Chapter 18

As the night crept on, Rhaine's condition spiraled into something far worse than Selara had anticipated. Her pale lips trembled as fresh streams of blood stained the bed linens.

Desperation clawed at Selara as she tried to keep calm, but her heart raced with dread. "Rhaine," she whispered urgently, "I don't know what more I can do. This is worser than last time."

Rhaine shivered violently, her voice hoarse between painful coughs. "There's... one thing you can do," she rasped. "Go to the palace grounds... there's a cave formation with a stream. Collect the salty water from there."

"Salty water?" Selara blinked, unsure. "But wouldn't that make things worse?"

Rhaine coughed harder, her breath hitching painfully. "Trust me... I know what to do..." Her voice faded, and she slumped unconscious once again.

Selara clenched her fists. Trust. Rhaine was stubborn, but she was no fool. She had to believe her.

Steeling herself, Selara moved with quiet determination, careful not to draw attention. The night air was icy, biting against her skin as she snuck through the castle corridors and slipped into the palace grounds.

The challenge? She had no idea where this mysterious cave was.

The grounds were vast, cloaked in the thick shadows of ancient trees. Torchlight flickered in the distance as guards patrolled, their boots crunching against the frozen earth. Selara kept to the shadows, her breath shallow, her heart pounding with every step.

Minutes turned into an hour of aimless wandering. Frustration gnawed at her, but she pressed on, guided by instinct and desperation. Finally, she caught the faint sound of trickling water.

Following the sound, she came upon a hidden cave formation nestled between jagged rocks. Inside, a stream shimmered faintly under the moonlight, its water tinged with an unusual mineral sheen.

Selara quickly knelt by the stream, filling her flask with the salty water. Relief washed over her—but it was short-lived.

Unbeknownst to her, a shadow had been tailing her all along. Silent, watchful.

As Selara fled back toward the castle, the figure lingered for a moment before vanishing into the darkness.

A little while later...

As the bitter winds howled beyond the stone walls of the citadel, Kaelion stood alone in his dimly lit chamber. The fire in the hearth flickered weakly, casting restless shadows across the room. His gaze was fixed on the balcony, where moonlight fractured through the cold night sky.

The faintest rustle disturbed the silence.

"Report." His voice cut through the stillness, low and commanding.

A shadow shifted from the corner of the room, coalescing into the form of the Shadow Guard. The figure knelt before Kaelion, head bowed.

"I followed Healer Selara as ordered," the guard began, voice as steady as the night. "She moved through the palace grounds with caution, as though she was looking for something."

Kaelion's expression remained unreadable. "And did she find it?"

"Yes. She collected the water from the cave near the stream."

At the mention of the cave, Kaelion's fingers curled against the edge of the table, though his face betrayed nothing. "The cave..." he murmured, his voice barely audible but carrying an unsettling weight. "Interesting."

The guard hesitated. "It's the same place where Lady Rhaine was seen days ago."

Kaelion's gaze sharpened, icy and impenetrable. The flickering light caught a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He moved slowly, deliberately, until he stood mere inches from the kneeling guard.

"And yet neither of them explained their interest in it."

"No, General."

The silence that followed was heavy, thick with an unspoken threat. Kaelion's mind churned with fragments of thought—Rhaine's mysterious knowledge, her strange illness, and now this quiet midnight errand by Selara.

"How fares the spy in Celestia?"

The guard's voice faltered for the first time. "No new information... yet."

Kaelion's gaze drifted to the letter resting on his desk. It was thin, ordinary, filled with mundane facts about Rhaine's origins. Facts that told him nothing of what truly mattered.

He exhaled slowly, a smile flickering at the corner of his mouth, dark and knowing.

"There's more to her," he whispered, almost to himself. "More than anyone seem to realize."

Turning abruptly, his voice dropped to a chilling command. "Investigate the cave thoroughly."

The guard bowed deeply. "Yes, General."

Without a sound, the figure melted back into the shadows, leaving Kaelion alone once more.

He stood still for a moment, the firelight flickering over his stoic features. His thoughts lingered on Rhaine—her defiant spirit, her seemily guarded past, and now the strange connection to that cave.

A secret waiting to be unearthed. And Kaelion was nothing if not a patient man when it came to unraveling mysteries.

Whatever you're hiding, Rhaine... I'll find it.