Three years later…
I now looked like an eleven-year-old girl.It no longer truly mattered to me—my age had stopped long ago—yet among the nobility, such appearances are fiercely guarded.I use magic to seem older than my peers,another mask I wear to belong.
I had grown accustomed to life in Diel's house.I wake before dawn and begin my morning training,then return to my study to read and learn,and afterward train with Diel.Sometimes we go hunting,venturing into the forest to gather blood from animal prey.
But that day… was different.
A light knock echoed at the door."Miss, Lord Diel requests your presence."
I followed the attendant to Diel's office,and when I entered, he was not alone.
A young man sat across from him.He appeared to be around eighteen,with short hair, white tinged with silver, luminous and neat,and striking violet eyes—eyes unlike any I had ever seen.
He turned toward me with a faint smile."Greetings, Eldeth… I am Valai. Your uncle."
Diel spoke in his usual calm tone:"He has insisted on seeing you for the past three years,but I refused. Your condition was unstable.I believe the time has come now…I want him to teach you medicine."
Valai smiled gently."I will take care of you from now on.Call me Uncle."
He rose from the sofa and approached me."I have long wished to meet you.You resemble Laurelin greatly…and I want to teach you medicineso that you may one day manage Diel's hospital.You are his heir, after all."
I was struck by how utterly different he was from Diel,despite them being brothers.
I sat beside Diel, still steeped in wonder."May I ask you something… Valai—Uncle?"
He smiled brightly."Of course."
"You're not a vampire, are you?Your eyes are violet, but—"
Diel interrupted,"Valai is among the strongest of us.He has complete control over his abilities,allowing him to conceal his true formand return fully to a human appearance."
I looked at Valai in astonishment, and suddenly—his eyes shimmered with a faint glow,shifting into a deep crimson,as though stained with blood.
He spoke with quiet confidence:"If you master control over your powers,you will reach my level one day.But even I…required centuries to perfect it."
"What do you think, Eldeth?"Valai said, lifting his teacup, his movements precise—almost unnaturally calm."Would you like to accompany your uncle? I will teach you much."
After a brief silence, Diel said,"Despite my distaste for Valai's naïve nature, he is the most suitable for you.He will give you what you need.Go with him—as his apprentice and my heir.You may return whenever you wish."
Then he added, his voice stripped of emotion:"But know this will not be easy.Valai serves as an imperial physician and scholar.The palace is his world…and it will become yours."
At that point, words ceased to reach me.
Memories I had buried for three years erupted without warning, without mercy.
Cold rooms with no windows.Stone floors clinging to bare skin.Human hands trembling as they raised the whip—not out of cruelty… but fear.
The maids were not evil; they were tools.Forced to torture,rewarded with silence if they obeyed,with death if they hesitated.
I screamed—not for rescue,but because the silence hurt more.
I felt my body grow heavy, my head bowingas if chains still bound my wrists.My breathing faltered,the blood in my veins turning cold, lifeless.
Valai noticed.
He stood slowly, as though the scene before him was familiar,approached me, then knelt on the floor,his eyes level with mine.
He spoke softly—truly—without pity:"Lift your head, Eldeth.What was broken in you was not weakness…but brutal training."
Then he added, his tone sharper, unforgiving:"You are one of the Sixteen.And one who has lived what you have…is not permitted to break."