Lyria's POV
The rotten tomato hit my face before I could dodge it.
"Get out of here, freak!" the merchant yelled, already reaching for another one. "Your silent act is scaring away my customers!"
I stumbled backward, wiping the sticky mess from my cheek. My heart pounded as I grabbed my small collection bowl—three copper coins rattled inside. Three coins from two hours of performing. Three coins that wouldn't even buy me dinner.
Around me, the marketplace crowd laughed. Some pointed. Others looked away like I was something dirty they didn't want to see. I wanted to scream at them, to tell them I wasn't a freak, that I had a voice once—somewhere, somehow, I knew I did. But when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. It never did.
My hands shook as I clutched the bowl tighter. Don't cry. Don't let them see you cry.
"Mama, why can't she talk?" a little boy asked, tugging his mother's dress.
The mother pulled him away quickly. "Don't look at her, sweetie. She's cursed."
Cursed. That word again. I heard it everywhere I went.
I turned to leave, my bare feet padding against the dirty cobblestones. The sun was setting, painting the sky orange and purple. Soon it would be dark, and the marketplace would empty. I needed to find somewhere safe before then. The streets weren't kind to girls like me after dark.
"Wait!"
I stopped and turned around. A small girl, maybe seven years old, ran toward me. She had messy brown hair and a gap-toothed smile. In her tiny hand, she held something that made my breath catch.
A silver coin.
Not copper—silver. That was worth ten copper coins. Enough for real food, maybe even a blanket.
The girl pressed the coin into my palm, her small fingers warm against my cold skin. "I liked your story," she whispered. "About the bird who lost her song. It was beautiful."
My throat tightened. I signed "thank you" with trembling hands, but she just tilted her head, confused. Of course she didn't understand sign language. Nobody did.
"Ella! Get away from that mute!" A woman's sharp voice cut through the air. The girl's mother stormed over and yanked her daughter away from me. "I told you not to talk to beggars!"
"But Mama, she—"
"Not another word!"
They disappeared into the crowd, but I could still see the little girl looking back at me with sad eyes. I closed my fist around the silver coin and felt something warm bloom in my chest. Someone thought my story was beautiful. Someone actually saw me.
I tucked the coin safely into the hidden pocket of my torn dress and hurried through the winding streets. The marketplace gave way to older buildings, then abandoned ones. Finally, I reached it—the crumbling temple at the edge of the city.
Nobody came here anymore. The roof had holes, the walls were covered in strange scratches, and the statues inside had their faces smashed off. But it was mine. The only place in the world that felt like home, even though I couldn't remember why.
I pushed open the creaking door and stepped inside. The familiar smell of dust and old stone greeted me. Moonlight streamed through the broken roof, making everything look silver and ghostly. I walked past the ruined statues to my corner—a small space where I'd piled up some old blankets and a cracked clay pot for water.
My stomach growled. I sat down and pulled out my coins, counting them by moonlight. Three copper and one silver. Maybe tomorrow I could buy bread and—
A sound made me freeze.
Scratching.
It came from the back of the temple, from the dark hallway I never went down because it felt wrong. The scratching got louder, like claws on stone. My heart hammered against my ribs.
Then I heard footsteps.
Slow. Heavy. Definitely not an animal.
I pressed myself against the wall, hardly breathing. Who would come here at night? Nobody visited this temple. Nobody except—
"I can smell you, little bird."
The voice was male, cold, and amused. It echoed through the empty temple, making my skin crawl. I saw a shadow move in the hallway—tall, impossibly tall.
"Lady Selene said you might be hiding here," the voice continued. "A fallen goddess, living in her own forgotten temple. How pathetic."
Goddess? What was he talking about?
The shadow stepped into the moonlight, and my blood turned to ice.
He wasn't human. His eyes glowed red like burning coals. His fingers ended in black claws. And when he smiled, his teeth were sharp as knives.
"Did you really think you could hide from us?" He tilted his head. "Did you think your sister would forget about you?"
Sister? I had a sister?
"No matter." He raised his clawed hand. "Dead goddesses don't need memories anyway."
He lunged at me so fast I barely saw him move. I rolled to the side, scrambling away on my hands and knees. My mind screamed for help, but my voice stayed locked in my throat where it had always been.
The creature laughed. "Run, little bird. It's more fun when they run."
I sprinted toward the front door, but another figure stepped out of the shadows, blocking my path. Then another. Three of them. All with glowing red eyes and razor smiles.
"Nowhere to go," the first one said.
My back hit the wall. They closed in, slowly, enjoying my fear. I wanted to scream. I wanted to beg. I wanted to do anything but stand there silently like a helpless animal.
But that's all I was, wasn't it? A voiceless girl with no one to save her.
The first creature raised his claws for the killing blow.
Then the entire temple went dark.
Not regular dark—this was different. Thick. Cold. Like darkness had become solid. The temperature dropped so fast I could see my breath turn white. The creatures froze, and for the first time, I saw fear on their faces.
"No," one whispered. "He's here."
"Impossible," another hissed. "The God of Silence never leaves his realm—"
A new voice cut through the darkness. Deep. Quiet. Absolutely terrifying.
"You're in my temple."
I couldn't see who spoke, but I felt him. Power radiated through the room like winter wind. The creatures started backing away, but the darkness moved faster. It wrapped around them like living shadows, and their screams cut off instantly.
Silence fell again.
I stood frozen against the wall, shaking so hard my teeth chattered. The darkness slowly faded, and moonlight returned. The three creatures were gone. Completely vanished. And in their place stood a man.
No—not a man. Something else.
He was tall with pale skin and silver eyes that literally glowed. His dark hair fell to his shoulders, and he moved with the grace of a hunting wolf. When those silver eyes locked onto mine, my heart stopped.
"You," he said softly, taking a step closer. "I've been hearing you in my dreams."
I pressed harder against the wall. Was he going to kill me too?
But he didn't attack. Instead, he knelt down so we were eye level. This close, I could see his face clearly—sharp and beautiful and sad. So terribly sad.
"Do you know what you are?" he asked.
I shook my head, tears streaming down my face.
His cold hand reached out and gently touched my throat. Where his fingers made contact, something inside me burned and ached and screamed to break free.
"Your voice was stolen," he whispered. "And I'm going to help you find it."
Before I could react, he pressed his palm flat against my throat. My vision exploded with light and sound and memories that couldn't be mine but felt more real than anything I'd ever known.
I saw myself singing in a golden palace.
I saw a beautiful woman—my sister—smiling as she held a glowing crystal.
I saw my own mouth opening in a scream that made no sound as my throat burned.
I saw myself falling, falling, falling from the sky.
When the vision ended, I collapsed into the stranger's arms, gasping silently. My whole body shook with the truth I couldn't fully understand yet.
The man with silver eyes held me carefully, like I was something precious that might break.
"My name is Kael," he said. "And you, little goddess, have been asleep for far too long."
He stood, lifting me easily in his arms. The last thing I saw before darkness took me was his face, outlined in moonlight.
And his eyes—silver as stars—held something I'd never seen before in anyone who looked at me.
Recognition.
Like he knew exactly who I was.
Even if I didn't.