Alina: Light & Shadows

Chapter 14

The silence in the temple weighed like a boulder, and each heartbeat seemed to echo in the vast hall. The words of the figure had marked a boundary between the past and the future, between my life as a simple girl and that of a warrior destined to confront her own blood.

But the thought of facing my father, the Shadow King, paralyzed me.

Kael remained silent at my side, his gaze lost in the void. I could feel his tension; it was as if his very identity had been shaken by the revelations. I needed him, but now he seemed distant, as if the weight of my discovery had erected a wall between us.

“Kael,” I said, breaking the silence. “What do we do now? How can we stop Seline and my father?”

He turned to me, his eyes filled with determination but also with deep sadness. “I’d say we should focus on the witch first. We need to find a way to break her curse. If she has the power to control your fate, we have to confront her above all else.”

Yes, Seline.

Her curse was the true source of my anguish. If I wanted to free myself from her grip, I had to discover how to destroy her first. But the question of my connection to the Shadow King loomed over me, like a dark shadow on my path.

“Seline has a source of power,” Kael continued. “We need to uncover it. There might be a clue in this temple, a hint that leads us to her.”

“But how can we find it?” I asked, feeling a growing sense of helplessness.

Kael examined the hall, his gaze landing on the altar adorned with precious stones. “Perhaps we should look at the symbols around us. There’s always a hidden meaning in sacred places.”

I approached the altar, my eyes skimming over the engraved symbols. The star, the moon, and the sun. Each symbol represented a force, a part of me that I needed to confront. But what I sought was something more: a connection to Seline, a way to bend her to my will.

As I scrutinized the symbols, a thought crossed my mind. “What if I faced Seline alone? What if I could resolve everything without her control?”

Kael shook his head. “We can’t take that risk. The curse is powerful. Even if you are the daughter of the Shadow King, you shouldn’t confront her unprepared.”

But my mind was already in turmoil. I was tired of being a pawn in someone else’s game, of feeling the weight of expectations on me. It was time to take control of my own fate.

“Kael, I want to confront Seline,” I said, my voice firm. “I want to see what she wants from me, why she chose me.”

He looked at me in surprise, his expression unreadable. “Alina, you don’t know what you’re saying. Seline is not someone to be trifled with. She can destroy you.”

“But I can also destroy her,” I replied. “If we don’t try, we’ll always be trapped in her game.”

Kael seemed uncertain, but eventually nodded. “Fine. But we need to prepare. Before facing her, we must discover how to break the curse. And to do that, we need to find the source of her power.”

I returned to focusing on the ancient symbols, and as I did, a vision flashed through my mind. The symbols began to glow, and the room transformed, showing me an image of another temple, a hidden place, far from the world I knew. Seline’s words echoed in my head: “Only I can free you.”

The idea struck me that Seline might have created a secret place, a sanctuary where she stored her power. We had to find it.

“Kael, I saw something,” I said, feeling adrenaline coursing through my veins. “There’s another temple. It’s far away, but I believe it’s the key to stopping Seline.”

Kael looked at me, his eyes wide. “Where is it?”

I couldn’t explain it, but I felt a deep connection to that place. It was as if my power was guiding me. “To the north, beyond the Whispering Forest. We must move immediately.”

He nodded, and together we prepared to leave the temple. But as we moved away, a shadow stirred between the columns. It was the hooded figure again.

“Have you found what you seek?” she asked in a taunting tone.

“Who are you?” Kael asked, his tone wary.

“Just a messenger,” the shadow replied. “But I know more about your mission than you imagine.”

“Speak,” I commanded, a new determination taking shape within me.

“If you want to confront Seline, you must be ready to sacrifice something precious,” she whispered, shadows swirling around her.

“The truth is that power always comes at a price, and yours is near.”

A shiver of fear ran through me. “What do you mean?”

“The sacrifice you must face is not just that of defeating Seline. It’s a personal sacrifice. You will have to decide what you are willing to lose.”

The figure moved away, dissolving into the darkness as the weight of her words settled in.

The thought of sacrificing something precious to gain the power to confront Seline made me tremble. But at the same time, I felt more determined than ever. I wouldn’t let fear stop me.

We stepped out of the temple, the cool air hitting us like a revitalizing embrace. But inside me, the tumult of emotions was just beginning. The truth about my connection to the Shadow King and the threat of Seline intertwined into an inseparable knot.

“Alina,” Kael said, interrupting my thoughts. “Are you ready for this journey?”

“I have no choice,” I replied. “We must stop Seline. And we will discover how to break the curse, whatever it costs us.”

Our path awaited us, and as we headed north, the awareness of what we might lose became clearer and clearer. Destiny was approaching, and I was ready to fight.