Chapter 126: Soul Death
Evaline:
The night wind was carrying the faintest scent of lavender and earth as I sat silently on the old stone bench, nestled in the farthest, most forgotten corner of the Academy’s grounds. The garden surrounding us was wild and secretive, like nature’s hidden sanctuary. It was a quiet, overgrown escape that seemed untouched by the rest of the world.
The only light illuminating the space was coming from the moon above - soft, cold, and silver. It was hanging low in the sky, nearly full, casting ghostly beams through the branches overhead. Its glow painted everything in shades of white and blue. As I tilted my head to stare up at it, a strange calm settled over me.
Another full moon was near.
Next to me, Kieran was sitting in complete silence with his elbows resting on his knees and his head slightly lowered. He hadn’t spoken a word since we left the underground chambers. He simply guided me through the twisting paths of the Academy without explanation, and brought me here.
I didn’t argue. I didn’t even ask where we were going.
And now, I was sitting quietly beside him, despite the storm of questions brewing inside me. Questions that were clawing against the back of my throat, demanding answers - about the man in the bed, about that place deep beneath the Academy, and about what really was going on.
But something about Kieran’s posture stopped me from voicing them. There was a weight in his silence I had never seen before. He was looking less like the controlled, calculating leader I knew and more like someone quietly unraveling.
His calm had cracks.
And now that I was close enough to really see them, I realized something that sent a shiver down my spine - behind all the power and composure, behind the warm walls he always wore like armor, Kieran Thorne had been fighting battles I couldn’t begin to understand.
The faint sound of metal against cloth drew my eyes downward.