Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: Vaeloria’s Suspicion

The Temple of Starlight glowed faintly under the crescent moon, its alabaster spires piercing the velvet sky like silent sentinels. Lady Seraphine knelt before the altar, her crimson gown pooling around her like spilled wine. The air was thick with the scent of myrrh and the faint hum of ancient chants, but her thoughts were far from the sacred rites. Kael's face haunted her—his storm-gray eyes, the sharp edge of his jaw, the forbidden warmth of his touch in the Shadowed Forest two nights past. Her fingers trembled as she clutched the silver pendant of the Crimson Veil, its weight a reminder of the prophecy that bound her fate.You are the ember that will ignite or consume Eryndor, the Oracle's words echoed in her mind. Choose wisely, or all will burn.Seraphine's breath hitched. She had chosen Kael, hadn't she? A rebel, a heretic, a man whose very existence defied the Council of Light. Yet each stolen moment with him felt like a rebellion against the chains of her title, her duty, her world. But the cost… oh, the cost was a blade hovering over her heart.A soft rustle broke her reverie. Vaeloria stood at the temple's threshold, her emerald cloak catching the flicker of starlight. Her friend's eyes, usually warm as summer jade, were sharp, searching. "Seraphine," she said, her voice low but laced with something new—suspicion. "You've been distant. Even here, in the heart of the temple, your prayers seem… elsewhere."Seraphine rose, smoothing her gown to hide the tremor in her hands. "The weight of the prophecy grows heavier, Vaeloria. You know this." Her voice was steady, but her heart raced. Vaeloria had been her confidante since childhood, the only one who knew the truth of her doubts about the Council's rigid decrees. But Kael? That secret was a locked vault, and Seraphine feared its key was slipping from her grasp.Vaeloria stepped closer, her boots echoing on the marble floor. "It's more than that," she said, her gaze pinning Seraphine like an arrow. "You've been leaving the citadel at odd hours. The guards whisper of a figure seen near the Shadowed Forest. And your pendant…" Her eyes flicked to the silver charm at Seraphine's throat. "It glows brighter than it should, as if it senses something—or someone."Seraphine's fingers tightened around the pendant, its edges biting into her palm. "You're imagining things," she said, forcing a laugh that sounded hollow even to her own ears. "The forest is no place for me. You know the dangers there." But her words felt brittle, like glass about to shatter. The Shadowed Forest was where Kael waited, where his calloused hands had brushed her cheek, where whispered promises had drowned out the prophecy's warnings.Vaeloria's lips pressed into a thin line. "I know you, Seraphine. Better than anyone. You carry a secret heavier than duty, and it's tearing you apart." She paused, her voice softening but no less piercing. "If you're entangled with someone forbidden—if the Crimson Veil is stirring because of it—tell me. I can't protect you if I don't know the truth."The air grew heavy, the temple's sanctity suffocating. Seraphine wanted to confess, to spill every forbidden moment: Kael's defiance of the Council, his vision of a free Eryndor, the way his presence made her feel alive in a world of stone and starlight. But the prophecy loomed, a specter whispering of betrayal and ruin. If Vaeloria knew, would she stand by her or turn her over to the Council? The risk was a chasm, and Seraphine stood at its edge."I carry only the burdens you already know," Seraphine said at last, her voice barely above a whisper. She met Vaeloria's gaze, willing her to believe the lie. "The prophecy, the Council, the war brewing beyond our borders. That is all."Vaeloria held her stare for a long moment, then turned away, her cloak swirling like a storm. "I hope you're right," she said, her words carrying the weight of a warning. "For your sake, and for Eryndor's." She left the temple, her footsteps fading into the night, leaving Seraphine alone with the altar's cold light.Seraphine sank to her knees again, her heart a battlefield of love and fear. The pendant pulsed against her skin, warm as a heartbeat, as if the Crimson Veil itself knew her secret. Kael was waiting in the Shadowed Forest tonight, his message smuggled to her in a scrap of parchment hidden in her chamber. She could go to him, risk everything for one more stolen moment. Or she could stay, safe within the temple's walls, and let duty smother her heart.The prophecy's words burned in her mind: Choose wisely, or all will burn