Selene drew in a trembling breath, her gaze drifting past Valerius toward the fire. The flames danced in her eyes as memories long buried clawed their way back to the surface.
"It was chaos that filled the halls that day," she began softly, voice unsteady. "But not just the kind that could be seen. The palace itself… it screamed, Valerius. The stones shook. The air burned with power."
Valerius's grip eased slightly, his brow furrowing.
"You were in the eastern wing, or what was left of the east wing." she continued. "Fighting that… thing. The manifestation that tore through the veil. I could feel its presence even from where I was hiding. The others—Talia, Elara, and I—we were in the lower chambers with Anna. I remember the walls cracking, the ceiling trembling. Talia was praying. Elara was trying to shield us. And Anna…"
Her words caught in her throat.
"Anna was so small," she whispered. "She clung to me at first, crying, terrified—but then something changed. Her breathing stilled. Her eyes—gods, Valerius—her eyes went distant, almost… glowing. She looked at me and said, 'I have to find Grammy Aeloria.' Before any of us could stop her, she ran."
Valerius stiffened, his pulse quickening. "She ran toward the battle?"
Selene nodded, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "She was so fast. Faster than any child should be able to move. It was as though something—someone—was calling her, pulling her through the corridors. I chased after her, but the light… the energy pouring from her—it pushed me back. I couldn't reach her."
Her hands trembled as she brought them to her chest. Selene's eyes shimmered with tears as she stared into the fire, her voice trembling as she recounted what she had witnessed. "Your mother—Aeloria—was already locked in battle with the creature. The air was fire and lightning, the ground breaking under their power. Her song—it wasn't just magic, Valerius. It was creation itself. She commanded the storm, the earth, the sea… every element answered her call."
Selene's hands clenched around her gown. "She was winning. She was—until the Chaos changed. It moved like shadow given will, and before she could finish her final strike—it struck her. Pierced her through the chest."
Valerius's breath caught. He said nothing, but his knuckles whitened at his sides.
Selene's voice broke as she went on, her memory painted in firelight. "And then I heard it. A scream—Anna's. I looked up through the smoke, and she was standing at the heart of the courtyard. She called out—'Grandma!'—and the entire world… stopped."
She stared into the flames as if seeing it all over again. "The sound that followed—it wasn't human. It wasn't mortal. It was resonance in its purest, most primal form. It started as a hum, but within seconds, it became a wave of power. It spread through the entire city—cracking stone, shattering windows, even the ley lines beneath the city lit up like rivers of light."
Selene turned her gaze up to Valerius, voice trembling. "The Chaos… it screamed," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the crackle of the fire. "Anna's cry turned into something else—pure resonance, unbridled and raw. The very air split apart. The creature tried to flee, but it couldn't. Her power pulled it in—like the ley itself was answering her, binding the shadow where it stood."
Valerius's eyes widened slightly, his breath catching as Selene went on.
"She didn't cast a spell. She became one," Selene continued, tears slipping freely now. "The ground beneath her glowed, ancient sigils i never seen before. Her voice was shaking, crying—calling for Aeloria—but every tear, every sob resonated with power. And then…" She drew in a sharp, trembling breath. "The Chaos shattered. It didn't just die—it was erased. Dissolved into light. Gone."
Valerius stepped back, his mind reeling. "Anna destroyed a fragment of Chaos?"
Selene nodded shakily. "Yes. But that wasn't the end of it." Her voice lowered, trembling. "When Anna saw your mother lying there—blood staining the stones, her body broken—something inside her snapped. The resonance changed. It wasn't light anymore. It turned crimson—wild, unstable. Her mana began to spiral out of control, tearing the ground apart. The sky itself bled with it."
The fire popped sharply, as if punctuating the horror in her words.
"She screamed again, but this time… it wasn't sorrow. It was fury." Selene's tone became hollow, distant. "A vortex formed around her, devouring everything—stone, flame, even the ley currents themselves. If it had continued, all of Astoria would've been lost."
Valerius's jaw tightened, his voice strained. "Then how—how did it stop?"
Selene's breath hitched, the firelight flickering across her face as she forced herself to speak through trembling lips.
"Aeloria…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "She stopped it—but at a cost." Her eyes glazed with memory as her words painted the scene.
