Reality tore open in the throne room with a sound like silk being rent by an invisible blade. The blue-edged portal spun briefly before stabilizing, its edges pulsing with otherworldly light. Kiran erged first, her mismatched eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Luna followed, carrying an unconscious form with casual disregard, as though transporting nothing more significant than a sack of flour.
"We’re here," Kiran announced, her voice lilting with that unsettling sing-song quality. "One Thornvale spy, as requested."
Eren’s heart stopped as he recognized the limp figure in Luna’s arms. Viva’s slender form hung unresponsively, her typically alert features slack, silver hair spilling like water toward the floor.
"Viva!" Eren lunged forward without thinking, every instinct demanding he reach her.
Kiran stepped smoothly between them, her too-wide smile fixed firmly in place. "Ah-ah," she chided, wagging a finger as though scolding a child. "No touching the rchandise, Veilwalker. She’s quite valuable, you know."
"What have you done to her?" Eren demanded, his voice barely containing his rage. The humic pressed insistently against his chest, its tiny form vibrating with agitation.
From her alabaster throne, Kaida observed the scene with detached amusent, her kaleidoscope eyes shifting through impossible colors. She watched the exchange with the patient interest of a predator studying prey movents before the kill.
"We can take care of her, Veilwalker," Kaida said, her lodious voice echoing slightly in the vast chamber. "You needn’t worry yourself with such trivial matters. Focus on preparing for tomorrow’s ritual."
Eren turned to face her, his expression hardening. "I need to ensure she’s unhard. She’s followed from her kingdom—so it my responsibility." His eyes never left Kaida’s, challenging her without words.
Sothing passed between them as their gazes locked—a silent battle of wills that seed to stretch the very fabric of ti. The numbered elves along the walls watched with unblinking intensity, while Kiran fidgeted impatiently beside Luna. The tension in the room grew thick enough to cut with a blade.
Finally, Kaida’s lips curved into the ghost of a smile. "Very well. Just for tonight. Tomorrow, Viva will teach us how the TUNA ritual is properly done." Her kaleidoscope eyes fixed on Eren with chilling intensity. "I hope she’s cooperative. Your mother’s life depends on it."
Eren’s jaw tightened, the threat landing precisely as intended. So that was why they’d taken Viva—to extract the ritual knowledge from another source.
Eren didn’t trust himself to speak, rely nodding once in acknowledgnt. His fingers curled into fists at his sides, nails digging into his palms hard enough to leave marks.
Kaida rose from her throne with liquid grace, her silver hair catching impossible light as it flowed around her like living water. "Luna will show you to your chambers," she commanded, then turned to Kiran. "Co. We have preparations to discuss."
Kiran looked briefly disappointed but followed obediently as Kaida glided toward a side passage, casting one last unsettling smile over her shoulder at Eren.
Luna dropped Viva unceremoniously into Eren’s arms. "Careful with that," she drawled sarcastically. "Damaged goods aren’t worth as much." She punctuated her words with a cold laugh that held no humor.
Eren cradled Viva protectively, checking her pulse with trembling fingers. Relief flooded through him as he felt the steady beat beneath her skin. Her body was limp but warm, her breathing shallow but consistent.
"This way," Luna said, already walking toward the main doors. "Try to keep up." Her footsteps made no sound against the polished floor, her movents fluid and predatory.
The corridors beyond the throne room were bewildering in their stark uniformity. Everywhere Eren looked, he saw nothing but pristine white—walls, ceiling, floor, all featureless and impossibly clean. The absence of color created a disorienting effect, making it difficult to judge distance or even dinsion. Their footsteps produced no echo, as though the very architecture absorbed sound.
’This place feels wrong,’ Eren thought, the sterility sending an involuntary shiver down his spine. ’Like it exists outside natural law.’ The corridors seed to stretch endlessly before them, unmarked and indistinguishable from one another.
The humic peeked cautiously from his collar, its tiny eyes widening at the sterile surroundings before quickly retreating back into hiding. Even this small creature seed disturbed by the unnatural perfection of their surroundings.
Luna walked with confident strides, never glancing back to see if Eren followed. Her silver hair—the only splash of color in the white expanse—swayed with each step. They passed several identical doorways, turned countless corners that looked exactly the sa, until Eren was thoroughly disoriented.
