The worn cover of the book felt smooth under Elena's fingertips as she closed it, the soft — thump — echoing slightly in the quiet room. It wasn't boredom or fatigue that made her stop, but the satisfying completion of the tale. Then, a jolt of disbelief. Flipping back, her eyes scanned the final page, landing on "450" in crisp, black ink. She glanced at the clock, its ticking a steady beat in the afternoon air: ten o'clock. She'd only sunk into the story around five or six. How? How had she devoured over four hundred pages in mere hours? Her gaze remained fixed on the book, its white and silver cover gleaming faintly. The story had been captivating, a tale of a maiden, her fiancé—heir to the throne—and a tragic wedding night. Grief and a thirst for vengeance propelled her, but a companion emerged, a man whose presence soothed her soul, his calm presence melting her anger into love. Yet, the twist: this man was her fiancé's killer, who killed her lover in desperation as he was plotting a destructive war against a kingdom he had a quiet hatred towards.
The book ended abruptly, leaving Elena to ponder the choice: forgive the man who sought to spare thousands but had murdered her love, or condemn him to execution. She abhorred cliffhangers. A quick search for a sequel would be in order, perhaps from Lily. "Forgiven Widow," she whispered, tracing the title, the author's name a mystery she couldn't decipher. A faint, ethereal rustle, like turning pages, seemed to emanate from the book, unheard.
With a sigh, Elena reached for it, the smooth weight settling in her hands as she returned it to its spot. A yawn escaped her lips, a sudden, crushing wave of exhaustion washing over her, as if a dam of pent-up sleep had burst. She squeezed her eyes shut, then blinked them open, hoping to dispel the heavy drowsiness, but it was no use. She practically fell onto her bed, the soft mattress yielding beneath her, and sleep claimed her instantly.
Just as she drifted into sleep, Elena awakened—but not in her room. Instead, she found herself on a vast plain of blackness. The sky was fractured with streaks of gold, resembling veins pulsing through a body, while a persistent fog hovered close to her knees. Her heart pounded faster as she surveyed the strange, unrecognizable surroundings.
A voice, feminine and smooth as silk, sliced through the quiet. "So, she's one of the three?" A second voice, rougher, distorted, yet undeniably feminine, responded. "She has potential, but she isn't there yet." Elena tried to cry out, but her voice caught in her throat, a silent plea swallowed by an unseen force.
A third voice, even more distorted, a guttural rumble that defied easy categorization, announced, "The plan has been set; she will learn and grow." The air hung heavy, thick with unspoken power. "Has the messenger been sent?" the silken voice inquired, the sound echoing unnervingly. "It has," the third voice rasped back.
"She has been alone for too long. I think *%$*! would be better," the rough voice growled, a discordant note in the unsettling symphony.
"*^%&$ is almost dead; they wouldn't be able to even be there in half a year," the third voice countered, a tremor of impatience vibrating through it. "Fine," the rough voice conceded with a dismissive harrumph.
Elena strained, desperate to break the suffocating silence that held her captive, her questions multiplying like a swarm of buzzing insects as the voices continued their detached, disembodied conversation, utterly oblivious to her silent turmoil.
"When do you think El-^$##^ is ready?" The silken voice said. "We only have a few ^%$^& to have her ready."
"Hush!" the rough and distorted voice chided the silken one at the same time.
"She's still here, you fool," the rough one continued its chiding. The silken voice gave out a small — almost childish — whimper.
"Enough," the distorted voice commanded. "She has been here too long anyway, but we have done what we wished for. If we continue, they might take notice and ruin everything."
"Very well," the silken and rough voice answered. Then the distorted voice was suddenly right next to her, even though it had nobody to be seen.
"We wish you luck. Make the right choice when it appears, and you will have what you have been desiring," it said in a whisper, almost too quiet to hear.
Just as suddenly, she woke up. But not to the quiet comfort of her room. Alarms blared. Soldiers shouted as their armor clanged. There was a constant shuffle of maids running around attending to what needed to be done and secured. While Deep, resonant bells tolled through the compound, their heavy clangs overlapped in a chaotic rhythm that rattled her thoughts. Beneath it, a low, constant hum vibrated through the air — the wards drawing in mana, stripping it from the surroundings until the atmosphere felt dry, stale… and wrong. All of this happened while Elena gasped for air, pushing herself upright, her pulse racing as the dream.
The dream—
It was already slipping from her mind.
Fragments lingered, scattered and fragile. A black sky split with gold. Voices — three of them — whispering, arguing. Something about a plan… a messenger… and about her.
