Chapter 113 -Avianna-

Chapter 113 -Avianna-
\-Avianna-

The world rushes back all at once. The stone beneath my feet… The High Priestess's chambers… My own heartbeat… I stagger, catching myself against the edge of the table before my knees can completely give out.

I can still feel Caylix, the tether hums steadily between us, I'm just no longer seeing through his eyes.

King Erik is the first to break the silence. "Tell me everything."

I draw a slow breath, trying to steady my racing heart.

"It wasn't Elise."

Four pairs of eyes lock onto me.

"It was... an older woman."

I close my eyes, replaying the memory exactly as I'd seen it.

"Grey hair. She was standing in another room connected to where Caylix had gone. She had a spell book open..."

I swallow.

"She recited something."

My voice grows quieter.

"And then I watched her become Queen Lenora."

The room falls deathly silent.

King Alexander slowly lowers himself into a chair.

"You're certain?"

I nod immediately.

"I watched every part of it. Her face changed. Her voice. Her hair. Everything."

Erik hasn't moved, his eyes remain fixed on the floor, as though he's trying to reconcile the woman he'd spent thirteen years grieving beside with the one I'd just described.

Agameus is the first to speak.

"Did she know you were there?"

I blink.

"No."

Everyone looks at me again.

I frown, thinking back. "She never reacted to me."

The High Priestess leans forward. "Explain."

"When Elise saw me before..." I say slowly. "She looked directly at me. She spoke to me."

I shiver at the memory.

"She called me 'Curious little Queen.'"

The room remains silent.

"But this woman never looked at me, she looked only at Caylix and she never even acknowledged me."

Agameus exchanges a thoughtful glance with the High Priestess.

"Interesting."

Alexander looks between them.

"What does that mean?"

The High Priestess folds her hands together.

"It means Elise sensed the vision itself."

She looks at me.

"This woman did not. So whatever power Elise now possesses, this woman doesn’t have it."

A pulse brushes softly against my thoughts.

Caylix.

We're safe.

Relief floods through me.

"They are safe," I say immediately.

Erik's head lifts.

"He found somewhere beneath the palace."

His thoughts flood the tether. The chamber, the statues, the history… 

I know this is crazy, Avi, but I feel like this room recognizes me. 

I smile.

Nothing is crazy to me anymore, Caylix. 

He laughs. 

I suppose you are right, my love. 

"He's in some sort of chamber beneath the mountain."

I pause, listening.

"No… It's beneath the palace."

I repeat exactly as Caylix described it to me.

Erik nods. "The Hall. I stood there the day I was crowned."

A faint smile touches his lips.

"Every King of Veylan stands there."

I glance toward him.

"He says..." I pause, listening again.

"...your statue is there."

Erik lets out a quiet breath.

"My father insisted I visit the Hall before every major decision."

“Caylix says your reign is not over yet, father.” I relay, smiling.

He smiles back. “You’re right, it’s not. Now, Avianna, when did you learn to include others in your visions?” 

I blink.

"I didn't mean to."

"I know." The High Priestess smiles gently. "You weren't trying."

I look down at my hands.

"I just… I grabbed King Erik. Everything happened so quickly. I wanted him to see what I was seeing."

Agameus lets out a soft laugh of disbelief.

"And somehow… You did. I've spent decades studying magical bonds."

He shakes his head.

"I've never seen one shared, not like that."

King Alexander folds his arms.

"So Avianna can now allow others to witness her visions?"

"I don't know," the High Priestess admits.

"But today..." She smiles at me. "...the prophecy taught us something new."

Silence settles over the room once more. Then another thought brushes across the tether.

Is Father alright?

The words catch in my throat.

I look toward Erik.

"He wants to know if you're alright."

Erik doesn’t respond right away. Finally, he lets out a slow breath.

"Tell him..."

His voice is rough.

"...I'm grateful he left. If he'd stayed..."

His eyes close briefly.

"...he would have died."

I pass the words gently back through the tether. Warmth answers almost immediately.

Then Alexander speaks.

"If that woman wasn't truly Queen Lenora..."

He looks around the room.

"...then where is she?"

No one answers, because none of us knows.

Agameus folds his arms.

"We can't rule anything out. The exchange could have happened thirteen years ago, or just days ago."

I nod.

"That's what I was thinking. We can't assume we know when this happened."

Everyone nods. Everyone… Except Erik.

He slowly shakes his head.

"I understand why you're considering it."

His voice is quiet.

"But something doesn't fit."

We all turn toward him. He stares at nothing for several moments.

"When Alaric disappeared..."

His jaw tightens.

"...my wife changed overnight."

The words hang heavily in the air.

"I remember thinking grief had hollowed her out."

His expression grows distant.

"She stopped laughing, stopped singing."

A sad smile flickers across his face.

"She barely spoke. I told myself everyone grieves differently."

Alexander watches him carefully.

"You thought she'd lost herself."

Erik nods once.

"I thought I'd lost my wife..." He swallows hard. "...without actually losing her."

Silence. Alexander is the first to break it.

"If another woman has been acting as Queen..."

His voice grows thoughtful.

"...then every treaty she's signed… Every law, every council meeting, every decision… Do we question all of it?"

Erik is already shaking his head.

"No."

We all look at him.

He still stares at the floor, his expression distant.

"No..."

His voice is barely above a whisper.

"Lenora stopped ruling thirteen years ago."

The room stills. He swallows.

"She withdrew from everything. The council, the people, even..."

His voice catches.

"...our family."

He closes his eyes.

"I handled almost every decision after that. She attended when appearances demanded it..."

He lets out a slow breath.

"...but she was never truly there."

His jaw tightens as a heavy silence settles over the room.

"If that's true..." Agameus says as he looks toward Erik. "...then perhaps grief never changed her."

"You think Alaric wasn't the only one taken." Alexander adds.

No one answers. Because suddenly… The possibility hangs between us.

The High Priestess speaks softly.

"If the real Lenora disappeared the same night as Alaric, then the kingdom never noticed."

I feel my stomach twist.

Alexander says quietly, "One thing we do know though...we're no longer hunting one witch."

"No." The High Priestess's expression hardens. "We're hunting two."

Silence falls again. Alexander begins pacing.

"We need answers."

Agameus looks thoughtfully at me.

"Yes… but…"

His eyes shift toward the High Priestess.

"What we need… is another vision."

The High Priestess slowly nods.

"This time, Avianna, don't follow Caylix."

She holds my gaze.

"Find the woman."

I swallow. "You think I can?"

"I think," she says softly, "the prophecy has been trying to show you the truth for weeks."

She glances toward the fading mark beneath my sleeve.

"Perhaps… It simply needed you to know where to look."