Chapter 4 THE THORNS AND THE TRUTH

CHAPTER FOUR: The Thorns and the Truth

The mist was thick, but it didn't chill her. It clung instead like breath over skin, faintly warm, like the exhale of something ancient beneath the earth. The vines that had parted for Kael now held their shape for her, as if waiting.

Seraphina hesitated.

Every instinct in her screamed not to follow. Not into the garden. Not into his world.

But she stepped forward.

The path wound gently downward, carved of black marble and ringed in plants that should not have been able to grow. There were blossoms shaped like teardrops that glowed faintly blue, ferns with silver veins, and trees with bark like cracked glass, light leaking from their seams. The entire garden pulsed like a heart, alive and listening.

Kael walked several paces ahead, silent.

The vines closed behind them.

"I don't like this," Seraphina muttered, mostly to herself.

"You're not meant to," Kael said.

She glanced at him. "That's comforting."

"This part of the palace is old. Very few come here. Even I avoid it."

"Then why bring me?"

"Because it speaks to you."

The path widened into a circular glade, and Seraphina froze.

There were statues. Dozens of them. Carved into the walls, half-swallowed by vines and stone. Women. All different. All regal. Some young, some older. Some smiling faintly, others solemn. Their eyes were made of crystal. Their lips were painted with crimson that hadn't faded.

She stepped forward, her mouth dry.

Kael's voice came from behind her, quiet. "These were the queens of Veyrith."

Her throat closed.

She turned slowly. "All of them?"

He nodded once.

"And now I join them?"

Kael's expression darkened. "Not if I can help it."

She stared at the nearest statue. The woman's face was serene. Peaceful. Too peaceful. The kind of stillness that came only after surrender.

"What happened to them?"

He hesitated.

"They died," he said finally. "Some from the curse. Some from madness. Some... because they couldn't survive the bond."

Seraphina took a slow step back.

"You brought me here to scare me."

"No," Kael said. "I brought you here because you need to understand what it means to be bound to this place. To me."

"I never agreed to be bound."

"You don't have to. The realm already chose you."

"I'm not a pawn in your twisted fairytale."

His gaze sharpened, voice low. "Neither am I."

Silence stretched between them, heavy and cracking.

Then, softer: "The bond between a king and his bride isn't just ceremonial. It's magical. It changes you. Connects you. To the land. To me. To the curse."

Seraphina wrapped her arms around herself. "So I'm just... next?"

Kael stepped closer, the sharp edges of his presence pressing around her again. "You're different. The palace knows it. I feel it."

"That's not a compliment."

"It's not meant to be."

His honesty startled her. Cut straight through the fog in her mind.

He didn't want this either.

And yet... he hadn't sent her away.

Kael reached up to one of the statues. He brushed a finger over the face of a queen carved in tears. "She was kind," he said. "Too kind. The realm fed on her sorrow until she broke."

Seraphina whispered, "Why do you stay here?"

His hand dropped. "Because I am the only one who can keep it from falling apart."

"And what if you fall apart?"

He didn't answer.

She looked again at the rows of faces. "What if I do?"

"That's what I'm trying to prevent."

There was something about the way he said it-quiet, almost pleading-that made her chest tighten.

"Why me?" she asked.

Kael's eyes met hers. "I don't know. That's what frightens me."

A gust of wind swirled around them, lifting petals from the ground, and for a moment, the garden shimmered like starlight on water.

Kael turned to go. "Come. There's something else you need to see."

She followed, heart hammering.

The hallway beyond the garden twisted downward, into the belly of the palace. The further they descended, the colder the air became.

Finally, they reached a door unlike the others-round, smooth, and pulsing with silver light.

Kael paused. "This is the memory chamber."

Seraphina frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It shows truth. But truth takes something in return."

Before she could question him, he pressed his palm to the door. It slid open with a sound like breath being drawn.

Inside was a circular room lined with mirrors.

Dozens of them.

Each mirror shimmered faintly. Each one reflecting not her-but versions of her. In different gowns. With different expressions. Different fates.

She gasped, stepping forward. One reflection showed her crowned and radiant. Another, dead in Kael's arms. Another, cloaked in shadow, her eyes burning like a demon's.

"What is this?" she whispered.

"Possibilities," Kael said. "The bond shows you all the ways this can end."

She turned to him, shaken. "Why would you show me this?"

"Because it's not too late to choose who you'll become."

Seraphina stared at the mirrors.

Then, slowly, one began to change. The reflection blinked. Moved on its own.

It reached toward her.

She stumbled back-right into Kael's chest.

He caught her.

His hand curled around her waist, steadying her. "It can't hurt you."

She trembled. "It already has."

He released her gently.

"This is what I live with," he said. "Every day. Every breath. The realm doesn't forget. And it doesn't forgive."

Seraphina's voice was quiet. "What happens if I leave?"

Kael turned to face her fully. "You can't. Not anymore."

And though his words weren't cruel-weren't angry-something inside her fractured.

Because she realized: he was telling the truth.

The palace had already taken her.

And it would never let her go.