Author: [writers hub]
The silence in the ancestral pavilion stretched, suffocating and heavy with the weight of Mae-Yeon's ultimatum. Zara's gaze flickered from the ancient dagger, gleaming with a dark, deadly beauty, to the worn leather journal, identical to Lady So-Yeon's, its pages thick with secrets. And then to Mae-Yeon's eyes, which held the cold, unwavering glint of a predator. Hana. The name burned in Zara's mind, extinguishing all other thoughts.
This wasn't a choice. It was a surrender. A forced pact with the devil. But if it meant Hana's safety, Zara would make it. She would play Mae-Yeon's game, but not without a desperate fight for her own soul.
With a trembling hand, Zara reached out. Her fingers brushed the cold, intricately carved hilt of the dagger. It felt heavy, ancient, imbued with a grim power. Then, she picked up the journal. It was heavier than So-Yeon's, its pages denser, radiating an almost electric energy.
"Wise choice, my dear," Mae-Yeon purred, her smile widening, a chilling triumph in her eyes. "You understand true priorities. The love of family, the preservation of our bloodline... these are the only truths that truly matter." Her gaze was piercing. "Study them. The journal contains the unwritten history, the true methods of our influence. The dagger... it is a symbol. A tool for those who understand how to wield it."
Zara clutched the objects, their weight both a burden and a strange, cold comfort. She looked at Mae-Yeon, forcing her voice to be steady. "What do you expect of me?"
"To learn," Mae-Yeon replied, her smile never faltering. "To truly understand the essence of the Botermet family. To prepare yourself for your true place. Ragnar is ambitious, but he is blind to the depths of his own legacy. He seeks to purify, to legitimize. He forgets that our roots run deep in the shadows. You, Zara, will be the one to remind him." Her eyes held a chilling conviction. "You will be my eyes within his inner circle. My ears. And when the time is right, my voice."
Zara felt a sickening lurch in her stomach. Mae-Yeon wasn't just asking for loyalty; she was demanding espionage. She wanted Zara to betray Ragnar, to become her spy, her puppet in his own home. The thought was repulsive, yet Hana's face flashed before her eyes. She had no other option.
"I understand," Zara said, her voice hollow, her grip on the ancient journal tightening.
Mae-Yeon nodded, a satisfied gleam in her eyes. "Good. We will have... private lessons. In time. For now, immerse yourself in the true history. The journal will guide you." She gave Zara a pat on the hand that felt more like a brand. "Now, Ragnar will be expecting you."
As Zara stepped out of the pavilion, the sunlight felt harsh, the air suddenly cold. She felt tainted, a traitor before she had even begun. She walked towards Ragnar, who was waiting discreetly near the temple entrance, his Shadow Wolves a silent perimeter. He watched her approach, his dark eyes searching. He saw the objects in her hands – the dagger, the journal. His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, his expression unreadable, but Zara felt his tension, a raw current of dark energy.
He knew. He must have known this was the likely outcome, that Hana was her unbreakable leverage.
"Did she give them to you?" Ragnar's voice was low, his gaze fixed on the objects in her hands.
Zara nodded, unable to meet his eyes. "She wants me to learn the 'true history.' To become the 'conduit between the old ways and the new.'" The words felt like a confession.
Ragnar reached out, his fingers brushing the hilt of the dagger she held. His touch was cold, analytical, devoid of warmth. "And the journal?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Did she tell you what it truly contains?"
Zara shook her head, unable to articulate the depth of betrayal she was being forced into.
A grim, almost dangerous light flickered in Ragnar's eyes. "She plays a long game, Zara. And that journal..." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the temple grounds, then back to her, a chilling realization dawning on her. "That journal, and that dagger, are not merely symbols of the past. They are the keys to a future Mae-Yeon intends to carve out of my reign, and by taking them, Zara had unknowingly pledged herself to a silent, deadly war against the very man she was bound to, now a spy in her own gilded cage, caught between the ancient power of the Botermet matriarch and the unforgiving wrath of the underworld king, with Hana's life hanging by a thread she could not control, and a terrifying revelation about the second journal now poised to unravel everything she thought she knew.