The air smelled faintly of flowers and freshly fallen leaves. There was a pulse in the atmosphere of pure magic. A lively beat that vibrated through the walls and floor like a pulsating heart of warmth, which enveloped her body, leaving her spirit calm.
Irelia suddenly opened her eyes.
Her chest was heaving. She gasped, like someone gasping for air after nearly drowning, her eyes quickly scanning the ceiling adorned with golden threads of living energy, ribs that moved smoothly across the stones like veins of light. The room wasn't dark, but it wasn't lit in the normal way either. It was as if the light itself was... breathable.
"Where..." she murmured, but her voice came out low, hoarse, as if she had been shouting for days.
She sat up suddenly, the instinct to defend herself taking over. Her hands were shaking, her eyes wide. The last memories were fragments of pain... cold claws, tight bonds, the sensation of being torn apart from the inside out by magic out of control.
She pulled at the blankets covering her, as if she needed to confirm that it was still real.
And then... it stopped.
Her eyes fell on her arms. His legs.
Perfect.
There were no cuts. No bruises. No magical burns or cracks.
The skin was clean, smooth - as if nothing had happened. As if it had all been a cruel nightmare.
She swallowed, bringing her hands to her face, then to her chest. Her heart was still beating fast, like an alarm drum, but her body... her body was whole.
"This doesn't make sense..." she whispered to herself, her voice laced with uncertainty.
But before she could fully stand up, a warm, soft energy slid through the room, like an enchanted wind. Something moved in the shadows - not as a threat, but as a presence.
The magic there was familiar. Almost maternal.
Irelia turned her head towards the entrance to the room and felt that she was not alone.
Irelia barely had time to turn completely around when she noticed a figure in the shadows of the corridor illuminated by the magical light that pulsed through the place. A tall man with hair as red as living fire was watching her with an intensity that made her freeze in place.
She tried to shake off her fear, tried to remember, but the truth was clear: she had no idea who he was.
"You really don't recognize him?" his voice sounded, hoarse, almost amused, breaking the heavy silence.
The man's gaze was penetrating, as if he could read every fragment of her fear and confusion.
Amelia felt her heart racing, her whole body trembling. Who was he? And why did that question seem to carry a certainty that she didn't have?
"Who... who are you?" her voice came out almost as a whisper, tense.
He took a step forward, revealing more of his imposing presence.
"Really?" Kael laughed, his voice low and with a hint of sarcasm. "They hit you so hard, Irelia, that Master Adalric is going to freak when he finds out you've lost your memory."
As he spoke, a slight tremor ran through his body - a sign of fatigue hidden beneath the mask of strength.
Irelia blinked, confused and frightened.
"K-Kael?" She stammered, her voice almost a shaky whisper. "I... slept for ten years?"
It made sense - after all, her wounds were completely healed, as if time had stopped for her.
Kael gave a slight smile, but there was a weight to his words.
"Hm? Actually, it was I who aged ten years because of the Witch Queen's magic." He spoke as if it were the most trivial detail in the world. "I was forced to endure it. I was dying. I needed a stronger body to carry on."
Irelia looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
She ran one hand through her blonde hair, gently tugging at a strand - just to make sure she was awake, that this wasn't a dream.
"AII!" She shouted, pulling the strand too hard.
Kael let out a deep laugh, which reverberated in the room like a familiar, unsettling echo. Slowly, he raised his hand, and a green energy, warm and soft, began to wrap around Irelia's arm. The pain she was feeling disappeared completely, replaced by an almost magical comfort.
"Don't hurt yourself," he said, with a rare, almost paternal smile.
Irelia blinked, still trying to take in the situation.
"What happened?" her voice came out weak, full of uncertainty.
Kael looked up, gloomy.
"I made a massacre in Azalith," he replied, his voice firm, laden with a controlled coldness. "Once again, they tried to attack Sylphie. But it wasn't just that... it was personal revenge." He paused, letting the weight of the words hang in the air. "Those who attacked you and Amelia at the same time... they paid with their lives."
A crooked smile appeared on his lips, laden with a bitter mixture of pain and cold determination. "I killed them all."
Silence fell, heavy, almost cutting.
She broke the silence, her voice low, firm: "Where are we?"
