A SHADOW OF TRUTH
Breaking the Seal
"You're not supposed to be here this late, girl."
Ceres looked up, keeping her eyes low like she'd practiced. The old archivist squinted through cracked lenses.
"Mistress Annel sent me," she said, pitching her voice higher. "Said the High Beta needed a scroll on ancestral treaties. Urgently."
"In the middle of the bloody night?"
Ceres offered a sheepish shrug. "I don't ask questions. I just delivered."
The archivist grumbled but waved her through.
&n
WHISPER IN THE MARBLE HALL.The Torn PageCeres: (murmuring as she flips through the old ledger) "Come on, come on… there has to be something here."She sat hunched over a stack of old manuscripts in her late tutor's study, the air heavy with dust and the scent of old ink. Candles flickered along the marble windowsill, casting trembling shadows across the dark mahogany desk.As she reached for a book bound in cracked green leather, a slip of parchment fluttered out and landed on the floor.Ceres: (eyes narrowing) "What's this?"She knelt an
QUEEN OF TWO WARSThe Letter Arrives (Tower Chamber, Midnight)The wind howled like a beast around the stone tower. Queen Blythe sat alone, her crown untouched atop a velvet cushion. A flickering candle cast shadows across the ancient glyphs on the walls as her eyes remained fixed on the sealed parchment in her hand—black wax, branded with the Umbra mark.Lady Nyra (entering, bowing): “Your Majesty… this came by a hawk. No sigil but that… cursed wax.”Queen Blythe (coldly): “Leave it on the table.”Lady Nyra (nervously): “My Queen, shall I summon the Mage Guar
ASHES OF THE CROWNThe Secret HourThe moonlight bled silver across the ancient stones of the southern tower, where no soul dared wander after nightfall. The sentries were long dismissed, and the final torch had flickered out. But one cloaked figure slipped through the corridors like smoke, heart hammering as if it could betray her intent.Ceres.She had waited long enough. Days had passed since she found the sketch hidden in the corner of the archives—a drawing of the Wolf Crown with bloodstains smeared across the parchment and the bracelet Xavier always wore inked with eerie precision beside it. The same drawing that matched the strange symbols engraved on the inside of the glove he never removed.Everything screamed of secrets buried deep.And she was done pretending not to hear the call of them.She paused just outside the chamber door where Xavier often retired after council meetings. Her hand hesitated over the latch. She wasn’t just confronting a man tonight—she was confronting
BETRAYAL IN THE DARKThe DeliveryMelka (emerging from a side passage):"You said you needed proof."Beta Vegas (folding his arms):"I said I needed certainty."Melka (dropping a black satchel onto the stone table):"You'll have both."Vegas (narrowing his eyes):"From a stolen glove and a piece of jewelry?"Melka:
A KISS BENEATH FIRELIGHTXavier's Quarters, Late NightXavier (hearing the quiet knock):"I didn't ask for company."Blythe (pushing open the door, hood drawn):"I'm not a company."Xavier:"You shouldn't be here."Blythe:"I know."Xavier:"Then leave."
THE HEART TRIALLower Coliseum, Early Morning MistGuard (coldly):"Strip him."Xavier (deadpan):"No dinner first?"Guard:"You'll wish you had your last meal soon enough."Xavier:"Everyone's so poetic when they're scared."Commander Therun (stern):"Silence."