The darkness whispered as the world shifted.
Seraphine opened her eyes to a chamber carved from obsidian and moonlight. The air was scented with something rich - ancient roses and years old wine. Towering windows veiled in black silk, let in the soft moonlight. The ceiling arched like cathedral above her, and shadows curved around every corner.
Valen's palace was hauntingly beautiful. Cold. Eternal. A kingdom that had never known the warmth of sun.
She stood in the center of it, Her breath catching.
"I've brought you home, "came the voice behind her.
She turned.
Valen stood by the towering door, no longer in shadows. A Crown of midnight metal circled his head. The fabric of his long coat fluttering in the wind like silk and storm, his eyes softer now, though pain still lingered in them like smoke after fire.
"Home? " her voice echoed, cracking on the word.
He nodded once. "To the place where your heart once ruled. "
Her chest tightened, the ache blooming again. "Why don't I remember any of it? "Her fingers touched her collarbone where the mark still glowed faintly. "Why do I feel like I belong here? "
Valen stepped forward slowly, as if approaching something sacred, "Because you do. And if you want.... I can help you remember. "
She met his gaze, breath trembling. "And if I don't?"
His jaw tightened, but his answer was tender. "Then I will protect you.Even if your heart never returns to me. "
Valen led her through the heart of his palace, the silence between them heavy - rich with the weight of unsaid things. The echo of their footsteps lingered too long on the floor, as if even the walls remembered her before she could.
They entered a grand chamber.
At it's center stood a throne. No gold, no jewels. Just smooth black stone carved into the shape of raven wings - regal, cold and utterly hers. She paused at the sight of it, a chill blooming at the base of her spine.
"This Throne, " She whispered
Valen's voice came low and deep, " It was yours, Serenyth. "
She froze.
That name.
His voice had said it on the battlefield. In her home. And now here, it echoed like a ghost she had forgotten but her bones remembered.
Her heart raced, " Why do you keep calling me that? "
Valen froze.
Then stepping closer, his voice was low - haunted, " Because you're not merely a woman, "he breathed , brushing his fingers against the mark glowing faintly at her collarbone. " You're a myth I worship in silence..... Serenyth. "
The name hung in the air like an incantation.
His touch sent shivers down her spine. And in that moment, her eyes widened.
A glimpse - fleeting but real - flashed before her. The battlefield. Valen whispering the same words with the same desperation. "You're a myth I worship in silence, Serenyth. "
Her knees buckled slightly.
Valen caught her and took her hand gently. He guided her to the throne, " Sit, please. "
She did, half in a trance.
Then Valen, the king feared by empires, knelt on the cold floor and laid his head on her lap. Just like that - without pride,without walls.
"I used to do this, " he murmured. "When the weight of my crown grew too heavy, I'd come to you. You'd say nothing. You'd just.... stay. "
Her hands trembled as she looked down at him.
And then -
A flash.
Not a memory.
A Sensation.
Her past self - Seraphine - sitting on this same throne, wearing a gown of midnight silk. Her fingers combing through his hair, a rare smile on her lips. The pain, the devotion, the hunger in his eyes. How he'd only ever knelt before her.
Seraphine gasped, the vision snapping back like elastic, "I - I saw us..."
Valen looked up slowly, " You remember? "
"No, " She said, shaking. "But my soul does. "
His hand curled around her wrist, holding her as if she might disappear again. "You once told me, "he whispered, " that even if the stars forget us, you'd remember me with your soul. I never let myself believe it. Until now. "
Their eyes met.