CHAPTER 6

    I didn’t speak. My throat felt tight, like his words were pressing the air out of me.

    “ What happened?” I whispered.

    He sighed, the sound rough, like gravel under his breath. “ The palace collapsed. The shadows consumed everything—every soldier, every healer, every innocent. When the light returned, all that was left were ruins… and silence. No one ever found their bodies.”

    “ And the baby?” I asked, my voice breaking a little.

    Corin’s eyes flicked toward mine—so full of regret that it made my chest ache. “ No one knows. Some believe the child died with them. Others…” He paused, shaking his head. “ Others think the baby was taken. But by whom, no one can say.”

    The air between us grew still, the only sound the faint hum of the buried crystals. I didn’t realize I’d wrapped my arms around myself until he spoke again.

    “ When the royal line fell,” he continued, “ the crystals dimmed. They were born from the same magic that flowed through the royals’ veins. Their light has never been the same since. The fields used to glow so bright that you could see them from the mountains. Now…” He glanced down at the faintly glowing stones. “ Now they’re fading, just like us.”

    My stomach twisted with an ache I couldn’t name. There was such sorrow in his words, such quiet grief. I wanted to say something, but what comfort could I offer when I didn’t even know who I was?

    I turned my gaze to the distance, where the healer’s camp melted into fields of soft silver grass swaying under the wind. The setting sun caught on the crystals’ edges, scattering small beams of light that shimmered across the path. “ It’s hard to imagine a place so full of light,” I murmured. “ And now… it’s just fading away.”

    Corin nodded faintly. “ We’ve learned to live with the loss. But it changed everything. Without the royal bloodline, the kingdoms grew weaker. Borders fell. Old alliances broke. Now, every realm stands on its own—fractured and vulnerable.”

    He glanced at me, studying my face carefully. “It’s strange,” he said, his tone softer now. “ The way you talk about your world. The things you describe—bridges, metal carriages, this ‘truck’ you mentioned—they sound like pieces of something lost to time. Like echoes from another realm that was never meant to touch ours.”

    I frowned, staring at the ground. “ I wish I could remember more. I don’t even know how I ended up here. Just… the bridge, the snow, the headlights—and then the water. I remember the light, and then your hands pulling me up.”

    He looked away quickly, his expression unreadable. For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes—a mix of confusion and fear.

    “ The light,” he repeated quietly. “ That’s what troubles me most. You said you saw it. And I saw it too, glowing beneath the river’s surface.”

    “ Maybe it was just a reflection,” I offered, though my voice didn’t sound convincing even to myself.

    He shook his head. “ No. That light… it wasn’t natural. It felt alive. Almost like it was calling out to me. And when I pulled you from the water, it vanished. As if it had found what it was looking for.”

    His words sent a chill down my spine. “ What are you saying?”

    Corin’s jaw clenched. “ I don’t know,” he admitted.

“ But light like that hasn’t been seen since the fall of the Crystal Palace. Some of the elders believe it was the royal magic itself—the essence of the old bloodline—that once connected our world to others.”

    I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening. “ You think that light had something to do with me?”

    His gaze lingered on me for a long, quiet moment. “ I don’t know,” he said softly. “But if it did… then you’re not here by accident, Liora.”

    The air around us seemed to hum with energy, the crystals at our feet faintly glowing brighter, as if reacting to his words. The sky had deepened to indigo now, the first stars appearing above us, scattered like shards of glass across velvet.

    I looked up at them, trying to ignore the unease growing inside me. “ If what you say is true… then why me? I’m nobody. I can’t even remember my own name before now.”

    Corin stepped closer, his voice low and steady. “ Maybe your memory isn’t gone,” he said. “ Maybe it’s just waiting—for the right moment to return.”

    I met his eyes, and something unspoken passed between us, a pull I couldn’t explain. His green eyes caught the fading light, reflecting a thousand emotions I didn’t understand.

    He took a small step back, as if realizing how close he’d come. “ Come on,” he said quietly. “ You should rest. The healer will want to check you before nightfall.”

    I followed him back down the path, the crystals glowing faintly beneath each step. But even as the tents came into view again, my mind stayed tangled in his words.

    The lost royal bloodline. The fading crystals. The light in the river.

    As we reached my tent, I spotted Elara standing right outside with her arms crossed. The look on her face could have frozen fire. Her silver hair caught the faint glow of the crystals, giving her an almost angelic look — if angels looked ready to scold you to death.

    “ You were supposed to rest,” she said, her tone sharp enough to make me stop mid-step. “ Not go wandering around the camp like you’re healed already.”

    Before I could say anything, Corin stepped in front of me. “ It was my fault,” he said quickly. “ I asked her to come with me. She needed some air.”

    Elara raised an eyebrow at him, her lips twitching slightly. “ Is that so?” she asked, her voice softening just a little. Then her gaze flicked back to me. “ It does look like you’ve got some strength back… but that doesn’t mean you can just ignore my orders. Back to bed, Liora.”