Chapter 34

Masks and mirrors.

The night was thick with the smell of smoke and the sting of betrayal. I stood at the edge of the old library tower, high above Edenfall, where the wind whistled through the broken spires.

I sent the message two hours ago.

Come alone. Bring nothing but the truth.

Now, Alec Morien stepped through the door like a man heading to his own funeral.

He didn’t wear a jacket, didn’t carry any weapons, just a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his eyes as unreadable as ever.

“You summoned me like a criminal,” he said.

You are one.

His gaze didn’t waver. “Then charge me.”

I moved closer, feeling the bloodstone pendant against my throat glow softly in the candlelight. You played both sides. Fed me maps, whispers, and names.

But they were never gifts, were they?

He tilted his head. “You think I lied?”

I think you calculated. Every move, every truth. You made me rely on you.

Silence hung heavy in the air.

Then he let out a soft laugh. “You’re not wrong.”

He strolled to the edge of the room, leaning casually against the archway, seemingly unfazed by my anger.

“I did calculate. Every truth I gave you was something you could have found on your own. I just made sure you found it faster.”

But why? I pressed. To control me?

“To prepare you.”

His eyes locked onto mine. “Because the court doesn’t fear fire. It fears control. And someone like you. untrained, emotional, you would’ve been swallowed whole.”

My breath caught in my throat.

You were never going to betray me?

“I was never loyal to them.”

He took a step closer, moving slowly and deliberately.

“I’ve spent ten years dodging the watcher’s lies. I kept your name off the ash lists. I messed with the ledger that could've led them to Lara. And yeah, I was the one who sent you that warning about the ceremony.”

I turned away, pacing. So, you were playing the long game.

He stepped in closer, his voice dropping. “We both are.”

I glanced back, locking eyes with him. And what game are we playing now?

He didn’t smile, but something in him shifted. It felt softer, more unspoken.

“You want the court to burn. I want it to change. You see enemies; I see tools. If we don’t join forces, if we don’t learn to twist the system, it’ll snap you in half.”

I don’t want to twist. “Then, we’ll create a new one.”

He pulled a small, black key from his pocket. Ancient and worn.

“Take this. It opens the vault beneath the watcher’s chambers. Inside, you’ll find proof of how your mother died. Not the story they fed the court.”

My fingers brushed the key as he placed it in my hand. Why now? I whispered.

“Because once you know the truth, you’ll never forgive me or the court again.”

I waited until dawn before heading out. The watcher’s wing was deserted. Way too quiet.

Dressed as a servant, I slipped through side corridors, navigating a blind spot only Lara and Kain had shown me. Each step felt like a breath stolen from danger.

The vault was hidden beneath a false floor, a trapdoor concealed under the war table. I used the key Alec had given me.

Then I descended into the darkness. It was colder than I thought it would be.

Damp.

Only the soft glow of arcane crystals illuminated the stone walls. In the center of the vault stood a pedestal with a single sealed document on top.

It wasn’t stamped with Edenfall’s crest but with Maria Durate’s personal sigil.

My hands trembled as I opened it.

The truth hit me like a storm. Maria hadn’t been tried for treason.

She was executed in secret. They reported her death as a suicide.

The watcher orchestrated the cover-up. Silas Graymoor forged the charges. The council signed off, but only after being blackmailed with fake evidence.

And Varek, the general who delayed the execution?

He was the only one who actually tried to stop it.

My mother’s final act was to protect my identity and flee. But the betrayal came too swiftly, too broadly. There was never a chance.

I sank to my knees. It wasn’t just murder. It was a massacre of legacy.

That night, I met Damian in the cathedral ruins beyond the north wall. This was where Edenfall’s kings were crowned, and where, once, my mother had sworn in as the people's commander.

Damian stood silently as I handed him the documents.

He read them, and when he finished, his knuckles were white.

“They buried her in ash,” he said. “They burned her name.”

My eyes glistened. Then we carve it in fire.

He nodded once. “What’s next?”

We gather the Ashborn. We bring in Varek. He owes a debt to the Duarte bloodline.

“And Alec?” I hesitated.

My mind was torn. One had seen my strategy; the other felt like a deception.

“Keep him close,” I said. “If he’s loyal, we need him. If he’s not…”

My voice sharpened.

I want to be the one who ends him.

Two days later, the rebellion began. Not with blood.

But with truth.

I released my mother’s files.sealed records, hidden transcripts, and council signatures through encrypted channels to every family in Edenfall.

By dawn, the court was ablaze. Not with torches, but with questions.

And behind those questions?

Fear.