Kaelen pushed into his chamber the moment the Circle doors closed behind him. He didn't wait for anyone. He didn't slow down. He just walked in, grabbed the door, and slammed it shut harder than intended. The sharp sound echoed through the stone walls, but he didn't say a word about it.
He stood there… perfectly still.
His hands trembled before he forced them behind his back. His jaw locked so tightly that small lines showed near his temples. His breath came too fast, too short, as if the air refused to settle inside him.
He paced once.
Then stopped.
Then paced again.
Every movement was tight, controlled, but cracking in the corners.
He tried sitting, lowering himself onto the edge of the chair—then stood right back up, the moment his body touched the seat. His shoulders rose and fell with a slow, uneven rhythm.
His mind dragged him back to her.
Elira.
Not by choice.
Not because he wanted to think about her.
But because her face burned behind his eyelids every time he blinked.
Her voice trembling when she said she didn't know Lyra.
Her eyes shining with fear in the Circle.
Her hands shaking under the silver chain he ordered to be placed on her.
He pressed his fingers against his forehead and muttered under his breath, barely a whisper.
"…A spark…"
The torches flickered.
The shadows around the room pulled closer, bending in strange shapes. The cursed land always reacted when prophecy brushed against truth.
Kaelen froze. His breathing deepened, slower, heavier.
He didn't like this.
He didn't like what she stirred.
Footsteps echoed outside his door.
Queen Isolde's soft voice floated through. "My king? May I come in?"
Kaelen didn't even look toward the door.
"No."
A cold command.
No explanation.
No room for argument.
The hallway went silent.
Inside, the air hung thick, almost too heavy to breathe. Kaelen stared at the wall as if he could force the confusion out of his head. But it didn't leave.
Not even when everything else went quiet.
---
The door opened without a knock.
Kaelen didn't turn.
Only one person in the entire kingdom entered rooms that way.
"Your silence shakes the walls, Kaelen," the Seer said in his calm, old voice.
Kaelen kept his eyes on the thorn-covered window, watching the night sky twist through the curse. His hands were clasped behind his back again, hiding the slight shake still lingering there.
"What do you want?" Kaelen asked, voice flat.
The Seer stepped closer, his robes brushing the floor. "The girl's arrival… it was not an accident."
Kaelen's jaw tensed so hard it hurt. "She is human."
"She is more than that," the Seer replied, his tone gentle but heavy, as if carrying years of secrets. "Her blood does not begin in the mortal lands."
Kaelen finally turned, staring at him sharply. The Seer's eyes—clouded but wise—met his without fear.
"Her mother," the Seer continued, "was from Elarion."
Kaelen's breath hitched before he controlled it. His body stiffened only for a second, but he forced himself to stand straighter, emotion tucked out of sight.
The Seer watched him carefully, then added, "The girl carries an old force… one the Circle fears."
"What force?" Kaelen snapped.
The Seer smiled sadly. "You know I cannot say all. But I can give you this."
He lifted his hand slightly.
His voice dropped to a low whisper:
"The spark arrives with chains…
the curse cracks when hearts remember."
Kaelen shut his eyes, annoyed, frustrated, unsettled. "Enough of your riddles."
"Riddles protect truth," the Seer whispered. "And truth is not ready to reveal itself."
Kaelen turned away, staring at the cursed land outside the window again. "Leave."
The Seer didn't move. "You do not have to accept the prophecy, Kaelen… but you cannot outrun it."
Kaelen didn't answer.
And that silence—long, tight, controlled—said more than any denial.
---
The moment the Seer left, the Queen entered.
She moved gracefully, the way she always did, her soft smile hiding sharp intentions. Her pale hair draped over her shoulders, and her eyes glittered with something too polished to be trust.
"My king," she said, stepping close. "You look troubled."
Kaelen didn't give her a glance. He kept his back to her, shoulders stiff, hands resting on the window frame.
Isolde moved closer. "This human girl… she is a problem."
She paused, watching him for any reaction. He gave her none.
"She is dangerous," the Queen continued softly. "A curse in human skin."
Kaelen's jaw tightened again.
"She should be executed before she becomes something worse."
The air in the room changed.
He didn't move.
He didn't breathe.
But something cold crawled down the walls.
Isolde stepped even closer, voice sugary-sweet. "She does not belong here, my king."
Kaelen finally turned.
Not fast.
Not loud.
Just enough for her to see the warning in his eyes.
His voice was low, quiet, but heavy enough to fill the room:
"Leave."
The Queen's smile faltered for the first time. She bowed stiffly, swallowed her frustration, and walked out.
Kaelen didn't watch her go.
He stood still again, but this time the stillness felt sharper—like a blade pressed flat against skin.
---
When the doors closed and he was alone again, Kaelen let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding.
The room felt too quiet.
He lifted his hand and ran it through his hair, fingers digging into his scalp for a moment before dropping to his side.
The Seer's words crawled back into his mind like unwelcome guests.
"The spark arrives with chains…"
"The curse cracks when hearts remember."
He hated how the words echoed.
He hated that they followed the image of her—
Elira, trembling in the Circle, small but refusing to break.
Elira with fear in her eyes but still lifting her chin.
Elira who didn't bow even when every force in that chamber wanted her to.
His breath grew heavier.
His memories dragged him back to another time.
Humans.
His mother.
The blood.
The fire.
His hand curled slowly into a fist—so tight his knuckles shook.
He stared at the floor, voice low and cold inside his mind:
"If she is a threat… I will stop her myself."
His fist tightened.
"If she is the key…"
A long pause.
A breath.
A slow, dangerous stillness settled over him.
"…I will control her."