Caius sat alone in the war room, staring at the parchment. His arm throbbed from the wound he had taken earlier, but he barely noticed the pain.
Two weeks. That was all the time they had before the Hollow King's forces marched upon Evernight.
Except… time didn't feel like his ally anymore.
Ever since that vision—since the moment the Hollow King had seen him—his powers had felt different. Or, more accurately… weaker.
And during the ambush earlier, they hadn't worked at all.
Caius clenched his fists. He had been relying on them for so long. He had trained with them, fought with them, survived because of them.
But if he couldn't use them now—if they had been taken from him—what did that mean for the battle ahead?
The sound of boots against stone pulled him from his thoughts.
Elias entered the chamber, arms crossed. "You're thinking too hard."
Caius exhaled, leaning back. "I don't have a choice."
Elias studied him for a moment, then gestured to his arm. "Selene told me what happened."
Caius didn't respond.
Elias took a step closer. "You reached for time… and it didn't answer."
That caught Caius off guard. He looked up sharply. "How do you—"
"I've known you long enough." Elias's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "You didn't just hesitate back there. You expected to stop it, and you couldn't."
Caius exhaled slowly. "Yeah."
A silence stretched between them. Then Elias spoke again.
"Do you think it's because of him?"
Caius swallowed. "The Hollow King?"
Elias nodded.
Caius hesitated before answering. "I don't know. But I think… ever since that vision, something feels wrong."
"Like he's already inside your mind?"
Caius shuddered. "Like he's already winning."
Elias frowned but didn't argue. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out a folded scrap of parchment. He placed it on the table.
"We got another message from our contact inside Evernight."
Caius blinked, surprised. "Another spy?"
Elias nodded. "Someone close to the Hollow Legion. We don't know who they are, but they've been feeding us intel for months."
Caius unfolded the note and read the words scrawled in rushed ink.
"The King watches. He is waiting for the Timeborn to act. Beware the Veil. It has already begun."
Caius's blood ran cold.
The Veil.
That was a name he had only heard in whispers, in ancient stories. A force older than the Hollow Legion itself.
Selene entered the chamber just then, flipping a dagger in her fingers. "You two look grim."
Elias glanced at her. "We just got word from our informant."
Selene's smirk faded. "Bad news?"
Caius slid the paper toward her. She read it and narrowed her eyes. "The Veil? What the hell does that mean?"
"I don't know," Caius admitted. "But I think it's connected to what's happening to me."
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Your little time tricks breaking down?"
Caius exhaled. "They're not breaking down. They're being cut off."
Elias frowned. "By the Hollow King?"
Caius shook his head. "Maybe. Or maybe something older."
Selene leaned on the table. "Alright, let's assume this Veil is real. What do we do?"
Caius met her gaze. "We find out what it is. And we stop it before it stops me completely."
Elias didn't waste time. Within the hour, he had gathered Caius, Selene, and Garran for a mission into the depths of Evernight.
The goal? The hidden archives.
Buried beneath the ruins of the old cathedral, the archives were said to hold records older than the kingdom itself. If the Veil was more than just a myth, then the answers would be there.
The four of them moved quickly under the cover of night. The city felt different this time. The streets were quieter. The air heavier.
Caius couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them.
They reached the cathedral without trouble. The building was a crumbling ruin, half-swallowed by overgrowth. But beneath it—hidden behind shattered statues and broken stone—was the entrance to the archives.
Garran lit a torch, revealing ancient steps leading into the dark. "Hope you all like dust," he muttered.
Selene grinned. "And ghosts."
Caius exhaled. Not ghosts. Something worse.
They descended into the archives. The air grew colder the deeper they went. The walls were lined with stone shelves, filled with scrolls and books that hadn't been touched in centuries.
Elias led the way, scanning the shelves. "Look for anything on the Veil."
Caius moved to one of the shelves, running his fingers over the ancient tomes. Then—
A whisper.
He froze.
It had been faint, like wind through old paper. But it wasn't wind. It was words.
"…time is not yours to wield…"
Caius whirled.
No one was there.
Selene frowned. "You alright?"
Caius swallowed. "Yeah."
But he wasn't.
He pulled a book from the shelf at random, trying to shake the feeling. The cover was old leather, the title barely legible.
"The Veil and the Shadow of Kings."
His heartbeat quickened. "I found something."
Elias and the others gathered around as he flipped through the pages. The text was faded, but the meaning was clear.
The Veil is the barrier between time and the abyss. It is neither living nor dead, but it watches.
And when the Timeborn walks too far, it takes notice.
Caius's hands trembled.
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what does that mean?"
Elias's face was grim. "It means Caius didn't just see the Hollow King." He looked at Caius. "Something else saw you too."
Caius's stomach churned. The vision. The way my power failed.
It wasn't just the Hollow King.
The Veil itself was watching him.
Garran muttered, "I hate magic."
Selene huffed. "Great. So now we have an immortal warlord and an ancient time-ghost to deal with?"
Elias ignored her, his gaze still locked on Caius. "We need to know what it wants."
Caius exhaled. "I think I already know."
They waited.
Caius closed the book and looked up. "It doesn't want me to change the future."
Silence.
Selene folded her arms. "Then it's gonna be really pissed when we do."
Caius almost laughed. Almost.
Because the truth was—
The future wasn't something he was certain he could change anymore.
But he had to try.