LOGINShare
Chapter 2: The Day That Shouldn’t Exist
Last Updated:
2025-10-09 13:48:05Light.
Soft, golden light.
It was the first thing Seraphina felt, warm on her face, steady, nothing like the choking heat of fire or the sting of smoke.
Her eyes flew open.
The ceiling above her was pale ivory, traced with vines of gold leaf. Curtains of white silk swayed in a morning breeze. Birds sang outside.
She knew this room.
Her room.
The same canopied bed, the carved mirror, the vase of lilies on the windowsill. All exactly as it had been five years ago.
Her breath caught. “No,” she whispered. “This isn’t real.”
She pushed the sheets away and stumbled to the mirror.
A pale, frightened woman stared back. Her skin was unmarked by chains or bruises. But her hair shimmered silver in the sunlight, every strand glinting like fine metal.
Her pulse raced. The last thing she remembered was the dungeon collapsing in fire. The voice. The shard. The pain.
Yet here she was.
Alive.
The door opened suddenly. A maid entered, carrying fresh towels. When she saw Seraphina standing barefoot in the middle of the room, she gasped and nearly dropped them.
“My lady! You’re awake early today. The tailor will be here soon for your engagement fittings.”
Seraphina stared. “Engagement?”
“Yes, my lady. His Highness, Prince Adrian. The announcement is tonight.”
The words struck like a blade. Tonight.
The banquet. The poison. Elysia’s tears.
Her stomach twisted.
“What day is it?” she asked quietly.
“The seventh of Autumn, my lady. Why? Are you unwell?”
Seraphina forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No. Just a dream.”
The maid hesitated, then curtsied and left.
When the door closed, Seraphina sank to the floor. Her hands trembled. Everything smelled the same, soap, lavender, clean linen, but her heart thudded with dread.
She pressed her palm to the floor to steady herself. The skin there burned faintly. She turned it over.
The mark was still there. Two delicate scales etched in silver light.
Not a dream.
Her breath came sharp and shallow. The goddess’s voice echoed again in her mind. They caged you for their sins. Will you forgive them?
She closed her hand into a fist. “No.”
But she would not make the same mistake twice.
This time she would smile, play the part, and watch.
She washed, dressed, and braided her hair to hide its silver sheen beneath a ribbon of white silk. When she stepped out into the hallway, sunlight poured through the tall windows, and servants hurried by with flowers and scrolls.
It all looked so alive. So perfect.
So false.
Her sister’s laughter drifted from the balcony ahead. “Seraphina! There you are!”
Elysia turned, radiant in the morning light, her golden hair glowing like the sun itself. She ran to her with open arms, the same way she had that very morning years ago.
Seraphina’s lips curved upward. Her heart was steady this time.
“I’m here,” she said softly, embracing her.
The scent of jasmine clung to Elysia’s hair, sweet and familiar. Seraphina’s fingers tightened just slightly before she let go.
Everything would happen again if she allowed it, the banquet, the fall, the dungeon.
But not this time.
She would learn their lies, one by one. She would build her strength quietly, in the shadows, until the day came when the entire kingdom would bow before the silver-haired woman they once condemned.
For now, she smiled.
“Shall we prepare for tonight?”
Elysia beamed, unaware of the storm she had just awakened. “Of course, sister. It will be perfect.”
“Yes,” Seraphina murmured. “It will.”
Outside, the morning bells rang, bright and harmless. Inside her chest, the mark on her palm burned like a promise.
