A kingdom of Ash and Echoes

Chapter 15 - The Cost of Love

Callum drifted in and out of consciousness for three days. The healers worked tirelessly, their hands steady but their faces grim. Lyriana hardly left his side, sleeping in a chair by his bed, watching each shallow breath as though her will alone could tether him to life.
When at last he stirred, she was the first to notice.
His eyes cracked open, unfocused at first, then sharp with pain and memory.  "Lyriana," he croaked, his voice raw.

She leaned forward, clasping his hand. "I'm here. You're safe."
His grip tightened, weak but desperate. "Safe?" He let out a bitter laugh that turned into a cough. "No one is safe, not anymore."

Before she could press him, Elowen swept into the room, her gown trailing like smoke, exhaustion etched into every line of her face. Yet her gaze burned bright, fierce as ever. She hurried to Callum's side, brushing damp hair from his forehead.
"My son," she whispered. "You frightened me half to death."
Callum winced but held her hand. "Mother... you need to know. It was Rowan. He—he wasn't alone. He commanded them. Dozens of rebels. Armed. Trained. They ambushed us at the northern pass. It was no skirmish—it was war beginning."

Lyriana's heart twisted at the sound of Rowan's name. Even hearing it from Callum's lips made her feel as though a blade was pressing into her chest. She forced herself to stay calm. "Why? Did he say why?"
Callum's eyes darkened. "He spoke of freedom. Of Avaranth being shackled by weak kings. He said the people need leaders who fight, not rulers who fade on sickbeds." His jaw clenched. "He called Father unfit to rule."

Elowen stiffened, her knuckles white where they clutched the sheets. For a heartbeat, she looked like stone, then her voice hardened. "Blasphemy. Treason."
Lyriana shook her head, struggling to reconcile the image of Rowan she had known—the boy who had laughed with her under the orchard trees, who had promised her forever—with this new vision of him, standing at the head of men who sought to bring her family to ruin.

Callum's breathing grew ragged as he forced the words out. "He spared me. He could have killed me, but he didn't. He said... he wanted me to live. To tell you all that his war has begun. That Avaranth will fall if we do not yield."
The silence that followed was suffocating.

Finally, Elowen stood, tall despite her weary frame. "We cannot let this leave these walls," she said firmly. "Your father is too weak to bear the news. And if the court learns the rebellion is led by someone we once called kin..." Her eyes flickered to Lyriana, sharp but not unkind. "...by someone you trusted, it will fracture us before the war even begins."
Lyriana lowered her gaze, shame and sorrow crashing over her. "I won't betray us," she whispered. "I'll keep his name locked inside me. For now."
Elowen bent to kiss Callum's brow, then brushed her fingers over Lyriana's cheek. "Good. For the kingdom to survive, we must guard our truths as carefully as we guard our walls."
But as the firelight flickered across their faces, Lyriana's resolve burned. She would keep Rowan's secret for now—but one day, she would find him. And when she did, love or not, she would demand the truth from his lips, even if it shattered her heart.