It had dawned in crimson colors over the Silvercrest manor as Killian and Selene left the dungeons. They marched behind, their footsteps along the frozen stone passageway charged with the essence of the realities they had grasped. And with each pace, the forthcoming war could not be ignored.
Killian's eyes never wavered as he stepped out, his jaw set in tight determination. "We need to speak to the Council," he said, his tone firm and resolved. "They must know something, or at least have a strategy."
Selene's heart pounded in her chest, Aldric's words echoing in her mind. "I do not know that I can believe them," she panted, her eyes snapping to Killian with horror and defiance burning within. The bond that was between them vibrated contentedly, reminding her of what was between them throughout all of this.
Outside the castle walls, the biting morning breeze numbed their skin. There were guards who waited in the courtyard, determined on their faces as they saw the two nearing the Council building. There was a sense of tension in the air as though the whole kingdom could feel that something was to be altered.
In the grand hall, the stone walls were illuminated by torches that hung there, marking the remnants of days gone by. The half-circle seating of the Council of Elders wore furrowed brows as Killian and Selene stood before them. Heavy with unspoken accusations and secrets centuries in the making, the air hung tense.
One of the silver-haired elders rose, his voice trembling with urgency. "Alpha King, you have disobeyed our will, setting her free." His eyes turned on Selene, whose face was set in a frown of determination and skepticism. "Explain."
Killian's grip on his staff clenched. "I acted out of instinct," he growled, his voice low but unrelenting. "I will no longer leave her destiny in the hands of the Council."
Selene emerged, her voice shaking but resolute. "I don't recall everything, maybe, but I do know who I am now. I won't be forgotten." Her words carried, strong and unshakeable, sending a ripple of whispered murmurs through the crowd.
One of the newcomers had come forward, his eyes glinting. "And if you are a threat?" he mocked. "If being here disrupts the balance which we have maintained for centuries?"
Killian's eyes blazed with fury when he replied, "Order based on treachery and lie is no order." His voice thundered between the pillars of stone, filled with the urgency of a man who had nothing else to battle yet still battled for principle.
The old man's eyes flickered back and forth between Selene and Killian, a storm of emotions crossing his face. "The prophecy foresaw your coming back, Selene," he said slowly. "But also ruin.".
There was a charged silence of electricity between them as Selene and Killian remained stiff. The unbreakable bond that existed between them pulsed with the promise of wordless rebellion against the storm. Both of them understood in that electric moment that what was advancing upon them would compel them to fight not merely the Council's decrees, but the darkness in their own souls.
The council room was heavy with tension that only increased as the silence of Killian's words dissipated. Selene's heart pounded against the ribcage as each set of eyes in the room cut into hers, searching for that glimmer of truth she did not have. The tension wrapped heavy and tangible, its arms encircling all pillars of stone.
One of the council members hunched forward, his brow furrowed with concern and regret. "Your arrival was prophesied, but we never thought that it would arrive at this cost," he whispered. His voice trembled so lightly, revealing a secret fear of the devastation that Selene would unleash.
Killian's eyes flashed with light as he leapt toward them, "The price of maintaining a lie is higher than any prophecy demands." His voice was heavy and commanding, burdened by each of his words of treason. He clenched and unclenched his fists, as if he were trying to bind himself into the truth now facing them.
Selene stepped onto the center of the hall, determination creased between her brows in disregard of what was not known in her heart. "I may have been hidden from my own past," she panted, her words anchoring itself with resolve, "but I will not be a piece on your board." Her eyes flashed brilliant with defiance and desperation, a desperation to reclaim a stolen identity.
One of the younger council members smiled. "And what if your so-called truth is merely destruction?" he jeered, crossing his arms. There was impulsiveness in his words, but with a hint of underlying fear.
The old man grunted. "We have kept secrets for centuries," he said, glancing at Selene and then Killian. "Secrets that were so spoken would destroy the very basis of our order." He glanced at Selene kindly for a moment. "Perhaps it is time that the truth be revealed."
