Chapter 40

Moonlight carved silver lines across the ruined courtyard of the Silver Gate. Smoke still curled upward from shattered towers, and the scent of scorched stone and steel clung to the night. Serenya Vale pressed herself against the cold wall, her heart pounding so loudly she feared every soldier within earshot would hear it.

The siege had broken the fortress, but it hadn’t broken her resolve. She clutched the velvet satchel slung across her shoulder, its contents—the seer’s relic, a fragment of starlight encased in glass—glimmering faintly through the seams. It was the only thing that could sway the balance of kingdoms, and now it rested in her hands.

But she was not alone.

Kaelen Draven emerged from the shadows, his cloak torn, a streak of blood cutting across his cheek. His dark eyes searched for her, and when they found her face, something unspoken passed between them—a recognition deeper than words.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Serenya whispered, even as her knees weakened in relief.

“I could say the same,” Kaelen replied, voice low. His hand brushed her arm. “We don’t have time. Veynor’s men are closing in. If we stay, we die.”

From the battlements above, a horn blew, long and mournful. The signal of a search party.

Serenya swallowed hard. The weight of her choice pressed against her chest. If they ran now, they could escape with the relic—but she would be abandoning those who had fought to defend the fortress. Knights who believed in Crestfall’s honor. People who had shielded her without knowing she was the very heiress they swore to protect.

Darian’s face flashed in her mind. The knight had stood against Veynor’s forces at the gate, sword raised with unyielding loyalty. Was he still alive? Or had her silence, her inability to reveal her true identity, condemned him?

Kaelen seemed to read the storm in her eyes. “You can’t save everyone tonight.” His tone softened. “But you can save what matters most. You can save the future.”

Before she could answer, the crunch of boots echoed nearby. Torches flared, their glow sweeping across broken archways. Serenya’s breath caught as voices shouted, drawing nearer.

“They’ll find us,” she whispered.

Kaelen’s fingers laced with hers. “Then we run.”

They darted through the ruined courtyard, weaving between fallen columns and shattered statues. The moonlight guided them, painting their path in silver as if the heavens themselves had carved a road for their escape.

But the soldiers were relentless.

Arrows hissed through the night, striking stone inches from Serenya’s shoulder. She stumbled, but Kaelen pulled her upright, his arm steady around her waist. His movements were practiced, precise—like a shadow trained to slip between death’s fingers.

Ahead, the fortress wall loomed. Crumbled from the siege, it offered a narrow passage where rubble had created a jagged slope. Freedom lay just beyond it—the forests of Valehaven, thick and dark enough to hide them until dawn.

Yet even freedom came at a price.

“Go!” Kaelen urged, shoving Serenya forward as he turned to face their pursuers. His blade caught the moonlight, flaring silver as he parried the first strike.

“No!” Serenya’s voice cracked. “I won’t leave you.”

His gaze met hers, fierce and unyielding. “Serenya, if you stay, neither of us survives.”

The truth tore at her. Every fiber of her being screamed to stand at his side, to fight until the last breath. But the relic burned against her chest, a reminder of destiny’s cruel demand. She was not just a woman. She was the hidden heiress, the one who carried the future of two kingdoms.

And if she fell here, everything would end in ruin.

“I’ll wait for you,” she whispered, forcing her legs to move. Each step up the rubble felt like a betrayal.

Kaelen’s reply was drowned in the clash of steel.

The forest greeted her with silence, broken only by her ragged breaths. Branches clawed at her cloak as she stumbled through the undergrowth, driven by equal parts fear and determination. She reached a clearing bathed in moonlight, her chest heaving, her hands trembling.

She turned, expecting to see Kaelen emerge from the shadows. But the forest remained empty.

Minutes dragged like hours. Every heartbeat thundered with dread.

And then—movement.

A figure staggered into the clearing. Kaelen, bloodied but alive, his blade still clutched in his hand. Relief flooded Serenya, and she rushed to him, catching his weight as he nearly collapsed.

“You made it,” she breathed, pressing her forehead against his.

His hand brushed her cheek, rough and trembling. “I promised I’d find you. Even if the night itself tried to swallow me whole.”

She wanted to stay there, frozen in that fragile moment. But destiny was merciless.

From behind Kaelen, the torches of Veynor’s men flickered through the trees. Their shouts echoed across the forest. The chase was not over.

Kaelen’s grip tightened on her hand. “We run again. But this time—” His voice hardened. “We run together.”

Hours passed in a blur of shadows and moonlight. They crossed rivers swollen with spring rains, climbed ridges that left their lungs burning, and slipped through valleys where mist clung like ghostly fingers.

Finally, when dawn’s first light bled across the horizon, they reached a cave hidden within the cliffs. Exhaustion dragged at their limbs, but safety, however fragile, had finally found them.

Inside, the cave glimmered faintly with quartz, the walls catching the sunrise and scattering it into shards of pink and gold. Serenya set the relic upon a stone ledge, and for a moment, it seemed the cave itself held its breath.

“This… this is where it begins, isn’t it?” she asked softly, her voice trembling with the weight of realization. “The path to the crown. To war. To everything I’ve been running from.”

Kaelen leaned against the wall, his chest rising and falling with exhaustion. His eyes softened as they settled on her. “You can’t run forever, Serenya. You were born to change this world.”

Her throat tightened. “And if I don’t want to? What if all I want is—” She faltered, but the words burned within her. “What if all I want is you?”

Silence stretched between them, heavy and raw. Kaelen’s expression flickered, torn between desire and duty. His fingers brushed hers, hesitant, as if he feared the answer more than any blade.

“You already have me,” he whispered. “But the world will never let you have both.”

Her heart ached at the truth. Love was the one luxury destiny denied her. Yet as his lips brushed her forehead, she knew she would fight the heavens themselves to claim it.

A sudden noise shattered the moment.

From deeper within the cave, a voice rose—a low chant, echoing against the stone. Serenya froze, her pulse spiking. They were not alone.

Kaelen drew his sword, his posture tense. “Stay behind me.”

But Serenya’s gaze locked on the relic, now glowing brighter than ever, its light pulsing as if answering the voice in the dark.

The chant grew louder. And then, from the shadows at the cave’s heart, a figure stepped forward. Cloaked, hood drawn low, but unmistakably familiar.

Serenya’s breath caught in her throat.

“Darian?”

The knight’s eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, and his voice was no longer the loyal warmth she remembered—it was something else, something darker.

“You should not have brought the relic here,” he said. “It belongs to more than you, Serenya. And tonight, promises must break.”

The cave trembled, dust falling from the ceiling as the relic flared, its light caught between them like a blade waiting to strike.

And in that instant, Serenya understood. This was not a refuge. It was a trap.