Shadows in the archives

The fortress library was silent at this hour, its towering shelves casting long shadows in the dim candlelight. Elara moved cautiously between the aisles, her heartbeat steady but alert. The weight of secrecy pressed against her chest—one wrong move, and everything she had built here could collapse.

She had no clear idea of what she was searching for. The mysterious figures in the woods had known things about her—things she hadn't spoken of in years. If they were connected to her past, there had to be a record somewhere.

Elara traced her fingers along the spines of old tomes, her mind racing. Military records? Nobility lineages? Criminal logs? She wasn't sure where to start. She reached for an old ledger detailing past recruits, flipping through its pages rapidly.

"Looking for something, Elijah?"

The voice was quiet but unmistakable.

Elara froze, her grip tightening on the book. Slowly, she turned to see Keshav standing at the end of the aisle, arms crossed, half-hidden in the flickering candlelight. His sharp, unreadable gaze met hers, and for the first time in weeks, she felt trapped.

"You always seem to be in places you shouldn't be," Keshav murmured. He stepped forward, glancing at the book in her hands before meeting her eyes again. "Care to explain?"

Elara forced a casual shrug, closing the ledger carefully. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd read something useful."

Keshav didn't respond immediately. He simply watched her, his silence stretching the space between them. It was unnerving how he could say nothing and still make her feel like he saw straight through her.

Then, he spoke, his voice lower this time. "I don't believe in coincidences, Elijah."

Elara felt a chill run through her.

"And I don't believe in people sneaking around libraries at night unless they're hiding something."

Her throat went dry, but she held his gaze. "You think I have something to hide?"

Keshav studied her for another long moment before finally looking away. "I think you're afraid of something," he said, turning towards the door. "And fear makes people reckless."

Without another word, he left.

Elara exhaled slowly, tension rolling off her shoulders. She had no doubt Keshav had already pieced together that she was searching for something specific. If he kept pressing, how long before he figured out everything?

Still, she wasn't going to stop now.

Determined, she returned to the books. This time, she focused on older records—before her time at the fortress. If these strangers knew her name, knew her past, they had to be connected to something bigger than just her training here.

Then, she found something.

A thin, dust-covered journal wedged between thicker tomes. Unlike the official ledgers, this wasn't formatted in rigid script. It was personal.

She flipped it open carefully.

The first page held only three words, written in dark, precise ink:

"The Forgotten Sons."

A chill crawled up Elara's spine. She had never seen these words before, but something about them felt... familiar.

As she scanned the first few pages, she realized what she had just uncovered wasn't just a piece of history.

It was a secret buried beneath the very walls of Eagle Fortress.

And she was now a part of it.

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