Chapter 45: The Serpent's Secret
The vision had ended, but the taste of ash and starlight still clung to Lila's tongue.
She stood breathless beneath the shadow of the ancient tree, its flame-kissed leaves whispering like they were alive, like they were remembering. Niall had remained silent as she recounted everything she had seen—Lysira, the Betrayer Queen, the truth about the Keepers. The truth about her.
"I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore," she admitted, voice barely audible.
Niall stepped beside her. "You're still Lila Harper. No title or truth can take that from you."
But it felt like it already had.
Before she could respond, the tree's bark shimmered—and something slithered out of the roots.
Lila stumbled back instinctively, eyes narrowing.
It was a serpent. But not of flesh and scale this one was formed entirely of silver mist, its body weaving in and out of visibility like a dream. Its eyes glowed violet.
"Do not run," it hissed in a voice that vibrated like a thousand bells. "I am not enemy. I am Memory."
Niall stiffened. "More visions?"
"No," the serpent said. "More truths."
It coiled in front of them, and where its tail touched the ground, a circle of runes ignited different from the ones before. These hummed with forbidden magic. Lila recognized them from one of her books back at Arcanwyn: the Mark of the Vowbound.
"You carry the blood of the Keeper," the serpent said. "But you also carry something else."
Lila swallowed. "What?"
The serpent studied her. "The mark of a Seeker. One who questions, who disrupts fate's design."
"I didn't ask for that."
"You didn't have to," it replied. "The moment you rejected the Veil's full claim, you changed the story. And now, others are watching."
"Others?" Niall asked.
The serpent looked toward the distant mountains, where thunder coiled in the clouds. "The Hidden Court. The ones who govern the world behind the world. They were content so long as the balance held. Now, with the truth surfacing and the Creatures stirring—they are awakening."
Lila stepped closer. "What do they want?"
"To judge you."
She froze. "Judge me for what?"
"For daring to rewrite what was already written. For choosing mercy where sacrifice was expected. For shaking the cage instead of locking it tighter."
"They're coming?" Niall asked.
"They already have," the serpent said. "One walks your halls. One walks your dreams."
Lila's skin turned to ice. The masked figure she'd seen in her visions. The robed stranger by the lake. Had those been them?
"What happens if I'm found... unworthy?"
The serpent didn't blink. "Then they will correct the course. Even if it means breaking you."
A gust of wind blew through the clearing. The serpent dissolved into silver threads, vanishing into the bark once more.
Lila turned to Niall. "We need to get back. Now."
They returned to Arcanwyn under the weight of a silence neither dared to break. The moment they crossed the threshold of the Academy's outer wards, something felt... off.
The air was heavy. Tense. Like the world was holding its breath.
Students were quiet in the halls. Professors whispered. Rumors flickered like fireflies.
"They're saying Headmistress Veyra hasn't been seen in days," whispered a younger mage to her friend. "That she went looking for something in the Hollow Wood and never came back."
"They're saying a new professor arrived," said the friend. "One no one remembers hiring."
Lila and Niall exchanged looks.
"Too much coincidence," Niall muttered.
"Let's find the Council."
But when they reached the Council Wing, it was already too late.
The doors stood open. The torches had gone out.
And sitting at the head of the circular table was a figure cloaked in midnight blue robes, a hood pulled low over their face.
"Lila Harper," the figure said. Their voice was smooth and ageless. "We've been waiting."
Councilor Etrin, usually the most composed of the group, looked shaken. "This is this is an intrusion"
"This is judgment," the robed figure said, rising. "Your Keeper has violated the terms of the ancient accord. The Veil was to be maintained, not mended. The fire was to be chained, not set free."
Lila stepped forward. "I didn't destroy the Veil. I reforged it."
"You dared to change it," the figure snapped. "A choice not yours to make."
"It was mine. Because I remembered who I was. Because I saw the lies buried in the truths you built."
The figure descended the dais. Their presence crackled with raw power. "Then you will answer for that arrogance."
A second figure appeared, stepping from a shadow in the corner.
And a third.
The Hidden Court had arrived.
"Trial will be held in three days," the first declared. "The Flame Court will judge. And if you are found guilty, the punishment is clear."
"Exile?" Niall asked.
"Erasure," the third said. "You will never have existed."
That night, Lila stood on the balcony outside her tower, staring at the moon. Her reflection in the glass no longer felt like her own.
"How do you fight fate," she whispered, "when fate has teeth?"
"You don't," said a voice behind her. "You trick it."
She turned. It was Professor Caldrin the most eccentric, unpredictable, and brilliant magic historian at Arcanwyn. His silver hair was wild, his eyes sharp with mischief.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I saw the signs," he said. "The runes around your heart. The flame in your steps. You're not just rewriting fate, girl. You're crafting a new one."
"I might not survive this."
Caldrin shrugged. "Maybe. But if you do... the world won't be the same."
He reached into his coat and handed her a small scroll, sealed with black wax.
"What is it?" she asked.
"A map. Of what was lost. Of what was hidden. Places even the Hidden Court has forgotten. Find the Threads. Awaken the Ones Who Sleep."
"Why me?"
"Because you're not a Keeper anymore," he said, stepping into the shadows. "You're a Breaker. And every great tale begins with one."