The Thorns That Whisper Her Name
---
Darkness clung to the air like a mourning shroud.
Kael stumbled out from the Trial of Reflection, his clothes torn, his blade cracked, and the pendant around his neck dimmed to a pale grey. He had survived but barely. His hands were bloodied, not just by battle, but by truth.
The image of Lireen no, the Thornborn copy still haunted him. She had disappeared in a burst of black feathers as soon as the trial ended, her laughter echoing like a curse.
> "You say you love her," she had whispered. "Then suffer like she did."
Kael didn't know what that meant. But the message was clear: Lireen was suffering. And he was running out of time.
---
The road out of Velcrest was long and silent.
The forest refused to speak. The wind refused to howl. Even the birds dared not sing.
But Kael walked on. One step. Then another.
He didn't stop until night fell. And when it did, he collapsed near a dying campfire beside a river bend. There, a stranger was already waiting.
A man in a silver hood. Eyes blindfolded. But his smile… knowing.
> "You found one feather," the man said. "But you still lack two more."
Kael sat up, wary. "Who are you?"
> "A messenger. Nothing more. Nothing less."
> "Did you know Lireen?"
The man chuckled softly.
> "I knew the girl. I know the woman. And I weep for what she'll become."
> "Then help me save her."
> "No one can save what has already been sacrificed."
Kael stood, blade in hand. "I will."
The man tilted his head.
> "Then find the second feather. It lies within a prison—not of bars, but of duty. Go north. To the noble lands."
Then the man vanished.
---
Morning came with no answers. But Kael had a direction. And that was enough.
He passed through quiet towns where his name was whispered like an omen. He stayed only long enough to resupply before heading north, toward House Velmira one of the royal families of the old kingdom.
But danger came faster than he expected.
Three days before reaching the estate, Kael was ambushed.
Riders in black. Cloaked in symbols of a forgotten sect. Eyes glowing with artificial light.
> "You were not meant to pass the ruin," one of them hissed. "You are out of place."
Kael raised his blade.
> "I wasn't meant to live, either. Yet here I am."
The battle was swift. And brutal.
Kael was stronger now. Faster. Driven.
But he wasn't untouchable.
A dagger grazed his ribs. A blow shattered the edge of his weapon.
Yet he stood.
> "I don't care what your Order believes. I'll find her. Even if I have to burn every throne you hide behind."
His voice roared through the trees. And for the first time in days, the wind howled back.
---
He didn't stop until he reached the hill overlooking Velmira Estate.
A mansion of marble and white stone. Silent. Guarded.
Inside, Lireen's fate waited.
And so did the second feather.
Kael looked to the sky. Then to his bloodstained hands.
> "I'm coming, Lireen. Just hold on."
---
🔹Chapter Highlight Teaser : Kael survives the Trial of Reflection but is warned that Lireen is suffering a fate worse than death. With only one feather in hand, he travels north to the noble lands, hunted by a hidden sect and haunted by visions of sacrifice. In the shadows of House Velmira, truth and betrayal await.
Next: Chapter 21 – "The Cage Woven by Nobility"
---
📌 Teaser Recap:
> Kael survives the Trial of Reflection but is warned that Lireen is suffering a fate worse than death. With only one feather in hand, he travels north to the noble lands, hunted by a hidden sect and haunted by visions of sacrifice. In the shadows of House Velmira, truth and betrayal await.
---