Latest chapter
The Crown Of Ash and Silver Chapter 14: A Whisper of Chains
The morning light was cruelly bright.It poured through the tall palace windows, spilling across the marble floors and the golden banners that hung in the great hall. Servants hurried through the corridors, silent and tense, as if afraid their voices might draw attention from the wrong ears.By the time Seraphina arrived, the court was already gathered. Adrian and Elysia stood before the throne, dressed in immaculate white and gold. Lucien waited a few paces away, the emblem of the Church gleaming on his shoulder.The air felt heavy. Something was coming.When Adrian raised his hand, the murmurs quieted. “This morning, the Holy Council has issued a decree,” he said. His voice was steady, but she could hear the unease beneath it. “A series of irregularit
The Crown Of Ash and Silver Chapter 13: The Serpent’s Creed
The night came early, heavy and cold.The palace torches burned low, their flames flickering against the marble walls. The corridors were nearly empty when the summons arrived, a young acolyte at her door, trembling as he bowed.“His Grace requests your presence in the chapel, my lady.”Seraphina set aside the book she had been pretending to read. “At this hour?”“Yes, my lady. He said it could not wait.”Cale stepped forward immediately. “She will not go alone.”The boy hesitated. “He said she must.”Cale looked at her, concern darkening his features. “You do not have to obey him.”Seraphina rose. “If I refuse, he will only come here. I would rather choose the ground myself.”She touched his arm lightly. “Wait outside the chapel. If I do not return, do not come for me. Take Elias and leave.”“Seraphina.”“Promise me.”His jaw tightened. He nodded once.The acolyte led her through the sleeping palace, down the long corridor lined with cold statues of saints. Their stone faces seemed t
The Crown Of Ash and Silver Chapter 12: A Court of Frost and Lies
The throne hall was already full when Seraphina entered.Every noble who mattered was there, cloaked in silks and whispers. Golden light streamed from the tall windows, glinting off silver goblets and jeweled rings. The sound of voices softened when she crossed the threshold.She felt every pair of eyes turn toward her.Elysia stood beside the throne in a gown of white and gold, her smile sweet, her posture perfect. Beside her, Crown Prince Adrian looked the part of mercy and majesty, his hand resting lightly on Elysia’s arm.Lucien was there too, standing near the dais. He wore the Church’s black robes trimmed with pale silver, his expression unreadable.Seraphina walked slowly through the room, her pale blue gown whispering across the marble. She kept her head high, every movement measured. If she trembled, no one would see it.“Lady Seraphina,” Adrian said when she reached the dais. His tone was polite, distant. “It pleases me that you could join us.”“The palace remains my home,”
The Crown Of Ash and Silver Chapter 11: The Weight of Dawn
When Seraphina woke, the first thing she noticed was the silence.No footsteps in the hall. No chatter of servants. Even the morning bells had not yet rung. The faint grey of dawn touched the edges of her curtains, soft and cold.She pushed herself upright, wincing as the motion sent a dull ache through her body. The air in her chamber still felt strange, thinner than usual, touched by frost that had not entirely faded. Her breath left faint clouds in the light.The coin lay on the bedside table where she had left it, gleaming faintly in the half-light.For a moment, she simply looked at it.The night before lingered in her mind like a fever dream: Lucien’s voice, the mark burning, the frost spreading like veins of glass. And then that light, blinding and infinite, filling the room until there was nothing else.She had almost convinced herself it wasn’t real, until she touched the coin.Warmth pulsed against her skin, faint but alive. The same pulse that now beat beneath her palm.A k
The Crown Of Ash and Silver Chapter 10: The Price of Silence
The palace never truly slept.Even in the deepest hours, when the corridors were empty and the torches burned low, Seraphina could hear the faint rhythm of life: footsteps in distant halls, the rustle of curtains, the murmur of voices behind closed doors.But tonight, it all felt wrong.The silence was too careful. The air was too still.She stood at her window, staring down at the courtyard where moonlight touched the frost-covered fountain. Its surface had frozen smooth, reflecting the stars like glass. The mark on her palm pulsed softly beneath her skin, still faintly gold from the reliquary.Elias had left an hour ago, taking the book with him. He had told her to rest. She had tried. But rest never came easily anymore.Something shifted in the air. A prickle crawled up her spine.She turned.Someone was in the room.The shadows near the door seemed to ripple, then separate from the darkness itself. Lucien stepped into the light, silent as smoke. His cloak was unfastened, his expre
The Crown Of Ash and Silver Chapter 9: The Mirror of Frost
The palace was quieter at night than it had ever been.Seraphina could hear the soft rhythm of the guards’ boots echoing far down the corridors, the rustle of silk banners in the faint breeze, the creak of wood settling. Beneath it all, the faint hum of her power whispered like breath.She sat before her mirror, the same one that had once reflected a frightened girl the night before her death. Now, that girl was gone. Her reflection stared back at her with steady eyes and hair that shimmered faintly in the lamplight.She removed her gloves. The mark on her palm glowed faintly, like an ember that refused to die.The relic’s reaction still replayed in her mind, the shock on the priests’ faces, Lucien’s unflinching gaze, Adrian’s hesitation. The silver light. The frost creeping outward like living veins.“Judgment,” she whispered. “Not blessing.”The words tasted strange. Powerful.She reached out and touched the surface of the mirror. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the glass rippl
You may also like
SECRET OBSESSION
Okibe34.9K viewsA DRAGON TALE
goddessdebbie30532.3K viewsCalled by the Dragon
Mana Sol147.4K viewsYoung Master
Rias Ardani20.9K viewsMARKED BY MY MONSTERS.
Ashley Wright135 viewsShadow Heir
Mhaelorawrites 407 viewsThe Chronicle of The Good Witch
JohnP46307 viewsThe Lost World
XWorld1.8K views
