WHISPERS OF THE FORBIDDEN CREATURES: The Choice

Chapter 28: The Choice

The King's eyes burned like molten silver as he stepped toward her. Each movement of his, graceful and inevitable, drew her deeper into his gravity. The throne behind him seemed to pulse, its power so tangible that Lila could almost taste it. A thousand whispers echoed in her mind—calls from ancient voices, forgotten realms, promises wrapped in riddles.

"Why?" Lila breathed. Her hands trembled at her sides, unwilling to reach out, yet irresistibly drawn toward him. "Why me?"

He smiled, slow and knowing. "Because you are the last of the bloodline, Lila Harper. The last of the Veil's chosen. You carry the thread that connects this world to ours. Only through you can the breach be sealed or torn open."

A wave of power surged, and for a moment, the world felt suspended in time.

Niall gripped her arm, his fingers cold with fear. "This isn't right. Don't trust him, Lila. He's not offering you power. He's offering a prison."

The words stung, but Lila couldn't push them away. She glanced at Niall, his face etched with worry, before her gaze shifted back to the King. His silence was all the answer she needed.

Her chest tightened as memories her true memories began to unfold, layers peeling away, revealing what she had always known but never dared to confront. She was not just a child of the Veil. She was the heir. The one who could change the balance of both worlds, either bringing them together or tearing them apart.

Her fingers brushed the cold air, and the Veil responded like a flash of violet, a pull in her chest.

"You feel it, don't you?" The King's voice was hypnotic, smooth like the caress of a dark river. "This is who you are, what you were born to be. I can give you everything. Power, control, the restoration of a lost world… and your place beside us."

Lila closed her eyes for a moment. She could see it—the throne, the crown, the endless power flowing through her veins. She could almost taste it, like a forbidden fruit, ripe and waiting. But something deep within her resisted, a part of her that was afraid of the truth.

"What if I don't want it?" she whispered, the words more to herself than to him.

The King's smile didn't falter. "The question is not what you want. The question is what you're willing to lose."

Behind her, Niall's voice cracked, urgent. "Lila, please. Don't do it. You'll never be the same."

She turned, her gaze meeting his, and for a moment, everything else disappeared. All the weight of the choice, all the gravity of the world pressing down on her shoulders, vanished in that brief instant. It was just her and Niall—their shared past, their bond, their fight to survive.

And yet… deep inside, something stirred. The pull of the Veil, stronger now than ever before. It whispered her name, called to her very soul.

The court shifted, waiting, watching. The King's presence loomed larger, closer, more inescapable.

"I don't have to do this," she said, her voice shaking but steady. "I don't have to choose you."

The King's eyes gleamed with dark amusement. "You are not the one who makes the choice, child. You are the one who will be chosen. The Veil has already made its decision."

With a flick of his wrist, the ground trembled again, and before Lila could move, the throne began to rise, levitating before her, drawing her closer. Her heart pounded as an invisible force reached for her, wrapping around her like chains.

"Choose," the King said, his voice like a command.

Lila closed her eyes, feeling the world shift beneath her feet. She could feel the weight of all that was at stake—the lives of everyone she loved, the fate of the worlds, the power to reshape history itself.

But was she ready to embrace it?

She opened her eyes, meeting the King's gaze. The mists around her swirled violently, and the truth settled deep within her. The power, the throne—it was hers to claim. But at what cost?

The King's hand reached toward her, palm open, waiting for her to take it. The decision was now hers, but it felt like no decision at all.

And then, a voice echoed inside her—a voice that wasn't her own.

"You know what you must do."