Chapter 14: Unveiling Secrets
The morning sun streamed through the tall, stained-glass windows of the Council school’s corridors as Joy, Zephyr, and Ash found themselves walking back toward the library. The encounter with the mysterious Records of the Charm Bloodline had left a lingering unease in all of them, especially Joy. The book’s secrets seemed to call to her, and she couldn’t resist the urge to return.
“Are you sure about this?” Zephyr asked nervously, their silver hair catching the light as they cast a wary glance toward Joy. “Varin’s not someone you want to mess with. He’s been on the Council forever, and he’s got a reputation for being... ruthless.”
Ash shrugged, though his confidence wavered slightly. “What’s he going to do? Yell at us for studying history? It’s not like we broke in or anything.”
“Still, there’s something off about that book,” Zephyr muttered. “We shouldn’t have found it so easily.”
Joy, her mind racing with thoughts of the damaged pages and erased names, was already ahead of them, determined. “We need to know more,” she said firmly. “We can’t just walk away. Whoever they erased—there’s a reason for it. We can’t ignore that.”
As they entered the library again, the quiet atmosphere seemed heavier than before. The air felt cold and still, and the towering bookshelves loomed over them like silent sentinels. The trio cautiously approached the table where the book had mysteriously appeared the day before, but it was gone. Vanished without a trace.
“Where is it?” Ash asked, frowning as he looked around.
“I don’t know,” Joy replied, scanning the shelves, though she had little hope of finding it. “Maybe someone took it.”
Zephyr’s eyes darted around nervously. “Maybe that’s for the best…”
Before any of them could respond, a low, gravelly voice interrupted the silence. “I was wondering when you three would show up again.”
They all turned sharply to see a tall, thin figure emerging from the shadows. Councilman Varin, his sharp, ethereal features framed by dark, slicked-back hair, seemed almost like a wraith, his presence unsettling. His skin was pale, and his cold, penetrating eyes bore into them with the weight of centuries of wisdom—and disapproval.
Varin’s expression was unreadable, his voice cold as he addressed them. “Do you have any idea what you’ve stumbled upon?”
Ash shifted uncomfortably, but Joy stood her ground, her chin lifted defiantly. “We were just studying Council history. We found a book, and—”
Varin cut her off with a wave of his hand, his dark robes rustling as he moved closer, his presence dominating the space. “Records of the Charm Bloodline is not a book for children to be reading,” he said sharply, his voice like ice. “That tome is private. Its contents are restricted to the Council only. How did you even know of its existence?”
Zephyr swallowed nervously, but Joy wasn’t backing down. “We didn’t know about it. The book just appeared. We’re not trying to cause trouble, but we can’t ignore what we saw.”
Varin’s eyes narrowed, his tone becoming even more severe. “You shouldn’t have seen it. The information contained within those pages is forbidden for a reason. The history of the Charm family holds secrets that are better left buried.”
“Why?” Ash asked, his voice tinged with skepticism. “Why erase parts of a family’s history? What’s so dangerous about it?”
Varin’s gaze flickered toward Ash, and for a moment, his sharp features seemed even more ominous. “Some truths are not meant to be uncovered. The Council made sure of that. The Charm family has always had a… complicated relationship with power. It’s better for everyone if certain details remain lost to time.”
