The moment stretches like a fragile string, humming softly between us.
Kael doesn't move. Not even to breathe.
His face is still against my hand. The shadows coil around him, restless but retreating, like they're listening. Like they're confused. Or afraid. And maybe for the first time in a long time, they don't know what to do.
He slowly straightens, his eyes searching mine.
"You shouldn't be able to touch me," he whispers. "This… this shouldn't be possible."
I nod. "I know."
"But it is."
"Yes."
He steps back like the moment is too big to stay in. "We should… You should rest."
It's an excuse. We both know it.
But I nod anyway. "Okay."
As I turn to go, I feel it, the strange new thing between us. A thread. Not thick. Not steady. But it's there. I can feel it tugging at my chest.
And I know he feels it too.
The castle changes after that night.
Or maybe I just start noticing things I didn't before.
The walls are full of whispers—soft sounds like voices trapped in stone, telling stories when no one's looking. Sometimes I hear music. Sometimes I hear crying. The mirrors flicker with images that vanish when I blink. Once, I swear I saw a girl in a blue dress laughing in the reflection, but she was gone before I could turn.
I start walking more. Wandering deeper into the parts of the castle no one talks about. I find doors that weren't there the day before. Stairs that lead to rooms full of books with no titles. Hallways that twist like they're alive.
The castle is magic. Not just a place, but something old. Ancient. And wounded.
Just like Kael.
One afternoon, I push open a door near the west wing and step into a vast room covered in broken glass and feathers. The ceiling is high, domed, and painted with scenes of stars and winged creatures. The light glows gold and blue, like twilight held in a jar.
And in the middle of the room is a mural—half-finished, like someone ran out of time.
Kael.
Painted in pieces. His eyes alone take up the center, wild and lost and full of things too heavy for any one person.
I touch the wall.
Whispers rush in.
"She betrayed him… it was her blood that sealed it…"
"…the crown… shattered…"
"…he screamed her name…"
"…and the shadows answered."
I stagger back, heart pounding.
"What is this place?" I whisper.
A voice answers behind me. "This was the Hall of Stars."
I spin around.
Kael stands there, watching me.
"I didn't mean to intrude," I say quickly.
He shrugs. "Most people can't find this place. It only shows itself when it wants to."
I look at the mural again. "Who painted this?"
"My brother," he says. "Before he turned against me."
That makes my stomach drop. "He… what?"
Kael walks slowly toward the wall, his fingers brushing over the painted stone like he's remembering something he's tried to forget.
"He and Lira both. They worked together to seal the crown. And to seal me."
Silence.
I look at him carefully. "But… I thought Lira—"
"She loved me," he says, his voice tight. "And I loved her. But love doesn't always stop betrayal."
He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again. "You're the first person I've brought here since the curse."
"Why me?"
He doesn't answer.
But I already know.
Because I touched him. And lived.
Because I made the shadows hesitate.
Because I chose him.
Days pass.
And something changes between us.
It's not fast. Not obvious.
But I catch him watching me when he thinks I don't see. I hear his footsteps behind me in the halls. Once, I found a stack of books outside my door—about ancient healing, about magic lines, and curse-breaking. No note. But I know they're from him.
I read them every night.
And one day, in the garden behind the tower, I find a creature curled under a tree, crying.
It's not human.
It's something old and hurting.
Half-wolf, half-shadow, its body flickering like it can't decide what it is anymore. The staff won't go near it. Everyone says it's dangerous. Wild. Cursed.
I kneel beside it.
The creature growls.
"I know what it's like to be broken," I whisper.
I reach out slowly.
It snarls, but doesn't attack.
And when my fingers graze its fur, the magic in the air pulses.
A golden light glows around my hand.
The creature shudders.
Then goes still.
Healed.
Just like that.
Kael watches from a distance, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open.
He doesn't speak as I stand.
But he doesn't look away either.
Later that night, he comes to my chambers.
Not with words.
With silence.
And a single white flower.
He leaves it at my door.
I pick it up and hold it to my heart.
A promise in petals.
I dream of Lira again.
But this time, she's not crying.
She's singing.
To a child, I can't see.
And the song echoes through me even after I wake.
Something is waking up inside me.
Something powerful.
Something ancient.
I don't understand it yet, but I know it's tied to this place.
To Kael.
To the shadows.
To me.
I was meant to come here.
But I don't know if I was meant to stay.
Not yet.
Still, when Kael finds me in the library and sits beside me without speaking, I don't pull away.
When his fingers brush mine, I don't flinch.
And when he whispers, "You're not afraid anymore," I smile and say, "Maybe I never was."
He looks at me like he's seeing something sacred.
Something terrifying.
Something hopeful.
And for the first time in years, I think—
So does he.