Lily
For months, the palace was too quiet. No whispers in the corridors. No sidelong glances or hushed voices as I passed. Just silence. Heavy, And watchful. It felt less like peace and more like the space between thunder and lightning, something inevitable, waiting to strike.
Elis did what he had to. He silenced the kingdom with fear. But fear only masks unrest; it doesn't erase it. And I knew he was running out of time. He still hadn't found a way to break his promise to Zeena. Or his curse.
I wanted to help him. I wanted to ask him to let me stand beside him like I had that night when everything unraveled between us. But I couldn't. Not yet. Because something was happening to me.
I didn't know how to explain it. How my mood seemed to sway others without a word. How I could sense Elis's presence no matter where he was in the palace, even before I heard his voice or footsteps. How I could feel the pull of something ancient, like the moon had grown a tether between my ribs. I needed answers.
That night, as candlelight flickered softly over the walls of my chamber, I sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the small wooden box I had carried with me since my grandmother passed. "When I pass away," my grandmother had whispered one night years before her death, "keep my small box safe. One day, you'll need it." I hadn't questioned her. I was thirteen. It had just become one of those strange family relics I never thought twice about until now. With trembling fingers, I lifted the lid.
Inside were two old books, a coral-beaded necklace, and a rusted iron key. The scent of dried herbs and old paper drifted up to meet me. I picked up the larger book, a weighty thing with a leather cover, and opened it carefully. It was blank. Page after page, nothing but emptiness.
"What is this?" I muttered, flipping through. My heart sank. Why would she keep an empty book? Frustrated, I set it aside and reached for the smaller one. The binding was cracked and faded, the leather worn soft by years of use. My thumb brushed the embossed initials: M.S. Miriam Solene. My grandmother. My breath caught.
I carried the diary to my bed and crawled beneath the covers, candlelight dancing beside me. The first page was written in her elegant hand…firm, delicate strokes like she was still speaking to me. " If you are reading this, my sweet Lily, then your powers have fully awakened… and your destiny has begun."
I blinked. Powers? My heart thudded in my chest as I turned the page. " My awakening came on my eighteenth birthday. My senses sharpened. I heard whispers that weren't spoken. Felt emotions that weren't mine. I touched life where death had already taken hold. The power…like fire and water…ran through me, wild and waiting."
I pressed a hand against my sternum. It sounded like my life. My recent days. The strange dreams. The shifting air. The pull of the earth beneath my bare feet. I read on, page after page, as her story unfolded in quiet, aching detail. I could almost hear her voice, steady and warm. "The first time I understood what I was… I was terrified. Witches were forbidden. And hunted. Denial didn't change my blood. It didn't change what I was born to be."
The word witches hit me like a stone. I froze. "No…" I whispered. "No, no, no…" The diary slipped from my hands and fell to the floor with a soft thud. Witch? Me? A sudden gust of wind rattled the chamber doors. The candles trembled and flickered wildly…then flared so bright they nearly went out. I turned, heart hammering, but the windows were shut.
Then…whispers. They started low. A murmur just beneath sound. But I heard them. " You have awakened, Lily…" I spun around. The voice was everywhere and nowhere. " You cannot run from who you are…This power is your birthright."
"No!" I clutched my ears, squeezing my eyes shut. "Stop!" But the voices didn't stop. They grew. One voice rose above the rest, steady, familiar. " Lily… you were always meant for more. Open your eyes."
Miriam. My eyes flew open. The candles blew out. Darkness swallowed the room in one breath. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. And then…I saw them. Two glowing eyes in the corner, just above where the diary had fallen. Not threatening, not monstrous..just watching. Knowing. My grandmother's eyes.
A knock jolted me upright. "Lily? Are you asleep?" Eunice. Her voice pulled me back from the edge. I stumbled to the door, one hand still pressed to my heart. I glanced once more toward the corner. The eyes were gone. So were the whispers. But the silence left behind felt heavier than before.
I opened the door. Eunice took one look at me and frowned. "Why is your room so dark?"
I blinked. It was dark. Yet… I could see everything. Clearly. Every thread on the rug. Every grain in the wood floor. I hadn't lit a single candle. "I must've dozed off when the flame burned out," I said softly, stepping aside.
She raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound like someone who just woke up."
I gave her a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. "Come in before the night chill bites."
She stepped inside, her eyes scanning the room as I busied myself relighting the candles.
"I was checking on you," she said. "You've been quiet."
I nodded, curling my legs under me as I sat on the edge of the bed. "Too many herbs. Not enough sleep." I paused. "How is Elis?"
Eunice's mouth tightened. "That's why I'm here." She crossed her arms. "I'm worried about him, Lily."
Something cold curled in my stomach. I tried to keep my face still. "Why?"
She hesitated. Then she looked me dead in the eye. "Because something isn't right."