CHAPTER 27

The Shattered Veil

The wind howled through the ruins, carrying an unnatural chill that made Lyra's skin prickle. The Celestial Veil—the ancient barrier between the mortal world and the forgotten realm beyond—stood before them, its once-luminous energy now flickering like a dying star. What was once impenetrable now shuddered, cracked, and broken.

Kael took a cautious step forward, his robes billowing in the wind. "This isn't just a weakening of the Veil. Someone shattered it deliberately."

Alden drew his sword, the silver gleaming under the fractured light. "Then we're not the only ones who can cross."

Lyra's pulse quickened as she stared into the shimmering abyss. Beyond this tear lay the unknown—forgotten magic, lost souls, and perhaps… answers.

Selene knelt at the edge of the Veil, tracing ancient symbols into the ground. Her voice was hushed but urgent. "The energy here is corrupted. This magic is forbidden." Her silver eyes flickered upward. "This was done by someone with power beyond even the Shadow born."

Lyra inhaled sharply. "The Forgotten Court."

Kael's gaze darkened. "Then Eryx is already inside."

That name sent a shiver down her spine. Eryx, the enigmatic envoy of the Forgotten Court, had been playing a game they were only beginning to understand. He had known about her mark, the prophecy, and the celestial curse long before she did. But what did he truly want?

A distant whisper carried through the wind—soft yet piercing. A voice calling her name.

Lyra stiffened. The sound wrapped around her like a ghostly touch, both familiar and impossible.

"Lyra."

Her breath caught. That voice. It couldn't be.

Alden caught her expression. "What is it?"

She turned to him, her voice barely a whisper. "I heard my mother."

Silence fell over the group.

Kael's expression was unreadable. "Your mother died years ago."

Lyra swallowed hard, her heart pounding. "Then why is she calling to me from beyond the Veil?"

Selene stood slowly, brushing the dust from her cloak. "If she's trapped beyond the barrier, it means one thing." Her gaze met Lyra's. "She never truly died."

The weight of those words sank deep into Lyra's chest. All her life, she had believed that her mother, Queen Valora, had perished in the war against the Shadow born. That her death had been the price for protecting Eldoris.

But what if that had been a lie?

Lyra took a step closer to the fractured Veil, staring into the swirling void beyond. Shadows danced within the light, shifting and distorting. For the first time, she saw figures—phantoms moving within the Veil's depths.

Kael exhaled sharply. "If your mother is inside, then so are others."

Alden sheathed his sword. "Then we go in."

Kael shot him a sharp look. "You don't understand what's on the other side. That's not a battlefield—it's a graveyard. Souls trapped between realms. If we cross that Veil, there's no guarantee we come back."

Lyra turned to him, fire burning in her chest. "If my mother is alive, I can't leave her there."

Kael clenched his jaw. "And if she's been turned?"

The question hung between them. If Queen Valora had been trapped for years, what had she become?

Lyra squared her shoulders. "I won't know unless I go."

Selene stepped forward. "Then we must act quickly. The Veil is unstable. If we don't enter now, we might never get another chance."

Lyra nodded. There was no turning back. Beyond this barrier lay the truth she had been searching for.

She took a deep breath, then stepped forward—

—into the unknown.