The sun was dipping low behind the horizon when Lila stood once again in the palace garden, but this time, she wasn't looking to admire the view. Her thoughts were elsewhere—buried beneath layers of stone, where the Earth King was said to slumber.
She was starting to understand that each elemental power was more than a tool. It was a mirror. Fire had burned away her fear. Water had forced her to feel. And now, Earth—what would it demand from her?
Isolde met her just inside the palace's eastern wing. The walls here were rougher, ancient, almost forgotten. Without a word, the older woman led her to a stairwell hidden behind a crumbling statue of a boar.
As they descended into the depths of the earth, Lila's skin prickled. The air grew cool and damp, filled with the scent of moss and minerals. Their lantern barely cut through the darkness.
"Are you afraid?" Isolde asked, finally breaking the silence.
Lila shook her head, even if her heart was beating a little faster than she liked. "Not afraid. Just… heavy."
"That's how you know Earth is near," Isolde murmured. "It weighs the truth out of you."
They stepped into a vast underground chamber, lit only by faintly glowing crystals that jutted from the walls. Tree roots coiled through the ceiling like veins, and a stone dais rose at the center.
Seated upon it, still as a mountain, was the Earth King.
He looked carved from the cavern itself—broad-shouldered, with skin like weathered granite and eyes the deep green of forest shadows. He opened them slowly, as if waking from a long dream.
"You've walked the path," he said. "But have you planted your feet?"
Lila approached him carefully. "I want to awaken the Earth within me."
"No," he rumbled. "You want to control it. That is not the same."
He rose, and the entire room seemed to shudder under his weight. "Earth is not fire, which roars and dances. Not water, which flows and adapts. Earth does not move for the sake of moving."
With a wave of his hand, the ground beneath Lila cracked. A ring of earth encircled her, then dropped. She was left standing alone on a narrow platform above a deep pit.
"You will not call Earth to you," he said. "You will stand. That is how Earth answers."
Lila swallowed hard, resisting the urge to cry out. She closed her eyes and steadied her breath.
She remembered what Cassian had said about standing tall despite the darkness.
She bent to one knee and touched the stone with both hands. "I am not afraid," she whispered. "I'm not running anymore."
The platform vibrated under her palm. A faint green light pulsed from the rock. Vines burst from the crevices, curling around her arms—not to bind, but to anchor.
And within her, something shifted. A calm strength. The knowledge that no matter how much the world trembled, she could remain rooted.
The Earth King nodded once, satisfied. "You are ready."
Back in her chamber, Lila paced restlessly. Her success should have left her satisfied. Instead, it only made the weight in her chest heavier.
Cassian.
She hadn't seen him since their last conversation, when she'd revealed what she saw through her water magic—the darkness clinging to his vision like ink.
She needed to try again. She needed answers.
She found him in the library, sitting near the open windows, listening to the rustling wind.
"Cassian," she said gently.
He turned, not startled, but expectant—like he'd known she would come.
"I want to try something," she continued. "With my water magic."
He tilted his head. "What kind of something?"
She moved closer and knelt before him, her heart thudding. "Water helps me see things others can't. When I touched you before, I saw… a dark shape around your eyes. I think I can go deeper now."
Cassian hesitated, his expression unreadable. "Then look."
She reached out, placing her fingers lightly on his temples. Cool magic flowed from her, gentle as a stream, wrapping around his face.
As she closed her eyes, the physical world faded—and a deeper layer revealed itself.
Cassian's curse was more than darkness.
It was a living thing.
Twisting, ancient runes coiled like vines around his head, glowing with a sickly red light. Shadows clung to his eyelids like spider silk. And beneath it all, something watched her—a presence, ancient and cunning.
But her water magic didn't recoil. It pressed closer, trying to understand.
And then she saw it—an origin point, like a broken seal near his left eye. A flaw in the magic.
Lila gasped, pulling her hand away, her breath catching in her throat.
Cassian didn't move. "What did you see?"
"There's a way in," she whispered. "I think… I think the curse wasn't meant for you. It doesn't fit. Someone repurposed a much older spell. That's why it's unstable."
Cassian's lips thinned. "And unstable magic is dangerous."
She nodded. "It means there's still hope. I might be able to undo it. Not today, but… soon."
He turned his face toward her, though he could not see her. "You really believe that."
"I have to," she said. "Because if I don't… who else will?"
For a moment, the air between them was silent—thick with something unspoken.
"You're different now," he said quietly. "More grounded."
"I just met the Earth King," she said with a half-laugh. "He doesn't exactly do light and fluffy."
Cassian's mouth curled into a rare smile.
"I'm glad," he said. "You're stronger than you think, Lila."
And this time, when she smiled back, it didn't feel forced. It felt real.
Because she wasn't standing alone anymore.
End of Chapter 7