"Here," she announced finally, stopping before a seamless door that would have been invisible if not for the subtle outline etched into the wall. "Your chambers." Her tone suggested she found the term amusing, as though the concept of providing him with proper accommodations was an absurd courtesy.
As Eren moved to enter, Luna’s hand shot out with startling speed. A gleaming bracelet materialized between her fingers, which she snapped around Viva’s wrist before Eren could react. The tal clicked into place with finality, sealing seamlessly around Viva’s slender wrist.
"What are you—" Eren began, tensing to pull away, shifting Viva’s weight protectively in his arms.
Luna didn’t flinch, her expression remaining coolly indifferent. "Master’s orders," she stated flatly. "Don’t try anything funny, Veilwalker. The bracelet ensures your little friend stays where she’s put." Her lips curved into a mocking smile. "Wouldn’t want her wandering off and getting lost, now would we?" The threat behind her words was unmistakable.
The door slid open on silent hinges, revealing a chamber as white and featureless as the corridors. A single bed—wide and low to the ground—stood in the center of the room, its linens the sa colorless shade as everything else. The stark emptiness of the space made it feel both expansive and claustrophobic at once.
With a final sardonic smile, Luna stepped back. "Sweet dreams, princeling." The door closed behind him, leaving Eren alone with the unconscious Viva and his troubled thoughts. The sound of Luna’s laughter lingered montarily in the corridor before fading completely.
He gently laid Viva on the bed, his fingers lingering briefly on the strange bracelet. Its surface was smooth and unmarked, yet he could feel magic pulsing within it—alien and forbidding. Whatever its purpose, it was clearly more than re decoration or tracker.
The humic erged fully now, darting from his collar to hover anxiously above Viva. It circled her still form, emitting soft chirping sounds that echoed in the silent chamber. Its movents beca increasingly agitated as it examined the white walls and ceiling.
"You don’t want them to hear you, do you?" Eren murmured, watching the creature’s nervous flight.
The tiny creature just continued its agitated flight, circling ever faster in a display of stubborn independence. It darted to different corners of the room, as if searching for sothing, before returning to hover near Viva’s face. Its wings beat furiously, tiny body trembling with what seed like frustration or fear.
"Still so stubborn," Eren said with a faint smile, reaching out to calm the creature. The humic evaded his touch, zipping away only to return a mont later, still chirping insistently. Its erratic movents cast dancing shadows across the pristine walls.
Eren sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly overwheld by exhaustion and uncertainty. He watched the humic as it continued its worried dance around Viva’s face. The creature’s anxiety mirrored his own inner turmoil, though he fought to maintain his outward composure.
"We’ll figure this out," he told the restless creature. "I promise." His voice sounded hollow even to his own ears, the weight of their situation pressing down on him like a physical force.
He turned his attention back to Viva, brushing a strand of silver hair from her face. Her breathing remained steady, though her features were still unnaturally pale. In repose, the usually guarded spy looked younger, more vulnerable—a stark reminder of all that was at stake.
"I’ll get you out of this," he promised in a whisper. "Just hang in there." He arranged her limbs more comfortably on the bed, careful not to disturb the bracelet for fear of triggering whatever magic it contained.
He settled back against the wall, positioning himself where he could watch both the door and Viva. The humic continued its restless movents, occasionally pausing to perch on the headboard before resuming its flight. Its soft chirping provided the only sound in the otherwise silent chamber.
’So that’s her ga,’ Eren thought grimly. ’Bringing Viva here as insurance—another expert on the TUNA ritual in case I resist or fail. She’s gathering everyone with this knowledge, making sure she gets what she wants no matter what.’
His gaze drifted to the bracelet on Viva’s wrist. Its presence troubled him more than he cared to admit. Not just a tracker, he suspected, but sothing more controlling—more invasive. The magic emanating from it felt ancient and malevolent, designed to bend its wearer to another’s will.
Outside, in the endless white corridors, he could almost feel the palace shifting around them, rearranging itself like a living puzzle. And sowhere within its labyrinthine depths, Kaida was preparing for tomorrow—for whatever twisted version of the ritual she had planned. The numbered elves would be part of it, their elental powers harnessed for Kaida’s unknown purpose.
’One night,’ he reminded himself. ’I have one night to figure out how to protect Viva and myself from whatever cos next.’
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