"Anna floated above the ruins, her eyes white, her screams tearing the world apart. The resonance was no longer singing—it was screaming. She was breaking the city, Valerius. The sigils she created twisted into chaos, feeding on her grief. I could barely stand and your mother—she was dying."
Valerius's chest rose and fell sharply, but he said nothing.'"
Selene's fingers curled tightly together, knuckles white. "I brought her a book. A Codex she called it. It answered her the moment she touched it. Light, sound, the old sigils… they came alive."
Her voice grew steadier, but heavy with sorrow. "Aeloria used the Song itself, Valerius. The Codex fed her life into the spell, and she walked into the storm. Each step burned her from the inside, but she didn't stop—not even when I screamed for her to. The chant built until it filled the heavens.
Selene's voice cracked. "The Codex fell from her hands, her light fading. She collapsed—but her spirit rose. She reached Anna, wrapped her in a cage of light, and bound the resonance within her."
She wiped her tears and whispered, "And then she was gone. Just… gone. The light vanished, the resonance silenced."
The fire snapped loudly, echoing in the heavy silence that followed.
Valerius stood frozen—his face unreadable, eyes reflecting both grief and revelation. The weight of his mother's sacrifice—and his daughter's burden—hung in the air like a storm waiting to break.
The chamber fell into a long, suffocating silence. The fire crackled softly, each pop echoing like a heartbeat between them. Valerius didn't move. His gaze was locked on the floor, though his eyes seemed unfocused—lost somewhere far beyond the present.
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, stripped of the imperial weight it normally carried.
"Why…" He swallowed hard, his fists trembling at his sides. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Selene flinched as though struck. The question wasn't shouted, but the quiet pain behind it was worse than fury. Valerius's shoulders sagged under the invisible weight of his own words, his eyes glinting in the firelight as he finally looked at her.
Selene's lips parted, but for a moment, no sound came out. When she did speak, her voice was soft—fragile, like a secret that had waited too long to be spoken.
"Because I promised her," she whispered. "I promised Aeloria I would keep Anna's truth hidden. Until the time came when it could no longer be contained."
Valerius's eyes widened, pain and disbelief clashing in their depths. "You promised her?" he echoed, his tone rough, incredulous. "And what of me, Selene? I'm her father. You think I wouldn't have protected her?"
Selene's gaze fell to her lap. "That's exactly why," she murmured. "Aeloria feared that if you knew the truth, you'd see Anna not as your daughter—but as a weapon. A vessel of power. You were already burdened by the war, by the empire's expectations, by the weight of your mother's crown. She was afraid you'd turn that fear into control."
Valerius stiffened, the words cutting deeper than he wanted to admit. "You think so little of me?"
"No," Selene said quickly, shaking her head. "Never that. I think the world demanded too much of you. It took your innocence, your peace, your trust. And Aeloria saw that. She wanted Anna to live as a child first—to laugh, to grow, to choose who she would become before the crown decided for her."
Her voice wavered, barely holding together. "I thought… I thought I was protecting both of you."
Valerius turned away sharply, one hand gripping the edge of the mantel so tightly his knuckles went white. The fire's reflection burned in his eyes—an inferno barely contained.
"You kept this from me," he said quietly, his tone trembling between rage and sorrow. "You let me believe she was just… fragile. That the nightmares she had were echoes of trauma, not warnings. All this time…" He exhaled slowly, a sound closer to a growl than a sigh. "All this time, you carried this alone."
Selene rose from her chair, taking a cautious step toward him. "I did what I thought was right," she said softly. "For her… and for you. But I see now that silence only bred fear."
Valerius didn't look back, but his next words came low, weary, and raw. "And now that fear has come home again."
The flames danced higher for a moment, casting shifting shadows across the room—like ghosts of all they had lost, and everything they still stood to lose.
Selene stood in silence for a long moment, her hands trembling faintly at her sides. The flickering light of the fire carved lines of exhaustion and sorrow across her face.
Valerius still hadn't turned around. His hand gripped the mantle as though it were the only thing holding him steady, his reflection in the glass above the fireplace a fractured image of a man torn between duty and despair.
Finally, Selene drew in a breath—a deep, steadying one. "There's more," she whispered.
Valerius's head tilted slightly, his voice edged but subdued. "More?"
