Rafael's Eclipse

Chapter 1 - Muted

X Y R A N I A V A L T A I R

present

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The creak of the main door swinging open jolted me awake.

My head jerked up, and my ears strained, waiting for the familiar, loathsome resonance of the monster's voice to flood the cell dungeon. But it didn't come. Instead, an eerie silence crept through the air, thick and unnatural, broken only by the echo of my own ragged, uneven breathing.

I frowned, unease settling in the pit of my stomach. The guards never failed to greet him. They always barked their sickening reverence before his presence could even be felt.

But now there was nothing.

My instincts screamed at me to retreat further into the shadows of my cell and vanish into the dark stone walls. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I held my breath, listening intently.

"Xyra?"

The moment I heard Phynix's familiar voice, I let out the breath I'd been holding. Relief washed over me, momentarily softening the tension that had turned my body rigid. I pushed myself up off the floor, my shackles dragging behind me.

The sight of his face made me smile.

"Phynix," I greeted softly. "I thought you wouldn't be able to visit me any time soon." He returned my smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Have you been counting days, Xyra?"

I nodded, gesturing to the wall beside me, where a series of notches marred the stone. The tiny slit of a window above provided the faintest sliver of light each day, just enough to keep track of time.

"You never stopped counting," he murmured, his voice filled with something I couldn't quite place.

"I never did," I replied. But my relief at his arrival only lasted a moment, the sudden strangeness of it surging a wave of panic through me. I took a step closer, my heart suddenly hammering in my chest.

"What... what brings you here?" The question trailed off, my mind racing with dread until a horrifying thought hit me. "Is it my sister?"

My voice cracked, trembling with fear. I stumbled toward the bars, my hands wrapping around the silver metal, indifferent to the burn that had long since numbed my fingers. "Did something happen to her? Is she—"

"No, no!" Phynix interrupted, quickly shaking his head. "She's here."

I froze, my gaze locking with his. For a second, I couldn't understand what he meant, until I saw her.

She stood before me, just on the other side of the bars. Her eyes, tear-streaked, stared at me as if seeing a ghost. A sob escaped her lips, and her eyes traced the scars on my skin, the chains on my wrists. I wanted to shrink away, to hide, but all I could do was cross my arms over my chest, the weight of her gaze unbearable.

"You need to leave," I choked out, the panic clawing its way back up, sharper and fiercer than before. My breath came in shallow gasps, and the walls of the cell seemed to close in around me. I couldn't bring myself to feel joy, not with the terror that gripped me.

Phynix had already opened the lock to my cell when Quincy stepped in, ignoring my warnings. Her eyes fixed on mine. She didn't blink, didn't waver, and the intensity in her gaze made me want to disappear into the darkness.

I looked away, guilt stirring in my chest.

"Please, leave," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Do you hate me that much?" Her voice cracked.