after math

The fire had burned low, casting long, flickering shadows against the stone walls of the abandoned temple. I sat curled in the corner, arms wrapped around my knees, but sleep refused to come. The whispers hadn't stopped. They slithered through the cracks of my mind, their voices weaving in and out of my thoughts like restless spirits.

 Unworthy.

 Daughter of failure.

 The throne will not bow to you.

 I clenched my jaw, forcing my hands to stay steady. I wouldn't break. Not here. Not now.

 A sudden tap against my shoulder sent my entire body jolting. My hand flew to the dagger Kael had given me earlier, but before I could react, his voice cut through the haze.

 "Still hearing them?"

 I exhaled sharply, grounding myself back to reality. Kael crouched beside me, watching me with an expression I couldn't decipher. His dark eyes weren't mocking, but there was something unsettling in the way he studied me, like he already knew the answer to his question.

 "They're just echoes," I muttered.

 "Are they?" He rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders as he walked toward the temple entrance. "You need to start asking yourself the right questions, girl. How do you expect to take back your throne if you can't even tell the difference between reality and whatever's crawling inside your head?"

 I stiffened. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

 Kael let out a low chuckle, drawing a blade from his belt. "No. But if you want to stay alive, you're going to hear it anyway."

 The sharp sound of steel scraping against stone filled the air as he dragged the blade across the floor. His stance shifted, shoulders squared, muscles coiled like a predator preparing to strike.

 "Show me what you know."

 I frowned. "What?"

 Kael flipped the dagger in his hand, tossing it toward me. I caught it instinctively, but the second my fingers closed around the hilt, he lunged.

 I barely had time to react. My body moved on instinct, sidestepping the first strike, but I wasn't fast enough to avoid the next. Kael's foot swept beneath my legs, and before I knew it, my back slammed into the cold stone.

 Pain exploded through my ribs, but I gritted my teeth and refused to cry out.

 Kael stood over me, unimpressed. "Pathetic."

 I glared up at him, fury coiling in my chest. "Fight me when I'm not half-dead from running and see what happens."

 "You think your enemies will care if you're tired?" He kicked my dagger away, the sound of metal skidding across stone echoing in the temple. "Your title means nothing if you can't defend yourself."

 I shoved myself up, wiping blood from my lip. "I'm not going to be weak forever."

 Kael's expression flickered for the briefest moment. "Good. Then stop acting like a lost princess and start thinking like a warrior."

 A noise outside made us both freeze.

 Kael's posture shifted instantly—silent, alert, dangerous. His hand went to the hilt of his sword as his gaze snapped toward the entrance.

 I stepped closer, straining my ears. Then I heard it.

 Boots. Crunching against dried leaves.

 I turned to Kael. "They found us."

 He nodded, pressing a finger to his lips. In one fluid motion, he moved to the shadows, vanishing like a wraith. My pulse thundered as I gripped my stolen dagger and pressed myself against the temple wall, waiting.

 Three men entered, moving cautiously. Bounty hunters.

 I barely breathed as they passed by me. Kael struck first, fast and merciless. A dagger to the throat. A blade through the ribs. The first two men crumpled without a sound.

 The third man turned—just in time to see me.

 I moved before I could think. My blade drove into his shoulder, not deep enough to kill, but enough to stop him. He staggered back, eyes wide with shock.

 Kael grabbed my wrist before I could finish him off.

 "Wait." His voice was sharp. "We need answers."

 The bounty hunter coughed, blood staining his lips, but he laughed. "You think you're running from men?" He spat at my feet. "You're running from something much worse."

 Then the whispers returned.

 He knows.

 The throne will never be yours.

 You are nothing.

 The air thickened, the temple walls darkening at the edges of my vision. The man's eyes widened in confusion as he stared at me.

 No. Not at me.

 At something behind me.

 A shadow loomed, barely visible, curling at the edges of my senses like smoke.

 You let your father die.

 A sharp pain shot through my skull. My grip on the dagger slackened. The whispers wrapped around me like a suffocating veil, dragging me under. I saw flickers of fire, of bodies strewn across the castle floor, of my father's eyes—the life fading from them.

 My breath hitched.

 The bounty hunter took his chance. He twisted out of my grip, lunging forward—

 A blur of motion. A flash of steel.

 Kael moved faster than my sluggish mind could process. His blade slashed cleanly across the man's throat.

 The body dropped. The whispers snapped back into silence.

 I staggered, heart hammering. Kael's gaze was sharp as he stepped toward me.

 "What the hell was that?"

 I swallowed hard, shaking off the last remnants of the whispers. "Nothing."

 Kael didn't look convinced. He watched me too closely, like he was piecing together something I didn't want him to know.

 I stared at the blood pooling on the floor, my grip tightening on my dagger.

 This wasn't just about revenge anymore. It wasn't just about the throne.

 Something else was coming for me.

 Kael studied me for a long moment, then finally spoke. "We can't stay here. They'll send more."

 I nodded numbly.

 He turned to leave, but I wasn't done running anymore.

 "Teach me," I said, my voice steadier this time.

 Kael smirked. Tossing me a dagger, he stepped back into the shadows.

 "Then let's begin."