But the bells rang again, louder this time, and the memory fractured further.
The words blurred into nonsense, the voices into indistinct echoes. Even the feeling of it — that suffocating weight, that sense of being watched — began to dull, like a fading echo swallowed by the noise.
"No… wait…" Elena muttered under her breath, pressing a hand to her temple as if she could force the memory back into place.
But it was already gone.
All that remained was a vague unease… and the faint, lingering certainty that whatever she had just experienced mattered. Then another surge pulsed through the wards, the hum deepening. Breaking Elena out of her stupor, as she began to look around the confusion, tightening in her chest as the alarms continued to ring.
'What was going on?' the thought raced through her mind like an arrow piercing armor. 'Why does it feel like I am forgetting something?'
Her thoughts were only broken further as Lily burst through the door, a man clad in the distinctive Falmil armor. An armor of gleaming silver plating on the joints, while the rest was heavy, layered fabric, mixed with red and dark brown. The helmet was adorned and etched with falling leaves aflame, akin to the Falmil crest.
Lily rushed to Elena, the guard quickly following her as Lily grabbed her shoulders. Her emerald eyes were wide with fear and worry. "Elena, are you hurt? Do you feel any pain, heat, headache, anything at all?" Lily's questions poured out of her lips like water spilling from a cracked cup, too fast to catch, too urgent to stop.
Elena groaned, still feeling a sense of unease… from a dream?
"I'm fine, Lily, what's going on?" Elena mumbled through a wince as Lily's grip tightened on her shoulders enough that she was afraid her nails would pierce her skin through her gown.
Lily froze while the guard next to her straightened slightly. Lily's eyes seemed to fill with conflict as she questioned whether to tell her or not. Then the guard spoke in a slightly muffled voice. "Lady Falmil… someone killed your cousin Henry."
Elena froze. The bells and alarms faded, dulling into a distant, muffled whisper. For a moment, everything felt far away, as if she were standing behind glass, watching the world instead of living in it. She wasn't sure if it was shock at the news… or something else. Because there was no grief. No sharp stab of loss. No hollow ache in her chest. Nothing. Her breath hitched slightly.
'Why don't I feel anything?' the thought came uninvited, cold and heavy. This was her cousin. Someone she grew up with, someone she should mourn, should have felt hurt for the loss. But instead…
There was only a strange, hollow stillness. And beneath it — something else. Something quieter. Colder.
Almost… expectant.
Her stomach twisted at the realization, unease creeping up her spine.
'That's not right.'
Elena had her suspicions about Henry and his work. After all, how had he gotten hold of Bolin? An artifact that Fern, one of her friends, had? Also, the auctions. She had made a deal with him to bring her the next time one appeared. But now… that lead was gone.
Then a thought hit her…
As soon as she made a deal with him to bring her to the auction. He was killed. Was there a spy? Someone who had listened to their conversation. If so, how long was Henry, or her had been followed?
'Did they know about Jake?'
That thought struck her as if she had been thrown overboard in the glacial waters of the north. But the worry was pushed back as soon it appeared as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulders as Lily shook her. "Elena? Elena! Is she poisoned? She seems distant. What should we do?" Lily rambled, her voice drowning in worry.
"I'm fine…" Elena said, placing a hand on her shoulder where Lily's grip was iron. "Just… dazed. That's all," she mumbled.
Her amber eyes met Lily's emerald, trying to comfort her. Lily looked back at her, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. Elena tried to give a reassuring smile, but the muffled voice of the guard broke the moment.
"Lady Falmil, we need to get you to the cellars where your mother will be waiting for your safe arrival."
Elena looked up to him, meeting his black eyes, or were they brown? She couldn't tell with the helmet. "What's your name?" Elena commanded, the mask of a noble sliding on with ease.
The guard stiffened at her tone, as he gave her a perfect execution of the Glatith salute. Right fist hammering into the middle of his chest twice, then it remained there as he gave his name. "Leo Hamil, Lady Falmil," he said with some hesitation. Elena nodded once, then she got up from her bed. Her stride toward the large walk-in closet gave no hint that she had been asleep only moments ago. She moved some dresses aside as she found what she was looking for.
The hidden cabinet that held the men's clothing for Jake. But also, something else, something just as dangerous as the men's clothing if they were to be found. Her fingers brushed against wood, rough and aged. She pulled free a long box, its surface coated in a thin film of dust that stirred into the air at the movement. The turquoise paint was faded and cracked, curling at the edge where time and moisture had eaten away at it. She gripped the rusted handle at one end. It bit cold against her skin as she dragged the box free and lowered it to the floor with a dull, heavy thunk.
