A Shattered Dawn

Chapter 16

Gabriel Niehdre, for the first time in his life, felt he had both happiness and safety when he received a letter in the mail that would change his life forever. He was sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch of his house, waiting for the mail to be delivered. The postman was late.

He apologized to Gabriel, and they exchanged a few words, a polite greeting. He sat back down on his chair, flipping through the mail. The daily news, a letter from one of his old friends, nothing out of the ordinary. That was when he saw it, tucked into the newspaper. Its paper was embossed with gold, and sure enough, the letter had his name on it, written in an extravagant script.

When he turned it over, the breath left his lungs.

There, in the middle of the deep red wax seal, the royal emblem stared him down.

He blinked once. Twice. He couldn't believe it.

He and Celia had no connection to the royals, and he had avoided their residences in the south at all costs when he traveled.

He tore open the letter with care, gently pulling the letter out. The paper felt like gold in his hands. Sure enough, his full name was inscribed at the top of the letter. He read through it once, rereading it to make sure he read it correctly.

The royals were offering him a deal. An astronomic one, at that. Gabriel felt the pull to the south, even stronger than before. He knew that, in leaving his family, he would be abandoning them in a time of vulnerability. Both Celia and his daughter's lives were at stake. Combined with those risks, he would also be risking his own life by traveling into those lands again. But did the benefits outweigh the consequences?

That night, he lay in bed but sleep would not come. He could not stop thinking about the letter, the possibility of traveling south one last time, and finally, having his hard work be rewarded...

Gabriel couldn't stop thinking about how unsafe his family was. Someone in the royal palace knew that he could illegally travel to get them the goods they needed, and knew his address. If anything went awry... Gabriel wouldn't let himself imagine the possibilities. Even though it was tempting, and all he wanted was to run free on the plains again, he knew that he could not travel south again. It was too dangerous. He was no longer the carefree teenager he used to be.

His mind was made up, or at least he thought it was. One week later, another letter came in the mail. This one was written in a more conspiratorial air, and the writer claimed to be a part of the royal family. Whoever sent the letter said that they would double the pay for the raw materials Gabriel would deliver, and that there was also another reason why they needed him to come to the grounds. According to the anonymous royal, other people Gabriel had traded with talked to him, praising him and recommending him for any of the royals' needs. The royal knew Gabriel was trustworthy and loyal, and claimed that there was a stone, capable of saving lives... or destroying them. He claimed that the stone had been in the royal family for centuries, and the King was planning to use it to destroy all of the Night Angels once and for all.

Gabriel was shocked and terrified.

The royal informed Gabriel that he had access to the stone, and he would pay Gabriel four times the initial amount to take the stone far away and use it to protect his people.

Gabriel wondered—why? Why would a royal want to help the Night Angels? And in the royal's next sentence of the letter, his question was answered.

I only want peace, Gabriel. Please, save both our peoples, and take the stone, and the money, and make sure no one uses it for evil. I know this is a lot to ask of a merchant I have not met, only heard legends about, but I trust you because other Celestials did. no one has done what you do, it takes bravery and courage. Please hurry, not much time is left. He's been plotting this for a while, and I don't know when he plans to strike, but I know it's soon.