Page 22 of Haunted Crowns
Kaelioth let the silence stretch between them before speaking again.
"You can leave, child. No one will chain you to this path." His next words were quieter, but they hit harder. "But will you be able to live with it?"
She swallowed, her chest aching. Finally, she forced the question past her lips.
"If I choose this… how will I know what I’m supposed to do?"
Kaelioth studied her. "You will not. Not yet. The spirits do not speak in words, Eris. They do not give easy answers." His voice was quieter now, but still unsettling. "When the time comes, you will know. Because you will have no other choice." His next words were a whisper, but they thundered through her. "Seraphina is more than memory. She lingers in the space between, waiting. If you listen, truly listen, she will guide you."
A shiver tore through Eris’s bones as something awakened. The air in the tent shifted. Warmth wrapped around her, like unseen hands resting on her shoulders. Her lips parted. She felt it. She felther. Seraphina.
Kaelioth closed his eyes, as if he, too, could feel her presence.
For a moment, Eris was not alone. Then it was gone, and the world snapped back into focus.
The shaman’s voice softened, the edge of a smile forming.
"Break bread with us tonight, Eris. Sit among us." Though warm, his voice still carried a quiet weight. "Know the people your great-grandmother fought to protect."
She hesitated. The fire flickered, casting strange shadows across the tent walls. Her heart pounded. It was too much, too fast. Too inevitable.
She clenched her hands in her lap, nails pressing into her palms. Then the flames stilled, as if gorged on silence. In that frozen blaze, she saw it: a future left unchanged. Goznoth, burning at the edges. A kingdom fractured, rotting from within.A vast and hollow throne room, its banners torn and forgotten. And at its center stood Stephan. Alone. His shoulders bowed beneath a crown that had taken too much. The warmth in his eyes was gone, buried beneath duty, sorrow, and war. The man she loved, fading into the ruler he was never meant to be. The echo of his voice, not calling for her, but for peace that would never come.
“I tried, Eris,” he whispered. “I tried to be what they needed.”
The scent of blood and war. The screams that had long faded but never left the stone. The spirits pressed against her, showing and warning. Her chest tightened, and the vision shifted.
The same throne room appeared, but rebuilt. Banners of hope replaced those of conquest. Stephan stood tall, no longer alone. The crown remained, still heavy, but it didn’t crush him. His eyes were warm again, focused on her rather than through her. She saw a world that could be healed.
Her throat burned. This was not fair. She had spent her life trying to belong, only to learn she never did. But this was her war. If she stayed and fought, she might not only save a kingdom. She might savehim. Stephan. Her fingers curled into fists.
If she stayed, what would it cost her? Her future? Her freedom? Her life?
"I will stay," she said.Even if I vanish in the choosing.
The fire roared back to life as the tent shuddered, the force of unseen hands pressing against the air. Kaelioth’s gaze held hers, his voice steady as stone.
"Good."
The spirits had their answer. Eris’s fate was sealed. Kaelioth’s gaze slid toward Kareon.
"The Alpha will take you under his protection."
Kareon stiffened. He had fought wars, led men into slaughter, stood against the Obsidian Order with blood on his hands anddeath in his shadow. None of it had ever made him hesitate. But this? Her? Not because of what she was, but because of who she was. Because she looked at him like she saw something beneath the armor, beneath the beast, and worse, it made him want to believe in it too. That was the real danger.
His voice was low when he finally spoke. "Fine."
Kaelioth arched a brow. "You look like a man who has just been sentenced to death."
Kareon exhaled sharply. "Not death. Just bad luck."
Eris folded her arms, tilting her head. "And I’m supposed to feel safe with him?"
Kareon smirked, sharp. "Trust me, princess. This is no dream for me either."
Eris’s gaze didn’t waver. "For once, we agree."
Kaelioth sighed. "Moon help me, the both of you."