Lily grimaced the moment the box came into view. While Leo didn't move closer, he didn't relax either. He lingered just behind Elena, his presence steady, alert. His head turned in small, controlled motions, scanning the room, not with curiosity, but with purpose, watching, measuring, and ready for anything that moved.
Elena knelt and found the clasps securing the box's contents, unclipped them — a golden strand flickered to life above the box, then it broke and died — as she lifted the lid. Inside, in stark contrast to the box's worn exterior, lay plush, flame-colored velvet, cradling a rapier like a nest of embers wrapped in silk. The rapier was long, its blade itself was almost four feet, while the crimson and silver hilt — with golden magic crystals — only added to its length. The sheath of the rapier was silver and covered in icy blue runes.
Elena gave a smile despite knowing that what she had done would alert him. This was a gift, but also a signal to and from Jake. She quickly grabbed the hilt of the rapier and pulled out a belt that was lying underneath and secured it around her waist. "We need to hurry," Elena said as she got up, walked past Leo to the other side of the closet, and started throwing dresses aside. Leo's eyes widened a little as Lily ran up behind them.
"Elena, are you really planning on using Thimil?" Lily asked with worry, looking at the rapier. Elena paused for a moment as she had her hand on the wall, searching for something. She glanced back at Lily and nodded, "My cousin is dead, we don't know if the assassin is still here. If they go after me or my mother, or you. I won't allow that to happen. Besides, if I am going to die, I am going to make sure to kill my enemy as I do so." She said through a growl, as she looked back at the wall and finally found the thing she was looking for.
A block of the wall sank in as she pressed her hand against it. Gears whirled and latches clunked as the paint of the wall ripped apart, and a door slowly opened. Leading into a dark, seemingly endless tunnel that went down a staircase with twists and turns. The stone was not the same as the outside but different, colder, darker.
It was a dark green, and as Elena put her hand against it, she felt her blood turned against her veins, her pulse. The magic within it shrank back, recoiling as if burned, dragging her pulse away from the stone and her hand, making it numb. She pulled her hand away, and her blood flowed once again, as she finally remembered the name of this cursed rock.
Ballis stone.
A stone lost at the end of the Second Age. One that nullifies magic and prevents it from being used. Only a few scraps of it remained; pebbles and shards of it were ground into dust to be made into steel chains for mages and all those who had magic in their blood.
Yet this entire tunnel, this corridor, was entirely made from it, as she returned her hand to the stone, her hand going numb once again as she started to walk down the stairs. Leo quickly grabbed a lantern that hung from a hook in her room as he followed behind Elena, and so did Lily. Then gears whirled once more as the door closed behind them with loud clunks. Elena didn't even look back, only forward, towards the corridor, which was long and narrow, To the point where Elena had to hold Thimil's hilt to prevent it from clacking against the stone walls.
"What is this?" Leo said, looking at the walls of the corridor. "It's a secret passage that… I found it when I was a kid, and have been keeping it a secret since." She lied, but in truth, the one who found it was Jake. He had discovered it three years ago by accident when a maid almost caught him in her room.
Elena gave a soft chuckle — despite the situation — at the memory of him tumbling down the stairs. Of course, it hurt him more due to him being a mage and the corridor being Ballis Stone.
"There are five tunnels that all lead to the cellars below." She started to explain, as she made a turn and they followed her. "I do not know if the Galas Manor has tunnels and if they are made of Ballis stone. It was built at the beginning of this Age. If so, then the assassin must have discovered them and used them to kill my cousin."
Leo made a gruff sound as he took that in. "Elena," Lily spoke, "The signal was broken…" her voice hesitant to continue, but Elena already knew what she was hinting at. "I do not know, but he-" she cleared her throat of the mistake, her gaze glanced at Leo, "I am confident in my abilities." She said with the confidence that her noble mask gave.
Lily only nodded as Leo looked at the two women, "Lady Falmil, what is the signal she speaks about?" He said with suspicion in his tone. Elena glanced at him, then shook her head, "It's a signal to my father," she said as she made another turn down the stairs. Then Elena halted as her blood ran cold, and Leo grabbed the hilt of his sword, while Lily yelped. The distant echoes of gears whirling, latches clunking open, and stone grinding against stone echoed through the corridor.
All three knew that a door to the tunnels had been opened.