The crimson moon still hovered above the castle long after the bells tolled midnight, bathing the stone corridors in a light that looked almost alive. It shimmered across the polished floors, twisted through the stained-glass windows, and crept into Ella's chamber like a silent intruder. Sleep was impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw those shadows moving again — whispering, crawling, waiting.
She sat by the window, clutching the carved box Maeve had given her. It pulsed faintly in her palms, like a heartbeat. Its surface, once smooth, now rippled with faint veins of gold light that moved beneath the wood, alive and aware. She didn't understand what it meant, but she could feel its power growing stronger — and hungrier.
When dawn finally came, Ella made her way to the tower where Master Arcturus studied. The old wizard was already awake, pacing beside a table littered with scrolls, maps, and glass bottles of strange glowing liquids. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his beard seemed whiter than it had the night before.
"You haven't slept either," Ella said softly.
"Sleep?" He gave a bitter laugh. "I fear I may never again. I've been reading the Royal Archives, and I found something… troubling." He lifted a brittle parchment from the table and handed it to her. "This is a record from the first dynasty — over a thousand years ago."
Ella scanned the page. The ink was faded, the words written in a language she didn't recognize.
"It's called The Covenant of Shadows," Arcturus continued. "An ancient pact that bound the royal bloodline to a guardian spirit — a creature of light, meant to protect the kingdom. But something went wrong. The spirit was corrupted by human greed and turned into what we now call the Darkness. It was sealed beneath the castle long ago."
Ella's throat went dry. "Beneath the castle…"
Arcturus nodded. "Yes. And the seal weakens every time a royal touches forbidden magic. When you used your power to free the King and Queen, you mended their minds but disturbed the seal itself."
A heavy silence hung between them.
"So it's my fault," Ella whispered.
"No," Arcturus said firmly. "It's the fault of those who built power on secrets. You simply revealed the truth."
Ella turned toward the window. The sun had risen, but the light outside was dim — almost gray. "Then tell me what we can do."
The old man hesitated. "There's only one place that holds the answers — the Forbidden Library."
Ella frowned. "I've never heard of it."
"You weren't meant to," Arcturus said. "It was sealed by the first kings. It lies beneath this castle — deeper than the dungeons, older than the stone itself. No one who's gone there has ever returned."
Ella's pulse quickened. "Then we'll be the first."
By midday, she and Arcturus stood in the lower halls of the castle, where few dared to wander. The air was colder here, thick with dust and silence. They passed old suits of armor whose visors followed them as they moved, and portraits of forgotten monarchs whose painted eyes gleamed faintly in the dark.
They stopped before a wall carved with symbols Ella had seen only in her ancestor's journal. She touched one of the runes, and the stone shifted beneath her fingers like water. A doorway opened, revealing a spiraling staircase that descended into darkness.
"Stay close," Arcturus warned. "The library guards its secrets well."
They descended for what felt like hours, the air growing heavier with every step. The staircase ended in a vast chamber filled with floating lanterns that burned with blue fire. Endless shelves rose high above, stretching into the shadows — books bound in skin, scrolls wrapped in chains, tomes that whispered softly as if breathing.
"This…" Ella breathed. "This is incredible."
Arcturus nodded grimly. "And dangerous. The knowledge here was banned for a reason."
As they explored, Ella noticed that the carved box in her hand glowed brighter. It pulsed in rhythm with the lanterns, guiding her toward a narrow aisle. "This way," she said, following its pull.
At the end of the aisle stood a pedestal made of black stone. Resting on it was an ancient book sealed with silver clasps. The cover bore the same insignia as her invitation to the Royal Ball — the crest of the kingdom.
Arcturus approached slowly. "The Chronicle of Kings. It records every ruler, every war, every secret decision made in shadow."
Ella brushed her fingers across the seal. "It's calling to me."
Before Arcturus could stop her, she touched it. The clasps snapped open, and the pages burst to life with a flash of white fire. The room trembled. Shelves groaned. Books flew open, pages flapping like wings.
Voices filled the air — hundreds of them, whispering over one another. Ella clutched her head as words poured into her mind, visions spinning behind her eyes: a battlefield drenched in blood, a towering creature of smoke and light, a crown shattering into pieces.
Then she saw her parents.
They were standing in a forest, holding a small child — her. A voice echoed through the vision:
"Hide her. The bloodline must survive."
When the vision faded, Ella was on her knees, trembling.
Arcturus knelt beside her. "What did you see?"
"My parents," she whispered. "They weren't just villagers. They were guardians — protectors of the ancient magic. They hid me because the darkness was hunting our family."
Her voice broke, but determination flared in her eyes. "And now it's found me."
Arcturus's expression darkened. "Then it knows the seal has weakened."
As he spoke, the lanterns around them flickered and went out one by one until only the faint glow of Ella's box remained. From the shadows between the shelves, something began to move — slow, deliberate, like the sound of a heartbeat made flesh.
A voice, deep and resonant, filled the chamber.
"You have awakened what was meant to sleep."
Ella stood, the box burning hot in her hand. "Show yourself!" she shouted.
The darkness thickened, forming the outline of a human shape — tall, shrouded in mist, its eyes burning like dying stars.
"Your blood opened the seal," it said. "Your soul will keep it open."
The ground cracked beneath her feet. Arcturus raised his staff, shouting an incantation, but the spell shattered against the figure's shadow. The air turned icy; the smell of ash and iron filled the room.
Ella took a step forward, power gathering around her fingertips. "You want my soul? Then come and take it."
She raised the carved box high, and the gold veins burst open in a blinding light that filled the entire library.
When the light faded, the darkness was gone — for now. But a single whisper lingered in the air, carried on a wind that shouldn't exist underground.
"Theseal is broken, daughter of Thorne. The war has begun."