Page 120 of Unravelled
Mira hissed. “You blame the council, their golden halls, their hunger for control, but what about you? You let him believe in you. You let him think this kingdom could only be saved through blood. And when his ambition got in the way, when it stopped being about hope and became about victory, did you ever fight him? When did you protect him?”
Brahn’s face remained still, unreadable, but something in his eyes faltered. Just slightly. Brahn exhaled, slow and tight. “He believed in the cause, Mira. You don’t get to strip that from him.”
She laughed, sharp, bitter. “I don’t want to strip anything from him. I want him here. I want him breathing. I want him alive!” she yelled.
Silence fell again. The candles guttered, and the shadows lengthened. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Brahn shifted, his voice quieter this time, almost gentle. “You forget what he is to me.”
Mira flinched. The words hit harder than she expected, cutting through the haze of her fury. She had. Somewhere between the blame and the grief, she had forgotten.Not just comrades. Not just allies. Something deeper. Sacred. Bonded.Her breath caught in her throat, the fire of her anger flickering low as something heavier settled in its place. Guilt. A slow, sinking ache in her chest.
The sling tugged slightly against his shoulder as he adjusted, wincing. “I still feel it,” he said. “My bond to him didn’t break, Mira. It didn’t fade. It’s still there.”
Brahn exhaled sharply, as if he could force the feeling away. “Every breath. Every heartbeat. It’s not just pain, it’s a siren call. It lures me to the abyss, and there are moments that I wonder if I should stop fighting it. Because if I let go, maybe, just maybe, I’d find him again.”
Mira let her tears fall, jaw trembling. Outside, the wind howled through the trees, rattling the iron gate. Brahn’s voice, when it came again, was quiet. Measured.
“When the King of Kharador arrives, he will bring something that will turn the tides and ensure our victory.”
“I am not one of your uprising Brahn” Mira said. Her voice was barely a whisper, but it cut cleaner than steel.
Brahn’s expression stilled. His voice lost none of its certainty. Brahn sighed, "When the moment comes, you’ll know your loyalty is with us, and as the sister of my bonded, there will always be a place for you... I promised him that” Mira heard Brahn step back into the cold.
For a long moment, she stared at the name carved into stone. A gust of wind surged through the crypt’s entrance, the cold biting at her skin. She exhaled, slow and steady, before turning toward the door.
???
The last traces of sunset were long gone, leaving only the pale glow of the moonlight through the clouds. The wind had picked up, making the trees scrape together with each restless gust. Mira pulled her cloak tighter around herself, her boots crunching against the path.
Tharion stood at the edge of the burial ground, waiting. He leaned against an old stone marker, arms crossed. He said nothing, simply falling into step beside her as she passed him. The palace loomed in the distance, its towers glittering, untouched by the quiet grief of the graveyard.
Finally, Mira spoke. “He hated the cold, you know.” Tharion glanced at her.
“Torvyn.” Mira’s voice was even, but there was something heavy beneath it. “Always complained about the nights.”
Tharion’s expression hardened, “I remember. He used to steal extra blankets from the barracks. Claimed they were for you, but we both knew he was hoarding them.”
“He always had an answer for everything,” she whispered. “Especially when he was in trouble...”
Mira’s expression softened, though her eyes stayed locked on the path ahead. The lanterns burned steadily along through the palace windows, their golden glow casting elongated shadows as Mira and Tharion approached the doors. As they entered, warmth of the halls did little to chase away the cold that had settled deep in her bones.
Her gaze drifted, unconsciously. The old tapestry Torvyn used to hide behind during games of chase, the chipped vase he’d once knocked over and sworn her to secrecy about. Further down, she could see Torvyn dragging her down into the kitchens to steal sweetbread. She could almost hear his voice again. They reached her quarters. Mira pushed open the door to her room, stepping inside.
Tharion hesitated, then gestured out the hallway."I’ll be in my room. If you need anything."
She turned slightly, glancing toward it. She nodded. He lingered for a moment longer, then he gave her a short nod and turned away.
Mira closed the door. The silence pressed in even as she changed into a nightdress. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, The cold from the graveyard still clinging to her. The shadows didn’t move. The fire in the hearth had long since gone out. She didn’t light another. She couldn’t bring herself to fill the room with light when her chest felt so hollow.
A shift in the air. The faint creak of the window frame. She already knew exactly who it was. Ren slipped through the open window like smoke, silent and sure. His boots barely made a sound as they hit the floor. His cloak damp at the hem from mist. His brow furrowed the moment he saw her.
“You left the window unlatched,” he murmured, stepping closer.
“Did I?” she asked quietly, eyes not leaving the floor. She didn't even remember unlatching the window at all.
Ren stopped a few paces from her. He crouched down,“Mira.”
She blinked slowly, then met his gaze.“Brahn came to the crypt...” Ren stilled. “He tried to turn it on the council." she said, a dry huff escaping her. "And worse, he believes it.”
Ren didn’t speak right away. He rose slowly before sitting beside her.Just close enough that their shoulders touched. “Do you believe him?” he asked quietly.