Kael cast a quick glance around before answering, an equally crooked smile curving his lips: "In the infirmary of the Royal Knights, of the Witches' Royal Guard. You're in the Witch Queen's domain... or rather, my grandmother's."
She frowned, a slight hint of apprehension appearing in her eyes. "What about my uncle? Does he know I'm here?"
Kael replied with a firm nod, his face full of seriousness. seaʀᴄh thё NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Yes, he's here too."
A dense silence filled the room, filled with unspoken words and mysteries that hung in the air, waiting for the right moment to emerge.
The door to the infirmary opened silently, revealing a young woman wearing the impeccable uniform of the royal healers. Her steps were light, almost floating, as if she feared disturbing the fragile silence of that sacred enclosure. She walked over to Kael, who stood beside the bed, watching Irelia with a tense, watchful expression.
When she reached him, the nurse bowed respectfully, her head lowered in deference.
"Your Majesty," she said in a soft but firm voice, showing both respect and the assurance of someone used to the responsibility of caring for the most powerful. "Miss, you need to take a bath. It's necessary for her to regain her strength and relieve her accumulated fatigue. I'm here to help you with that, as well as continuing your medical treatment."
Kael nodded slowly, his gaze revealing the complex mixture of feelings he was carrying - relief, concern, and the need to delegate care to someone who really understood the weight of the task.
"Very well," he replied, his voice carrying a serious, careful tone. "I'll check on the others. I trust you'll take care of her with all the necessary zeal."
She smiled, a delicate, almost maternal gesture that brought a little comfort to the tense atmosphere.
"It's all right, Your Majesty. She's in good hands."
The nurse turned gracefully, approaching Irelia, who still lay motionless, her eyes still bearing the pain and fatigue of everything she had been through.
"I'll ask your uncle to come here in a little while, just rest for now. I know it's strange to see me like this." Kael smiled. Irelia didn't speak, just nodded quietly and he walked out the door.
He left her behind and went for a walk.
Kael walked slowly through the wide, silent corridors of the palace, where magical crystals hung from the ceiling, casting a cold, bluish light that reflected off the walls adorned with ancient tapestries. The air was charged, imbued with an almost palpable tension - the weight of the recent massacre seemed to cling to every stone and shadow. Their footsteps echoed rhythmically, firmly, like the beat of an irrevocable sentence.
Suddenly, without warning, a presence was heard behind him - decisive, precise footsteps, keeping pace with his own.
"They've all been eliminated," Exelia's voice cut through the silence with a ruthless calm, laden with authority. She approached, holding out a parchment sealed with the emblem of the Royal Guard. "Those who surrendered were unlucky. They were tortured - not out of gratuitous cruelty, but to ensure that the message was clear and lasting. In Azalith, we counted thirty seriously wounded and twelve dead. Among them, students from the noble clans of the Human Empire."
Kael paused for a moment, looking at the report. A short, ironic smile formed on his lips, laden with that dry humor that only he had.
"Now you look so respectable, almost... imposing," he teased, casting a glance at Exelia, who kept her expression serious and unwavering. "But tell me, when I was teaching you, you were nothing but a real madwoman - impulsive, reckless. Almost a walking disaster."
Exelia laughed, a clear, sincere sound that filled the corridor, dispelling the gravity of the atmosphere for a moment.
"Ah, well..." she replied with a mischievous smile, her eyes twinkling. "Work aside, our hierarchical system has its peculiarities - here, madness and discipline aren't opposites, they're sides of the same coin. Sometimes we need a bit of both to keep everything under control."
Kael shook his head, amused by the answer. "That explains a lot."
They both resumed walking, their steps steady and synchronized. The silence between them was no longer tense, but full of that camaraderie forged in battles and challenges.
"Let's find out who started this whole mess," Exelia said, her voice now carrying an unwavering determination. "I have strong indications that the Magical Underworld is involved. No one would invest with such brutality without a deep motivation - and there are certainly powerful interests behind it."
"I see... I'll talk to Adalric and ask him about some factions. Curiously, they wanted to kidnap the elf princess, but they only hurt humans..." Kael muttered and Exelia noticed...
No demi-humans, dwarves, witches, vampires or werewolves... not even elves... just... humans?...
"There's something wrong." She said.
"Yes, let's find out."
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