Whispers filled the room. Killian's jaw hard-edged and his voice cut through the escalating murmurs: "No more secrets. The time of secret truths is over." His gold eyes begged Selene as if he trusted in a moment of absolute openness.
Outside, a flashing bolt of thunder rocked the tall windows. Rain struck stone walls, and every raindrop beat out a countdown to destiny. The air was tense as if nature was forcing them to decide the destiny of the kingdom.
Selene's thoughts tumbled with conflicting emotions of anger, loss, and ravenous desire to know. "I have the right to know why I was kept in the dark," she declared, trembling voice firm. "Why did I have to be made to forget who I am?
Killian breathed slowly, steadily, his hand still resting on the staff at his hip. "The truth belongs to those who have betrayed us," he told her, his voice low and venomous. "And if you want to find it, we must go to the heart of our deepest secrets.".
There was a weighty silence following his words. The councilors exchanged uneasy glances as the tempest outside grew more intense. The responsibility of their choice lay on their shoulders—it was no ordinary internal struggle, the start of war that would split the kingdom.
The old man spoke once more, his voice just above the screaming gale: "Harden your hearts, for the path ahead will test your very souls."
Killian and Selene stood back-to-back, their unbreakable connection pulsing like a heartbeat in the black.
The storm outside intensified as a murmur down the corridor wilted into strained silence. Selene's and Killian's eyes flashed into conflict with each other, both of them ablaze with pent-up determination. Thunder boomed as if repeating their own struggle.
A councilor coughed, his voice trembling. "Our destiny can be written across the heavens," he whispered, "but we can still change our path." There was a desperate warning behind his gentle words that resonated throughout the meeting.
Killian stepped into the circle, his expression cold. "Change our course?" he sneered, his voice dripping with acid sarcasm. "We're already on the brink of madness—what more do you want us to do?"
Selene raised a shaking but firm hand. "I want answers," she declared, strong voice above fear in her heart. "I want to know why I was locked away in isolation, why my existence was a threat in the eyes of the Council."
One of the younger members of the Council spat out his contempt. "The truth is something we cannot afford," he sneered. "If you scratch festering wounds, you bring down all that we have built."
The eyes of the old man softened when he replied, "Sometimes, without truth, we are lost forever in darkness." His eyes turned to Selene as if he could see a glimmer of hope. "But do this: tell them that those who hid your past, plotted for you to vanish without a trace."
Selene's heart pounded. "Who would do such a thing?" she dared. Her words shook with rage and grief, and the hall fell silent once more.
Killian's fists clenched at his side. "I trusted once to protect my mate," he spat, his gaze toward the shadows in the room. "Now I see betrayal was ever our friend." His gaze froze, haunted by what he could not speak.
It was a weighty silence, one which was interrupted only by rain crashing into rock. "The genuine turncoat," a voice in the dark from an envoy, a sound as quiet as summer grass, "occupies the seat of Silvercrest." And the rumor flew like flame, igniting mutterings through the council.
Selene moved forward, her voice barely above a whisper as tensions mounted. "I have a right to know," she pressed on, looking unflinchingly. "I must know what happened to me and why my life was taken from me.".
Killian took a deep breath, his voice soft but compelling. "So we set out at dawn," he said. "We will head for the Forbidden Archives in the rear of the Northern Territory. There, buried among papers that are centuries old, is the truth about you—and about all of us.".
Shivering with fear and horror, there ran through the hall. Councilors exchanged looks of fear without knowing the outcome. The fury of the storm seemed to match the storm raging in every heart present.
As the final bell rang out from a distant tower, a blinding stillness descended. Killian's eyes seared with resolve as he went on, "Prepare yourselves. Tomorrow, we uncover our history—even if it means facing the demons we have been hiding from for so long."
In that charged instant, Selene felt a thrill of hope—and fear. The path ahead of her was filled with answers, but also with a confrontation with the dark recesses of their history.
No one had time to say a word before a
thunderous boom echoed in the hall as the giant doors once more swung wide open.