The First Lesson in Truth

Kaelion had expected the girl to take the money and move on.

But instead, she did something unexpected.

She handed him a book.

He frowned. "What's this?"

"A lesson," she said.

Kaelion opened the book. The pages were filled with strange symbols, numbers, and diagrams. Some he recognized—star charts, planetary orbits—but others were completely foreign.

He glanced at her. "Why give me this?"

The girl smirked. "You're clever, prince. But cleverness without knowledge is like a blade without an edge. Useless."

Kaelion's fingers tightened around the book.

Prince.

She always said it mockingly, like the title meant nothing. And maybe here, in the lawless streets, it truly didn't.

But still…

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

The girl leaned back against the wooden crates. "I stole it."

Kaelion blinked.

She said it so casually.

"From where?"

She shrugged. "A noble's library. He didn't need it."

Kaelion flipped through the pages again.

It was a book on astronomy.

On the movements of the heavens, on eclipses, on things he had only ever heard about in whispered conversations among scholars.

His mind immediately latched onto one word.

Eclipse.

He swallowed. "Do you… understand all this?"

The girl's smirk faded slightly.

"I understand enough," she said.

Kaelion stared at her.

There was something in the way she spoke—something too certain, too knowing.

For the first time, he realized that this girl, whoever she was, wasn't just some street rat who had learned to survive.

She was educated.

And that was dangerous.

Because it meant she had a past.

And people with pasts had secrets.

"Why are you helping me?" Kaelion asked.

The girl didn't answer right away.

She looked at him, her dark eyes studying him like a puzzle she wasn't sure she wanted to solve.

Then, she said, "Maybe I want to see if you're worth something."

Kaelion scowled. "I don't need your approval."

The girl chuckled. "Then don't take the book."

Kaelion hesitated.

Then, grudgingly, he tucked it under his arm.

The girl smirked. "Thought so."

She stood up, dusting herself off.

"Tomorrow," she said, "I'll test you again. Try not to die before then."

And with that, she disappeared into the night.

Kaelion watched her go, his mind racing with new questions.

Who was she?

Why did she know so much?

And most importantly—

Why did she care about the eclipse?

He had spent his whole life being told it was a curse.

But now, for the first time…

He wondered if it was something else.

Something bigger.

Something he needed to understand.

Kaelion sat under the dim glow of a dying lantern, the stolen book spread open before him.

The symbols and equations swam in his vision, teasing him with half-formed understanding.

He had never been allowed to study like this.

The palace tutors had been forced to teach him, but they always did so with disdain. They never let him explore beyond what they thought was necessary for a doomed prince.

But this—this was different.

He was choosing to learn.

He traced the star charts with his fingers. The path of the eclipse. The orbit of the moon. The movement of the heavens.

It was all written here.

Not as prophecy. Not as fate.

As science.

His heart pounded.

Could it be? Could the blood-red eclipse that had cursed him be nothing more than a predictable event?

A shadow moved.

Kaelion's instincts kicked in, and he slammed the book shut.

The girl stood there, arms crossed, watching him.

"Still awake, prince?" she said.

Kaelion scowled. "What do you want?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she stepped forward and, without asking, plucked the book from his hands.

She flipped through the pages with practiced ease.

"You're slow," she muttered. "You barely got past the introduction."

Kaelion clenched his jaw. "It's complicated."

The girl snorted. "No. You've just never been allowed to think for yourself before."

Kaelion glared at her, but she wasn't wrong.

She dropped the book back into his lap.

"Let's test you," she said.

He frowned. "Now?"

"Yes. Now."

She stepped back, tilting her head toward the sky.

"Look up," she said. "Tell me what you see."

Kaelion hesitated, then followed her gaze.

The stars burned cold and distant above them.

The girl's voice was quiet. "That's the past."

Kaelion blinked. "What?"

"The stars," she said. "What you see now is their past. Some of them are already dead, but their light is still traveling."

Kaelion stared at the sky. The thought unsettled him.

"So we're looking at ghosts?"

The girl smiled faintly. "Something like that."

She turned to him. "Here's your real test, prince."

She pointed at the moon. "Why does an eclipse happen?"

Kaelion swallowed. "Because… because the gods are angry."

The girl sighed. "Try again. Think, not repeat."

Kaelion hesitated.

He looked back down at the book, flipping through the pages. He found a diagram of the sun, the moon, and the earth.

Slowly, the pieces clicked into place.

"The moon…" He traced the path with his finger. "The moon moves in front of the sun."

The girl nodded. "And?"

"And the light is blocked."

She smiled. "Exactly."

Kaelion's hands clenched around the book.

So that was it.

Not fate.

Not punishment.

Just shadows and light.

His entire life, his entire curse, had been caused by something so simple.

A deep rage burned in his chest.

How many people had suffered because of a misunderstanding? How much had been lost?

The girl watched him carefully. "What are you thinking, prince?"

Kaelion exhaled slowly.

"I'm thinking," he said, "that I've been a fool."

The girl grinned. "Good. Then you might actually survive this place."