LOGINKyonI found my mother in her private sitting room just before noon, standing beside the tall windows with her hands folded tightly in front of her. She turned when I entered, and for one brief moment, I saw something in her eyes that she quickly tried to hide. Fear. My mother was not a woman who frightened easily, so seeing that expression on her face made my suspicion grow stronger. I closed the door behind me and walked toward her slowly, already wondering how much she knew about the prophecy.“You wanted to see me?” she asked.“I heard the royal priestess asked to meet with you privately.”Her face became still.“She wanted to discuss the recent events.”“Do you know what the meeting will be about?”“Nothing that concerns you, I'm sure,” she replied.I almost smiled at that answer because it was exactly the kind of answer that told me everything was not fine. I moved closer, watching her carefully, but she refused to meet my eyes for more than a second. I had spent enough time st
KyonI spent most of the afternoon staring at the reports spread across my desk, but the words seemed to move around without making sense until I placed them beside one another. The black powder had disappeared, Mira's mark had vanished, and the priestesses had changed their explanation the moment their first story began falling apart. Every answer they gave created another question, and every missing record seemed to protect the same secret. Then one thought struck me so hard that I had to lean back in my chair. What if Mira had never been the real target?I picked up the report describing the powder again and read it slowly. Someone had placed a substance in Mira's room that could create the shape of the supposed Curse Mark when exposed to moonlight, and then someone had made sure the mark was discovered at the right time. The priestesses had immediately taken control of the situation and demanded a sacrifice before anyone could question them. What if that was the point? Perhaps th
LyraThe next morning, I was summoned to the temple, and the moment the royal guard told me the priestesses wanted to see me, a cold feeling settled inside my chest. I followed him through the palace corridors, trying to stay calm, but every step toward the temple made my thoughts race faster. After everything that had happened with Mira, I could not stop wondering why they suddenly wanted me there again. Had Kyon said something about me, or had the priestesses finally begun to notice the strange things happening around me?“Where are you taking me?” I asked as we passed the main sanctuary.“The priestesses gave specific instructions,” the guard replied without looking at me. “You will know when we arrive.”His answer did nothing to calm me. Instead of taking me into the familiar part of the temple, he led me through a narrow passage hidden behind a heavy wooden door, and the deeper we went, the colder the air became. The walls were covered with old carvings that I had never seen befo
KyonThe next morning, I was already in my study, doing my best to put the memories of my passionate night with Lyra off my mind when the historian arrived, carrying the small leather case I had ordered him to bring. He looked tired, but there was excitement in his eyes because we were finally going to test the strange black substance properly and compare it with the altered records. I stood from behind my desk and nodded toward my captain, who promptly left, knowing what I needed him to do. Few minutes later, he returned and stood by the door. I had expected him to return with the container from the accused woman's room. Instead, my captain hesitated at the doorway, and one look at his face told me something was wrong. My stomach tightened before he even spoke.“Your Majesty, the substance is gone.”For several seconds, I simply stared at him, unable to believe what I had heard. The historian slowly lowered the case in his hands, and the room suddenly felt colder than it had moments
LyraWe had stood so close that I could feel the heat of his body through the thin fabric of my nightgown, and for a heartbeat I forgot how to breathe. Then his lips touched mine, soft, uncertain, dangerous and almost questioning and the world outside the room seemed to fall away. I should have pushed him back. I should have reminded him of every silent day he had left me alone with my doubts. Instead my hands stayed frozen at my sides while his mouth moved against mine with a gentleness that made my chest ache. The kiss stayed slow at first, careful, as if he feared I might shatter or shove him away. I tasted the faint salt of my own earlier tears on his lips and felt the tremor in his breath. My heart hammered so hard I was sure he could hear it. When he drew back just enough to look at me, his eyes searched mine with a rawness that stole the last of my anger. “Lyra,” he whispered, voice rough. “Tell me to stop and I will.” I opened my mouth, but no refusal came. Only a shaky
KyonThat evening, I could not get the events of the past few days out of my head. I walked through the palace courtyard without really seeing where I was going, barely noticing the maids who bowed or the guards who greeted me as I walked past them. My mind kept moving from Mira's false mark to the stolen powder, the missing records, the priestesses, and the warning that the curse might have moved closer to me. The more I thought about everything, the more one name kept appearing in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to push it away.Lyra.I stopped beside the stone fountain and stared at the water without seeing my own reflection. Mira's failed sacrifice suddenly looked different to me, because what if the priestesses had never truly believed she was the Curse Bearer in the first place? What if they had placed that mark on her just to watch what I would do, to see whether I would defend her, question them, or simply allow them to kill her? If that was their plan, then the incident h







