Two days slowly passed. Painfully.
Serenya felt every moment of it.
Time no longer moved the way it used to. It dragged, stretching each hour into something heavy and unbearable. The king's voice lingered in her mind, cold and unrelenting, repeating itself like a curse she couldn't silence.
One week. She kept count without meaning to.
Five days left.
Each morning, she woke before the others, her eyes opening to the dim light of dawn, her chest already tight with unease. Sleep had become shallow, restless filled with thoughts she couldn't escape.
The king. Eldrich. Elara.
Her gaze drifted across the small cottage almost instinctively.
Elara sat by the window, sunlight brushing softly against her face as she worked. Her hands moved with quiet precision, sorting herbs into neat bundles, her focus steady, her expression calm and normal.
Everything about her seemed normal.
Too normal.
Serenya watched her for a long moment. No glow.
No flicker of that strange golden light.
No sign of anything unusual.
And yet, that only made it worse.
Because now she knew the truth.
Power like that didn't vanish.
It didn't disappear just because someone wished it gone.
It waited patiently. Hidden beneath the surface.
Watching for the right moment to rise again.
"She's fine." Alaric's voice broke through her thoughts.
Serenya turned slightly to look at him.
He stood near the doorway, arms crossed, his gaze steady but observant.
"You've been staring at her for a while now," he added.
Serenya forced a small smile. "Yes… I know."
But her voice lacked conviction.
Alaric frowned slightly.
"You've been like this since we left the palace," he said. "Distracted and quiet."
A pause.
"Why won't your tell me what's bothering you?"
The question settled heavily between them.
Serenya's fingers tightened slightly at her sides.
For a moment, she almost told him.
Almost let the truth slip.
But were to start from and the image of the throne room flashed in her mind.
The king's sharp and unforgiving gaze.
I am watching you.
Serenya shook her head faintly. "It's nothing," she said.
Alaric didn't look convinced.
But after a moment, he nodded.
"Alright," he said.
He didn't press further. But the doubt remained.
Serenya could see and feel it.
And that only made the silence between them heavier.
That night sleep didn't come easily.
It rarely did anymore.
Serenya sat alone, long after the others had gone to bed. The small flicker of a candle cast shifting shadows across the walls, the quiet of the cottage almost suffocating.
Her thoughts refused to settle. They circled endlessly.
The king, the deadline and Elara.
Her hands clasped together tightly in her lap.
We need time.
Orien's voice echoed in her mind.
Pray for a distraction. Serenya closed her eyes slowly.
For a long moment, she hesitated.
She hadn't done this in years. Hadn't needed to.
Or perhaps she had chosen not to.
But now… Now there was no choice.
Please… closing her eyes the word came silently. "Please just give me time."
She didn't know who she was asking. Didn't care if anyone was listening.
But she asked anyway. Because hope was all she had left.
The next morning something had changed.
It started quietly.
Subtle enough to be ignored.
A shift in the air.A difference in the way people spoke.
Soft whispers at first.
Barely noticeable but the spread from one voice to another.
From one corner of the market to the next.
By midday, the city was buzzing.
Elara noticed it first.
People weren't speaking as loudly as usual. Their conversations were hushed, urgent, filled with unease rather than excitement.
Darin burst into the cottage not long after, his usual composure gone.
"Elara," he said, slightly out of breath. "Did you hear?"
Elara looked up from where she sat. "Hear what?"
"There's something in the forest."
The room stilled.
Alaric turned sharply. "What kind of 'something'?"
Darin shook his head. "No one knows exactly. But everyone's talking about it."
Serenya, who had been standing near the window, slowly turned.
Her expression shifted. "What did you hear?" she asked.
Darin hesitated. Then spoke more carefully.
"They're saying it's a beast."
The unsettling word hung in the air.
"What kind of beast?" Elara asked.
Darin exhaled slowly. "The ones who saw it said…" he paused, his brows pulling together, "it has the body of a lion." A brief silence followed.
"And the face of a snake."
Elara frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
Darin let out a small, uneasy laugh.
"I don't think it's supposed to."
Alaric's expression darkened. "And this is just rumor?"
Darin shook his head. "No."
This time, his voice was quieter. "I heard it from a guard, five people are dead."
The words landed heavily.
Elara's eyes widened slightly. "Dead?"
Darin nodded.
"They said it's poisonous. One bite… and it spreads fast. No time to treat it. No time to do anything."
Serenya's breath stilled. Five people gone.
Her chest tightened not with fear alone, but something deeper, something colder.
"How certain are these reports?" Alaric asked.
"Certain enough," Darin replied. "Messages have already been sent to the palace. The guards are preparing. Some say the king has already been informed."
Serenya's fingers curled slightly. The king.
Her heart began to beat faster. Elara noticed the shift immediately.
"Mother?"
Serenya looked up quickly.
But this time, she couldn't completely hide it.
There, beneath the tension she felt something else.
Relief. Faint but real.
"It's nothing," she said quickly.
But the words felt hollow.
Because she knew exactly what this was.
The distraction. The very thing she had asked for.
The very thing Orien had warned her about.
Alaric exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
"If this is true," he said, "then the king's attention will shift."
Darin nodded. "That's what everyone is saying. The whole city is talking about it."
Elara frowned slightly, her thoughts turning. "So what happens now?"
Alaric's gaze hardened. "If it's as dangerous as they say…"
He paused. "Then the king won't ignore it."
Serenya turned slightly, her mind already racing ahead.
Everything would change. The focus would move away from Elara. Away from all the questions and most importantly away from the truth she was trying so desperately to hide. Just as Orien had said.
But as the relief settled in so did something else.
Because this wasn't just a distraction. This was danger. Five people were already dead and whatever was out there, it wasn't done.
Serenya's gaze drifted toward the forest in the distance. Her expression darkened.
Because deep down she couldn't shake the feeling that this… was only the beginning.