stands by the fire, tall and wrapped in dark blue velvet, her hair white as frost, her face ageless and beautiful in an unsettling way.
"You must be the new queen," she says, her voice smooth and melodic.
"Yes," I answer cautiously, stepping inside, "and you are?"
"Lady Merith," she bows slightly, "advisor to His Majesty and keeper of the archives."
"The archives?" I repeat, "you mean the history?"
Her smile is faint but sharp, "History, secrets, curses," she says, "it's all the same when written in blood."
The fire pops behind her, sending sparks into the air.
"Tell me something, Lady Merith," I move closer, "do you believe in ghosts?"
Her smile deepens but her eyes darken, "In Moonspire, my queen," she murmurs, "we don't call them ghosts, we call them memories, and memories here are very much alive."
She walks past me and her perfume is heavy , sweet and strange, as she passes the mirrors flicker, showing her reflection and beside it the other woman's face appears, smiling faintly, her lips moving to form one word that makes my blood run cold.
"Soon"
The fire flares bright white, the mirrors shake violently, I blink and when I look back Lady Merith is gone, just vanished like she was never here.
Only the whispering walls remain, calling my name over and over, soft and insistent, like a promise I never wanted to make.