Whispers of the Past

Writers POV

The walls were covered in long, agitated shadows from the soft crackling of the hearth fire. Rhea was motionless in bed, her breath irregular, her body drenched in perspiration. There was a problem. A fever burned deep in her bones, pulsing beneath her skin. The borders of the room vanished into void as her vision flickered in and out of focus.

 Then she heard it.

 A whisper that coiled through the air like mist, old and ethereal. *The Moon's Daughter...*

Rhea opened her eyes. She sat up straight, her heart thumping madly against her ribs, her breath stuck in her throat. Although the voice had been quiet, it had a vibration that made her uneasy because it went right to the heart of her being. She looked about the poorly lit room, but she was alone. A dream. It had to be a dream.

But as soon as her eyes landed on her palm, her stomach knotted. There was still the symbol. Silvery, faint, and faintly glowing in the dark. A deep, ominous feeling encircled her like chains, and it pulsed like a heartbeat.

 What's going on with me?

 She swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet pressing against the cold stone floor. Every muscle in her body ached, but the fear in her chest outweighed the exhaustion. She needed answers. Now.

Waiting for Kael or the healer to make a decision about her was not an option for her. She had to seize the opportunity if she had the slightest chance of determining what this mark meant before they did.

 The ---

 She slipped through the corridors, staying in the shadows, and found the castle to be eerily quiet. She was aware that she had to go to the Royal Archives. The oldest scrolls and books were locked away there, and she had heard warriors mention it once. It would be the place where the knowledge of strange symbols and forbidden lore would be found.

 There were risks associated with the journey. Kael had eyes everywhere, and he would become even more suspicious if she were discovered skulking. But fear would not keep her caged.

She exhaled when she arrived at the archive's hefty wooden doors and pressed her palms against them. With a gentle groan, the doors opened to show tall shelves filled with antiquated books, scrolls, and artifacts from bygone eras. The air was heavy with the smell of dust and old paper, and Rhea hesitated barely a second before entering.

 The chamber was large, with faint flickering lamps along the walls. She worked swiftly, her fingers gliding over book spines and the rolls of parchment neatly arranged in compartments. What was it she was searching for?

 She wasn't certain.

Then, as though pulled by some invisible force, her fingers touched a book that was bound in leather, sending a weird warmth up her arm. With more weight than she had anticipated, she yanked it free and turned it open. Despite the fragile pages and spots of fading ink, one passage caught my attention right away:

 *She will cause a storm if she is abandoned twice. A queen of destruction or deliverance.

 A chill went through her. Abandoned twice.

 Had she been turned down twice already? In his own way, first by Damon, then by Kael?

 She traced the words with trembling fingertips, the whisper from her fever echoing back like a haunting echo. "The Moon's Daughter"

Is she the subject of this prophecy?

 Her heart was in her throat before she could flip the page because of the abrupt, sharp sound of a boot hitting the stone floor.

 She spun around—

 Kael stood in the doorway, his muscular body blocking the only route out, his face unreadable.

 Rhea felt her heart quicken. Kael approached her with slow, deliberate strides, and she tightened her hold on the book. He looked down at the book in her hands, his silver-blue eyes flickering with something unreadable.

 "Rhea, what are you doing here?" There was no mistaking the edge beneath his calm words.

Refusing to cower, she raised her chin. "Searching for solutions."

 Kael's eyes became gloomy. "Responses to what?"

 After a moment of hesitation, she cautiously held out her hand palm up to show the glowing brand.

 Something that was almost alarming flashed across Kael's face for the first time since she had first met him.

 He whispered, more to himself than to her, "So it's true."

 Rhea felt her tummy tighten. "You were aware."

 It wasn't denied by Kael. Instead, before she could respond, he reached out and grabbed the book out of her hands. His jaw tensed before he had even looked at the paper.

His voice was suddenly softer, controlled but deadly, as he declared, "This is forbidden."

 Rhea became quite irritated. "Prohibited? Isn't it all about me? Her rage overpowering her caution, she took a step closer. "You knew about this prophecy. You knew that I might experience something similar, but you remained silent.

 Although she couldn't read Kael's face, she could tell by the stiffness in his shoulders that he wasn't as unaffected as he wanted to seem.

 At last, he continued, "I know enough to keep you alive." "That's the only thing that counts."

 Rhea balled her fingers into fists. "You don't have the authority to decide that."

Kael maintained her eyes for a long minute before sighing. He moved away slightly, but before she could get another word in, she stared in terror as he extended the book over the nearest torch.

 "No—"

 Instantly, the flames ignited, twisting the pages into blackened ash and licking along the parchment's edges. Rhea sprang forward, but Kael was quicker and easily pushed her back while he allowed the book to fall to the ground.

 As the final remnants of the prophecy turned to smoke, she watched in disbelief.

 She trembled. "What did you do?"

 Kael's demeanor was harsh as he met her gaze. "Because some realities are too harmful to be true."

With her mind spinning, Rhea's breath shivered out of her lungs. There was something he was concealing. His eyes lingered on her mark for a bit too long, and she could see it in the tightening of his jaw.

 She said in a whisper, "What are you so afraid of?"

 Kael didn't respond. He turned instead and went to the door. However, before leaving, he glanced over his shoulder.

 Rhea, you need to get some rest. Now his voice was softer, almost resigned. "Change is on the horizon."

 Then he was gone, leaving her standing there with the ashes of the only truth she had ever discovered all around her.

Kael confiscates the scroll and destroys it before Rhea can read the remainder, proving that he knows more than he is ready to tell.