Chapter 22: The Mask Cracks
By Joy Daud
The palace air grew heavier with each passing day.
Oki stood by the moonlit window of her chamber, fingers clutching a sealed letter—its seal marked with a forgotten crest. It had been slipped beneath her door in silence, and only one presence could've delivered it unnoticed.
The forest.
She opened it with care.
> "The veil is thinning. They are close. The queen is no longer working alone. Trust the prince, but not the shadows behind him. And Oki… the phoenix will rise again."
Her hands trembled slightly. The handwriting—it wasn't just a spirit. It was someone alive.
"Elira…" Oki whispered.
---
In the hallways below, Prince Kimo walked in silence, flanked by two guards who kept their distance. Every servant's eyes lowered when he passed—no longer out of fear, but guilt.
The rumors had spread.
They whispered how the prince had risked his life for the kingdom before, how he stood alone in the storm while others doubted him.
Still, Kimo didn't care. He didn't want their praise now.
He only wanted answers.
He turned sharply into the east wing, but stopped when he heard hushed voices.
"…he can't know," the queen's voice hissed.
"I've done everything you asked," said a trembling voice—one of the council advisors. "But if Elira returns—"
"She won't," the queen snapped. "Because before that happens, Prince Kimo will be nothing but a broken shell."
Kimo's fists clenched.
So she was plotting again.
---
That evening, Oki approached Kimo in the palace garden. He was seated alone beneath the moonflower tree.
She sat beside him in silence.
"You're hiding something again," he said without looking at her.
"And you're pretending not to notice someone close is betraying you," she countered calmly.
His gaze shot to hers.
"I heard the queen," he said. "She's moving. This time… it feels final."
Oki nodded. "The message I got confirms it. And something worse—they're not just plotting against you. There's a greater power rising."
Kimo narrowed his eyes. "Then we fight."
"No," she said quickly. "Not yet. You're still learning what you are. If they push you too far, the magic inside you could destroy everything—everyone."
His hands trembled.
"I feel it sometimes," he whispered. "Like a storm waiting to break through my skin."
"You are the storm," Oki said. "But not every storm needs to destroy."
---
At that moment, across the darkened borders, fires lit the night sky.
The foreign forces had begun their march.
And in the mirror chamber, the queen smiled, blood magic swirling at her fingertips.
"The king is cracking. The prince is shaking. Now… the final piece will fall."
---
To be continued…