Chapter 14: The Name They Buried
Kael's breath was ragged, his hands trembling as if he could still feel the fire licking at his skin, still hear the screams that had long since turned to echoes.
Lyra stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in. His sister.
She gritted her teeth. "What was her name?"
Kael's gaze snapped to hers, his expression raw. He opened his mouth then hesitated. His jaw clenched.
"I… I don't know."
Lyra felt something cold curl in her stomach.
The curse hadn't just taken her.
It had taken her name.
They combed through the ruins, searching for something anything that might tell them the truth. But there was nothing left except soot and silence.
Until Kael stopped.
His fingers brushed against something half-buried in the ash a piece of metal, blackened but not destroyed. He lifted it carefully, and Lyra saw what it was.
A pendant.
It had once been beautiful, the silver filigree delicate, the gemstone in its center now cracked. And on the back
A carving.
A name.
Kael traced the letters with shaking fingers. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Seren."
The name fell into the air like a stone into deep water, sending ripples through the silence.
Kael let out a sharp breath, as if the word itself hurt. His body tensed, memories slamming into him all at once.
Seren.
His sister.
The girl the town had sacrificed.
Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder, grounding him. "She was real."
Kael's grip on the pendant tightened. "They erased her." His voice was low, filled with something dark. "Like they erased me."
He turned to Lyra, his eyes burning. "Why? Why her?"
Lyra exhaled. "There's only one way to find out."
The town had lied. They had buried Kael's past, Seren's past, and reshaped the story to suit their own ends.
But Whisperwood had made a fatal mistake.
They had let Kael live.
And now, he remembered.
Lyra met his gaze. "It's time we make them tell the truth."