“Draw what you see,” he says quietly, his hand landing on the duvet, finding the shape of my leg beneath the fabric.“All of it.Don’t leave anything out.When you finish, I’ll look after the pieces myself.I wouldn’t want them…getting into the wrong hands.”
He smiles, and the twinkle in his eyes is blinding.
“Why?”
“Because your dreams belong to the Light now, my dear.”His tone is gentle, but something cold moves beneath it.The wordbelongsettles on me like a chain I didn’t feel clasp.“We keep what might harm you.You want that, don’t you?To be safe?”
I nod, though a small part of me wonders if safety and silence are the same thing.
He watches as I observe the paper and coal.The charcoal feels heavy, as if it remembers everything I’ve drawn.Something inside me recoils from it, like an animal sensing a trap.
I force lines to appear—curving shapes, a woman’s hair turning to smoke, the arc of a crescent above a hollow eye.
Uri hums.Pleased.“Beautiful.”
The compliment tastes wrong.Still, I keep drawing until the page is full and my hand aches.When I hand it to him, his fingers brush mine—too warm, too certain.
“You see?”he murmurs.“The Light can make even the blackest of ink serve a purpose.”
He rolls the parchment, tying it with the white ribbon before tucking it into his robes.“Keep the charcoal and the rest of the paper.Think of it as a small token of my appreciation.I’ll see you shortly.”
He rises, leaning over me as his soft lips brush gently across my forehead.The skin sizzles beneath his touch.He turns to go, but adds over his shoulder, “Be calm during the test, Seren.Mercy is granted to those who deserve it.”
The door closes, the scent of incense lingering in the stagnant air.I look at the charcoal staining my fingers, feeling the weight of a regret I can’t yet name.
Time crawls.Uri’s words circle in my mind.They sound kind, but my shadows stir restlessly, sensing the hook hidden in the bait.
* * *
The door opens,and the curtain on my mind is lifted, leaving the stage bare.
Kael stands there, eyes shadowed, posture crisp.He doesn’t speak as he crosses the threshold and lays out a new set of clothes.He turns his back to give me privacy, the sound of a zipper closing filling the void.
My pendant stares at me from the bedside table.My shadows curl tighter as the silver draws me in.I chance a glance at Kael’s back before I snatch it, locking the clasp and tucking the metal beneath my collar.
“They’re waiting,” he says.His voice is groggy—from sleep or shouting.I can’t tell.
“What exactly are they waiting for?”I ask, though the answer already stirs in my gut.
“Your final evaluation.”
His tone gives nothing away; he sounds almost bored.The chain he carries glints as he steps closer, his eyes never leaving mine.A sharpclickdraws my gaze down to the fresh metal adorning my wrists.A pit of dread opens inside me, threatening to erupt.
We walk in silence through the corridors bright enough to blind.The air hums differently today—charged, expectant.Guards line the hall, their armour burnished until it mirrors the walls.
A sea of browns and creams surrounds us.An army of faceless spectators, their malicious curiosity the only thing visible behind their masks.Their murmurs ring out like a chorus from a perfectly tuned song.
Static energy pricks my skin, making my hair stand on end.I wasn’t expecting an audience.My shadows try to hide between my legs, but they are naked under this light.I look down at my bound hands, feeling exactly like the monster they’ve painted me to be.A perfect rendering of everything they despise.
The murmurs die into a hushed silence as Uri steps from a side passage, cutting us off.
The guards freeze; even Kael’s pace falters.Uri’s robe gleams, crease-less and blinding.His smile peeks out from beneath a gold, winged mask, his deep emerald eyes twinkling through the slits.
“Seren,” he says smoothly.“A word, before you meet with the remaining members of the Triarch.”
Kael’s hand twitches against the chains.“She is under escort…sir.”
“And you are underme,” Uri replies.“A moment will suffice.I do not wish to keep them waiting.”
