Chapter 56

My new quarters in the palace were nothing like I expected. Draped in silks that shimmered with stardust, walls etched with runes only the Ancients could read, and windows that opened to the constellations—it should have felt like home.

But it didn’t.

Not yet.

I stood on the balcony as the sun rose over the eastern cliffs of the Fairy Kingdom, bathing the valley below in gold. Kinsey joined me in silence, her hair braided with ivy and pearl.

"Do you feel it too?" I asked.

She nodded slowly. "Something's shifting."

The earth felt... tense. Like the land itself held its breath.

"Mother said the Prophets would be arriving today. The ones who remember the first war," I said.

"And they might know what Ravana’s next move will be," Kinsey added.

Before I could answer, Adrian appeared in the doorway, his usual calm now edged with urgency.

"They’re here," he said.

The Council of Prophets were not what I expected.

There were four of them. Each older than time itself—fairies, yes, but marked by the universe. Eyes like galaxies. Skin like parchment. Magic that pulsed in the room like the rhythm of the world.

One stepped forward. Her voice was both song and thunder.

"The One Who Bears the Crown also bears the Veil."

I blinked. "What veil?"

"The Veil of Truth. Bestowed to the bearer of both Ancient and Fairy magic. It lies dormant until the world needs clarity. You, child, must unearth it."

Kinsey looked to me, worried. Adrian took a half step closer.

"Where do I find it?"

"Within the Grove of Mirrors," another Prophet said. "But beware. Truth does not always show what you seek. It shows what is hidden. Even from yourself."

Later That Night

The Grove was deep inside the Kingdom’s heart—a place untouched by war, magic, or time. Adrian insisted on coming, though the Prophets warned I must walk the final path alone.

The forest opened like a breath, and there it was:

A clearing of mirrors. Tall, ancient, and glowing.

I stepped inside.

Reflections danced. Not of me, but of others.

Diondre, a child, kneeling before the Demon King.

My mother, crying beside a cradle.

Adrian, bloodied, facing a figure cloaked in shadow—a wolf with eyes like fire.

And then—

Me.

But not the me I knew.

I was cloaked in black flame. Eyes glowing violet. Crown shattered. Floating above a ruined kingdom. Magic twisted around my limbs like serpents.

"This... is what I become?"

A whisper echoed:

Not unless you lie to yourself.

The mirror cracked.

And from it—

A veil of starlight unfurled, floating into my hands.

The Veil of Truth.

Behind me, the ground trembled.

Adrian yelled my name.

I turned—just in time to see the first tear rip open the sky.

Ravana had made his move.

And the war was no longer coming.

It was here.