"Yes," Selene said softly. "But before I tell you… you have to promise me something."
At that, he finally turned. The shadows deepened the lines of his face, the fire catching in his eyes. "Promise you?"
Selene nodded once. Her voice carried a quiet urgency now, one that felt like a plea more than a demand. "You must swear to me, Valerius—swear on your name, on your blood—that you won't use what I'm about to tell you. Not as leverage. Not as a weapon. Not as a tool for the crown."
His expression hardened, but beneath the tension there was confusion. "You think so little of me that I'd—"
"I think," Selene interrupted softly, "that the Emperor of Astoria is not the same as the man I married. You carry the weight of this empire, and that weight can twist even the purest intent."
Selene's voice trembled, but her gaze never wavered. "It can only ever be used as a last resort," she said, her tone low but firm. "Not as a weapon, not as a show of power, not as an advantage for the empire. Only if there is no other choice."
Valerius's brow furrowed, his voice heavy with unease. "Use what?"
Selene's breath caught, her lips parting slightly as if the words themselves were heavy enough to break her. The firelight flickered across her face, tracing the sorrow etched deep into her features—the faint tremor in her chin, the glistening line of tears that clung stubbornly to her lashes but never quite fell.
She lifted her gaze to Valerius. Her eyes—usually so composed, so full of quiet grace—were raw now, stripped bare of any royal poise. What stared back at him wasn't an Empress, but a woman terrified of losing everything she loved.
"Valerius…" she whispered, her voice trembling just above a breath. "You have to promise me."
The words wavered, but they carried the weight of something sacred—like a vow bound by more than just love. "Whatever happens… whatever truths come to light… you must never use what im about to show you. Not for the throne. Not for war. Not even for protection. Promise me."
Valerius's expression faltered. For the first time that night, the Emperor's steel melted, leaving behind only the man—the father—beneath. He saw how tightly Selene's hands gripped the fabric of her gown, how her shoulders shook with restrained fear.
"Selene…" he began softly, almost reaching for her.
Valerius hesitated, the fire's glow catching in his eyes as his hand hovered between them. He could feel the tremor in the air, the way her words carried more than fear—they carried finality.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet but unshakably steady, each word forged from the same iron that had carried him through war and loss.
"I promise," he said.
Selene blinked, her breath catching, as if she hadn't expected him to say it so quickly. But Valerius continued, his tone deepening, laced with something solemn—something true.
"I swear to you, Selene—on my crown, on my mother's grave, on the blood that built this empire—I will never use what you show me. Not for conquest. Not for the empire. Not for fear." He drew closer, his shadow meeting hers, the tension in his jaw softening as he added, "Only if there is no other way… only if it means saving her."
The firelight rippled across his face, catching faint traces of grief and determination. "You have my word as Valerius—the man you married. Not the Emperor."
Selene's composure faltered completely. Her lips parted in a silent gasp, the tears she had been holding finally spilling over. She stepped closer until she stood only a breath away from him, her hand trembling as it rested against his chest, over the steady beat of his heart.
Selene took a shaky breath, gathering the last remnants of her control. Without another word, she stepped back, her eyes briefly meeting Valerius's, silently asking him to wait. Then, with deliberate, fluid motion, she crossed the room, her gown whispering across the floorboards.
When she reached the far end, she lifted her hand, fingers outstretched, and let them brush along the surface of a single, unassuming brick. The moment her skin made contact, the brick shifted, sliding inward with a soft click. She waved her hand in a small, precise arc, and the wall groaned as if exhaling, slowly opening to reveal a hidden chamber beyond.
Inside, a single pedestal stood bathed in the flickering firelight, a faint aura shimmering around it. Upon the pedestal rested a grimoire, its cover worn with age, etched with sigils that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. Shadows danced across the room's stone walls, and the air was thick with the weight of secrets long kept.
Selene's eyes lingered on the book for a heartbeat, her fingers trembling slightly as though she could feel the knowledge contained within calling to her. Then, without another glance, she stepped aside, letting Valerius take in the sight.
Valerius's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of awe—and something darker, a trace of fear—passing across his features. His jaw tightened as he studied the grimoire, lips pressed into a thin line, and the firelight caught the furrow of his brow, revealing the weight of both curiosity and dread.