Chapter Twenty Three
The moon hung low over Stormveil, its silver glow bleeding through the towering windows like judgment. Something in the air had shifted -not loud or sudden, but steady. A soft unraveling. Like a spell slowly breaking
It began, as many curses do, with silence. And a whisper Elara had wandered into the East Wing with her sketchpad, needing solitude more than sleep. The confrontation in Ronan’s study played over in her mind like a broken record. Their mother–Selene–wasn’t dead. Not truly. Not completely. And Liora Liora wasn’t what she seemed.
Elara’s steps slowed as she passed the sealed cellar door. It had always been locked. Liora had forbidden them from ever going near it. Said it was a place of rot and memory. Of ghosts.
Tonight, the door was ajar Her heart skipped. Then came the whisper
“Elara… little shadow. always watching. Always so predictable
The voice slithered through her banes, Not loud, not angry–just amused She stumbled backward, nearly dropping her sketchpad. And run.
By moming. Elara sat hunched over a mug of untouched tea, pale and trembling
“She said my name, she told Ryker, her voice barely above a breath. “Like she knew I’d be there. She was waiting.”
Ryker’s eyes darkened. “We tell Dad.70
“No” Her hand shot out, grabbing his wrist. “We need proof. Shell twist it otherwise. She always does. We need to catch her.”
A beat of silence: Then Ryker nadded. “Tonight”
They moved like ghosts after sunset Elara. Ryker Calix
All of them carried secrets–and steel. A silver–dust dagger stolen from their father’s vault. A mirror laced with old warding runes. And Calix, clever as always, had tucked a recording charm in the hem of Elara’s cloak
They found the cellar door still open As if inviting them. The moment they stepped inside, the air shifted. Thick. Sweet Cloying Not rot- but magic. It clung to the walls like perfume over poison
Candles lined the space–hundreds, low–buming, blue. In the center of the floor a sigil drawn in ash, spiraling, ancient. It pulsed faintly And there–Liora Not hidden Waiting. Her back to them, head bowed, hands moving in silent rhythm.
They crept closer. Every step a prayer.”
Then a second figure emerged from the shadows. Hooded, Male, Familiar yet unplaceable. His voice was low and cold. “She suspects.”
“She’s sentimental,” Liora replied, her voice soft, distant. “Too wounded to see clearly. But the children they’re catching on.” A pause.!
“She’s close,” the man said. “The veil between her and this world weakens. When she rises, she’ll come here.”
Liora’s fingers twitched. Then we quicken the plan.
Ryker couldn’t wait. He stepped forward, voice hard. “You always said you hated liars, Liora. What does that make you?” Silence
Then, slowly, she turned.
She didn’t finch. She didn’t even blink)
“Oh, good,” she said, smiling thinly. “I was hoping you’d come.”
Calix moved beside Ryker, dagger at the ready. “You’re done hiding.“X
“I was never hiding,” she said, eyes glittering. I was performing “X
Elara’s fingers gripped her recording charm.
“Who is he?” she asked, nodding at the hooded man.!!!
But he stepped forward–and dissolved. A shimmer. A glamour Just an illusion.Just like the others!
Liora chuckled softly. “You’re so eager to be heroes. So desperate to avenge your mother It’s adorable.”
“You were talking to someone Ryker growled. “We heard you.”
“Oh, you heard exactly what I wanted you to,” she said. “I knew you’d come snooping. I needed you to.“!!
She stepped toward the circle, gesturing around them
“Go on Record your little evidence. Take it to Ronan. Let him rage and cry. He won’t cast me out–not while I carry his heir.”
Calix’s voice cut sharp. “That child will never be part of our family.”2
Lion’s smile slipped for a beat. Her eyes flashed.
“You don’t understand the blood in my veins,” she said softly. “What I carry isn’t just a child. It’s insurance. The last piece in a prophecy older than your kingdom. You think this is about your mother. It never was. It’s about power. The kind you can’t imagine”
Elara stepped closer “You know Selene was alive”
“I felt her the moment the veil cracked,” Lioru whispered. 1 felt her rage. Her pain. Her return.“G
Her voice darkened
“And I welcomed it ́1
11:02 AM & c
WELT WEtconied II
Ryker blinked “What?”
“She’s the storm,” Liora said. “And I’ve already planted the seeds of her destruction. She stepped back into the circle. And smiled.
When
she arrives,
Stormveil will eat her alive.”
“You think you’ve cornered me. But you’ve only delivered the final act. All I needed was confirmation that she lives. And now? Now prepare for war“!!
The sigil flared. The candles hissed. A wave of magic swept through the room.
They stumbled, blinded–And when their vision cleared, the room was empty.”
No candies. No sigil. No scent Just dust.
Just silence.Like nothing had ever happened.!!
Elara’s heart pounded. “Was it real?”
Ryker checked the recording charm. It still glowed
Calix knelt where the sigil had been “The ash is gone. But the energy’s here. I can feel it.”
They stood in stunned silence No confrontation. No confession Just a trap And they’d walked right into it
“She knows we’re watching now,” Ryker said quietly.
“No” Elara murmured. “She wanted us to watch”
Calix’s voice was grim. “We thought we were exposing her.“”
Ryker nodded. “But we just confirmed her biggest fear,”
“She’s preparing for Mom,” Elara whispered. “Not to stop her To break her
They looked at one another The game had changed. And they were no longer players.}
They were pawns.
