Little Dove 의 작품

Wren’s POV For a long moment, the words just hung there. I wasn't sure I heard him right, “I'm sorry what?”The edges of the King’s lips curled up in a way that was very caelum like,“Which one of your parents belonged to a coven?”I blinked, once, twice. My mouth opened, then closed again. “None,” I said finally, my voice steadier than I felt. “None of them belonged to any coven, Your Majesty.”The King tilted his head slightly, studying me as if I were an interesting puzzle piece that didn’t fit the way it should. “Are you certain? Magic runs in bloodlines, Wren Blackwell. It doesn’t simply appear by chance. If you trace your ancestry far enough, you may find truths your parents never told you.”His words landed like stones in my stomach. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I think it’s a stretch to assume I’m a witch because I can smell sandalwood. I don't have magic, I have never done a spell.”

Wren’s POV The air in the war room was heavy, like grief had seeped into the walls themselves. The table between us gleamed under the dim chandelier, polished but lifeless….like everything else in the palace tonight.Caelum stood at the head of the table, shoulders straight but eyes hollow with grief. Soren, Dane, Jessica, and Robin filled the seats around him, their faces a mixture of confusion and trepidation. Like the good soldiers they were, they knew something was wrong but they didn't know what. The faint buzz of electricity echoed in the background. When Caelum finally spoke, his voice was steady, almost unnervingly so,“My aunt, Ellen Vale, is dead.”No one moved. The words sank like stones in water. For a heartbeat, I thought I’d imagined the tremor that passed through him but then I saw it, the slight twitch of his jaw, the tightening of his hand where it rested on the table.Finally the silence was broken when Jessica gasped softly, a hand covering her mouth. “Caelum, I-I’

Wren’s POVThe whistle still echoed in my ears when I ran.Branches clawed at my face as I sprinted through the clearing, heart pounding, every sense tuned to the woods ahead. The forest blurred as I ran past leaves of different shades of green. Somewhere between the shadows, I caught movement and a flicker of black fabric slipping past a tree.I pushed harder, my lungs protested the action but anger fueled my every step.Leaves whipped against my arms, dirt kicked up under my boots. I rounded the bend just in time to see the attacker vanish between the trees, nothing left but the soft rustle of disturbed foliage and a faint, lingering scent.Sandalwood.I froze, chest heaving. It clung to the air, something was going on and it involved this scent, it was time to tell Caelum about it. I turned around slowly but there was no trace of the one who’d fired that arrow. It was like the forest had swallowed them whole.Grinding my teeth, I turned back. The quiet felt heavier now, the weight

Caelum’s POV Flashback I was six, barefoot and naked. I had just shifted from my wolf to human form and I was chasing sunlight across the courtyard while Aunt Ellen scolded me for dripping mud on the marble floors. I pouted and she laughed, her laughter had a tinkling sound, like a bell caught in wind, soft but bright. “Hold still, little prince,” she said while I strugged to get out of her grip, kneeling with a comb in one hand and ribbons in the other. “Your hair’s a battlefield.” “It hurts,” I complained, wriggling. “That’s because you’re fighting me.” Her eyes, storm-grey, softened. “You fight everything good for you.” When she finished, she tied the last braid with a green ribbon and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “There. Now you look like royalty.” I giggled at her and preened under her adoring gaze, sticky-fingered and tanned from staying ou

Wren’s POVSoren’s words hit the quiet like thunder.“We’ve found something, you guys will want to see this.”Whatever warmth had been in Caelum’s embrace vanished as we followed him down the marble hallway. Torches flickered along the stone walls, throwing erratic shadows that only added to the excitement I felt.We descended into the lower wing, a place that looked like nobody had been in years. The air was cooler there, dustier, filled with the scent of old parchment and forgotten magic.Robin, Jessica and Dane stood around a massive oak table, every inch of it buried under old scrolls and brittle books. The cloud of dust surrounding them was faintly visible and I sneezed once, twice.“Bless you.” Soren grinned at me, I blushed.“The dust in my lungs right now can build a dust castle.” Jessica complained and scratched her nose, grimacing when she pulled a thick wad of cobwebs away from her face.“Show me what you found.” Caelum said to Dane, ignoring Jessica's mutters of complaints

Wren’s POV The moonlight spilled across the balcony painting everything in shades of silver that gave a picture that was both beautiful and eerie. The palace had gone quiet, only the occasional footsteps of guards patrolling could be heard. I stood by the railing, arms crossed against the chill. Below, the courtyard glowed faintly and lanterns were lit in the gardens, only adding to its mystical feel. Everything here whispered royal and untouchable but at the same time cold and empty.If this was where caelum grew up, no wonder he turned out the way he is, I thought with a heavy sigh.I tried to think of reasons why he didn't tell me about his heritage but I gave up when each thought seemed to tear my heart even more than the last. I wasn't angry, just disconcerted. Hurt, maybe, in a quiet way. But then the quiet hurts are usually the ones that last the longest.Footsteps behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know who it was.“You shouldn’t be out here,” Caelum said softly, there was