Chapter 5 A Kingdom of Lies

Rael's POV

The fire crackled low beside us, a quiet reminder of the truth I couldn't say aloud.

Kaela was curled across from me, arms wrapped around her knees, staring up at the moon. That cursed moon. The same one I'd watched bleed crimson on the night my mother died. The same one that appeared in every Spirit prophecy-every warning.

And now the girl they claimed was the Moon Shard was sitting inches from me, talking to me like I was just another wanderer on the road. Not the Fire Prince sent to end her.

I had to remind myself that this was war. That my kingdom had bled. That my father had buried the queen with cold fury in his heart and vengeance in mine. But then she'd laugh-soft, uncertain-and something in me wavered.

I didn't expect her to be... this. Fierce but gentle. Power hidden beneath guilt and confusion. She was beautiful, yes. But that wasn't it. It was the way she listened like your words mattered. The way she kept trying to save strangers even when she couldn't save herself.

The Moon Shard was supposed to be a monster in human skin. A threat to the balance. A bringer of ruin.

This girl endured just to make it through the day.

She noticed my staring once again because she spoke without turning her gaze.

I blinked, caught. "Just thinking."

"You do that a lot."

"It's safer than speaking."

That got a smile out of her. "Now that I believe."

Her face appeared faintly illuminated by the light of the flames. Her eyes searched mine, hesitant. "Ash... can I ask you something?"

I stiffened. Ash. The name I gave her, borrowed from the embers of my old self. I hated the lie now. But it was too late to undo it.

"Of course."

She hesitated, then asked softly, "Do you think people can be born evil?"

I felt the question like a blade. Not just for her-maybe for both of us.

"No," I said after a pause. "I think people become what they're taught. Or broken into something else."

She was quiet for a long time. Then whispered, "I remember things I shouldn't. Places that don't exist. A boy with fire in his hands. A temple... burning."

I became aware of my hair standing on end.

She remained confused about the meaning behind the noises and consistently began crying upon waking up. "But when I wake up, I'm crying."

I looked at her and for a terrifying second-I saw her. Not the girl in front of me. But the woman from the vision crystal. Cloaked in light and shadow, standing over my mother's body. I forced it down.

"You're not evil, Kaela."

"How would you know?"

"Because you care. Monsters don't care."

She looked away, jaw clenched. I hated how easily her pain shook me. Hated how I no longer wanted to finish the mission.

We sat in silence for a while, until the fire died to coals.

I couldn't sleep. Couldn't forget the message waiting in my cloak pocket-the one from General Thorne reminding me that my target was close. That I needed to act before the High Priestess found her first.

But how could I turn her in?

She trusted me. And the worst part was... I wanted her to. I wanted to be the man she saw. Not the one hiding behind a false name. Not the prince with vengeance in his blood.

Just Ash.

Just the man who looked at her and forgot the war.

But even lies have an end. And the closer we got to the border, the more I knew-

Mine was coming.