Chapter 10: The Weight of Betrayal
The wind howled through Whisperwood as Lyra and Kael made their way back to town, their minds burdened by what they had uncovered. The sky was a dull, sickly gray, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something older something rotten.
Lyra's thoughts were a tangled mess. Oran had been part of the curse, but he had also resisted it. What had he refused to do? What had the town demanded of him?
And if he had truly failed to break the curse, what did that mean for her?
As they neared the town square, the streets felt emptier than usual. The few people they passed avoided their gaze, their faces pale, their eyes darting toward the shadows as if expecting something to emerge.
"They know something's coming," Kael muttered.
Lyra tightened her grip on the dagger at her hip. "Then we need to move fast."
---
They returned to the inn, where Lyra sat at the worn wooden table in her room, tracing the symbols in her notebook. She had copied them from the altar in the repository, but the more she studied them, the more they seemed to shift, as though they were alive.
Kael leaned against the doorframe, watching her. "You should rest."
Lyra scoffed. "Resting isn't going to break this curse."
Kael's expression darkened. "No, but pushing yourself too far might get you killed."
She met his gaze, something unspoken passing between them. He was worried whether for her or for himself, she couldn't tell.
Before she could respond, a sharp knock at the door made them both tense.
Lyra rose, hand on her dagger, and opened it.
An old woman stood in the hallway, her face lined with deep wrinkles, her eyes milky with age but there was something sharp in them, something that cut through the haze of time.
"You're Oran's girl," she said. It wasn't a question.
Lyra stiffened. "Who are you?"
The woman ignored the question. "You're walking the same path he did. Looking for answers in the dark."
Lyra hesitated. "Did you know him?"
The woman let out a bitter laugh. "I was there when they turned on him. When they made him choose."
A cold dread settled in Lyra's stomach. "Choose what?"
The woman's gaze flickered to Kael before settling back on Lyra. "Come with me, and I'll show you."
---
The woman led them through the twisting backstreets of Whisperwood, past crumbling houses and alleys choked with ivy.
They finally stopped in front of a small, unassuming house. The windows were boarded up, the door slightly ajar. The woman stepped inside without hesitation, and Lyra and Kael followed.
Inside, the air was stale, heavy with dust and time. The woman moved to the fireplace, reaching into the stonework and pulling loose a brick. Behind it, a bundle of old parchment lay hidden.
She handed it to Lyra. "Oran wrote this the night before he vanished."
Lyra unrolled the parchment, her breath catching as she recognized Oran's handwriting.
To whoever finds this,
I have failed.
I thought I could save them. I thought I could break the curse. But I was wrong.
The town's elders the ones who sought the Hollow Saint's power they were willing to do what I was not. They called it a sacrifice. A necessity. But I saw the truth.
They were never trying to break the curse.
They were trying to pass it on.
The curse demands a vessel. A blood price.
And they wanted me to take his place.
I refused.
But I know now that refusal is not enough. The curse is patient. It waits. And one day, it will find another.
If you are reading this, then it has chosen you.
I am sorry.
The words blurred before Lyra's eyes as the weight of them settled on her chest.
Oran had been meant to take the Hollow Saint's place. When he refused, the town had turned on him. And now… now it was her turn.
She looked up at the old woman, her throat dry. "Who are you?"
The woman's lips curled into something between a smile and a grimace.
"My name is Elira," she said. "And I was the one who led Oran to his fate."
Kael's hand moved toward his weapon, but Elira raised a wrinkled hand. "I did not kill him," she said. "But I did lead him to the altar, believing it was the only way to save the town. He refused. And when he did... he disappeared."
Lyra's hands clenched into fists. "Where?"
Elira shook her head. "No one knows. Some say the Hollow Saint took him. Others say he fled before the curse could claim him. But I do know this if you do not finish what Oran started, Whisperwood will not let you leave."
Kael cursed under his breath. "Then we need to find out what really happened to him."
Elira's gaze darkened. "Be careful what you seek, child. Oran's path ended in the dark. Yours may end the same."
Lyra met her gaze, the fire inside her burning brighter than ever.
"Then I'll walk into the dark."