Chapter 158 A Mother's Warning

Chapter 158 A Mother's Warning
Seraphine POV

I woke up with my mother’s voice stuck in my head. Not yet. It echoed, wouldn’t let go, even as sunlight spilled through the trees and painted the ground gold. The birds chirped, the fire was dying, everything looked peaceful… but it just didn’t feel real.

Because I kept seeing her, I kept seeing fire. I kept seeing the sadness in her eyes.

My fingers clenched around the silver token in my hand... the one the rebels gave me, the one that used to be hers.

Not yet. Over and over. What was she trying to tell me? Not yet what? Don’t return? Don’t fight? Don’t claim the throne? My mind wouldn’t leave it alone.

“You’re staring at that thing again.”

I jumped. Agora was already awake, slouching across from me, shirt wrinkled, hair a mess. He watched me, just as always.

I looked down at the token. “I had another dream.” He instantly tensed. “What sort of dream?”

I hesitated, then just told him everything. The burning palace, Selene, the look in her eyes, and the words she whispered. When I finished, silence fell.

Agora leaned against a tree, lost in thought. I knew that look. It meant he was trying to solve a problem.

“You think it means something.”

He met my eyes. “Yeah.”

A chill crept up my arms. “Why?”

He just said, “Your visions always mean something.”

My stomach dropped. The jar. The whispers. A baby on a doorstep. The empty throne. The blood that always returned. Every one of my dreams eventually became real. I hated it because it made this one feel even more important.

Agora rubbed his jaw. “Maybe your mother’s trying to tell you something.”

“She’s dead.” The words came out rough. I saw him flinch, but it wasn’t about him. I had hurt myself by saying it.

“I know,” he said gently.

I looked away, wishing it all wasn’t true. Wishing I could wake up and find out Kael wasn’t my father, Selene wasn’t gone, and all this was just a nightmare. But the world didn’t care what I wanted.

Agora stood and held out his hand. “Come on. We should get moving.”

I nodded, but the dream chased me. We walked. Forest turned to roads. Roads into little clusters of houses. With every mile, I thought about Wildfire, and the rebels, and everyone I’d left behind. Guilt sat heavy in my chest.

By midday, we reached a trading town. Agora wanted to rest the horses. I just wanted to stop thinking. But then I saw them... the posters.

I stopped. The market went quiet in my ears. It felt like the ground shifted under my feet. Paper notices nailed everywhere... walls, trees, posts. Dozens. My heart sank. Of course, it was Kael. It had to be him.

I walked toward the nearest one, slow and careful, as it might bite. I read the words.

WARNING TO ALL ALLIED PACKS  
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE DISCOVERED IN WILDFIRE AFFAIRS  
ALPHA AGORA OF CRIMSON PACK HAS BEEN FOUND COLLABORATING WITH EXTREMIST REBEL FACTIONS.  
A young woman claiming royal heritage has been manipulated into supporting anti-government activities.  
Wildfire citizens are urged to report rebel sympathizers immediately.  
Traitors will be prosecuted.

My hands started shaking. No. No, no, no. I kept staring at the posters. Each one told the same story... Kael’s story. The lies were already spreading.

Agora appeared beside me. His jaw clenched. “Don’t read them.” Too late. The words burned into my mind... manipulated, extremist, traitors, anti-government. The rebels weren’t heroes anymore. Now they were terrorists.

People were reading the notices, whispering, believing them. Kael’s story would always come first. My stomach twisted.

“He did it,” I whispered.

Agora’s face was grim. “Of course he did.”

“He changed everything.” My voice cracked. “He changed the story. He made us the villains.”

A few merchants glanced our way. I lowered my voice. Panic had already set in.

“What if people believe him?” Agora didn’t answer, and that scared me more than anything he could have said. Because people would believe Kael. People with power.

The truth suddenly felt tiny and breakable.

We left the marketplace fast. Neither of us said much. The posters hung over every town, every road. Kael was moving fast, faster than I expected.

By evening, I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. We stopped by a river. Sunlight flickered across the water... beautiful, peaceful, wasted on me. I sat near the shoreline, falling apart. Agora sat by me quietly.

He finally asked, “What are you afraid of?”

His question broke whatever control I had left. I laughed, bitter. “What am I not afraid of?” My voice shook.

“He killed my mother.” I could barely say it. “He’s my father. I abandoned Wildfire. The rebels are being hunted.” I looked at him through tears. “And now he’s changing the truth.” The words just sort of fell apart.

“What if nobody ever finds out what happened?” My voice sounded small, cracking at the edges. Agora’s expression softened, but I barely noticed.

“And what if everyone just believes him?” I hated how desperate I sounded. I hated how helpless I felt. For months, I’d clawed for answers, risking more than I want to admit just to drag the truth to light. Now, it was finally there, and Kael was shoveling it under a pile of lies.

“It isn’t fair.” It sounded childish. Honestly, I almost laughed, but it was true. None of this was fair.

Agora reached for my hand. I didn’t pull away. His thumb moved slowly and gently over my knuckles.

“The truth doesn’t disappear,” he said.

I stared at him. “It does.”

He shook his head. His voice didn’t budge. “No. The truth survives.”

I looked away, eyes on the river sliding quietly past. “Not always.”

“Yes,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Maybe not today.” Flowing water. Cool, constant. “And maybe not tomorrow.” Still, there was no doubt in his voice. “But eventually.”

My throat tightened. “How are you so sure?”

He tried to smile. It came out tired and a little bit sad, but real. “Because lies are exhausting. You have to keep patching them up.”

I blinked at him, wincing. “What do you mean?”

Agora nodded toward the water. “The truth just is. It waits. Kael has to work, nonstop, to keep the lie alive.” He nudged my hand. “It’s like playing defense with no finish line.”

Slowly, it settled in. “He can never stop lying.”

Agora nodded again. “Every day, for as long as he needs the lie.”

I let out a long breath. For the first time in hours, maybe all day, I felt something ease inside me. Not fixed... not even close, but at least… not so alone.

Without thinking, I leaned my head on his shoulder. The river kept flowing. Night spilled in, cool and dark, and stars blinked out above us.

For a moment, I almost felt at peace.

Then the sound of hoofbeats tore it all away.

Agora moved fast, hand flying to his weapon. I got up too, heart banging against my ribs.

A rider broke out of the shadows... a rebel scout, the one who had smuggled us out of Wildfire. Both he and his horse looked wrecked.

He dismounted and I knew, just from his face, that something was very wrong. Sweat shone on his pale forehead.

Agora stepped up. “What happened?”

The scout swallowed, met my eyes.

My stomach twisted. “Kael has started arrests.”

I felt the world lurch under me. “What?”

His mouth pinched with guilt. “They’ve started sweeping the villages.”

A chill ran straight through me. “The rebels?”

He nodded.

I didn’t want to hear anymore. “How many?”

“We don’t know.” His voice broke. “But dozens have already disappeared.”

The night pressed in colder and heavier. I thought of the old woman who’d given me Selene’s token, of the rebel leader, of the villagers who’d knelt and called me Princess. All the ones I’d left behind.

Tears burned my eyes. This time, nothing... no quiet words, no hand, nothing, could stop them.