Chapter Twenty-Four: The Truth We Choose
The morning sun crept through the broken windows of the ancient tower where Kael rested, casting golden lines across the floor like the bars of a forgotten cage. The battle with Mihai had left more than wounds—it had left echoes in his soul, questions clawing at the edges of the answers he'd been given.
He sat quietly, sharpening his blade, though it needed no honing. His mind was elsewhere.
Behind him, the soft clink of boots echoed through the stone chamber.
Mihai entered, his arms crossed behind his back, watching Kael with unreadable eyes.
"You've changed," Mihai said. "You carry the weight differently now."
Kael didn't look up. "I saw everything you wanted me to see."
A long pause.
"Then you know what comes next," Mihai said. "You've seen what Andrew did. What Andreas became. But there's still someone left who may hold the pieces you're missing."
Kael stopped sharpening.
"Your mother."
The words hung in the air like an executioner's axe.
"Natalia." Mihai stepped forward. "She's alive. With Andrew now. Perhaps she remembers you. Perhaps not. But she deserves to see you. And you deserve—"
Kael stood abruptly.
"No."
Mihai blinked.
"Why?"
Kael turned to face him, his eyes burning with something more than pain—conviction.
"I don't need to see her. She lived in a time that's gone. If she remembers me, it'll only be grief. And if she doesn't…" he hesitated, voice faltering for a moment, "…then I'm just another ghost. I won't force myself into her peace."
Mihai studied him carefully.
"Then what will you do?"
Kael looked out the window, the horizon stretching beyond the rising mountains. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.
"I want to see Andrew again."
Mihai's eyebrow raised, just slightly. "To fight him?"
"No," Kael replied. "To tell him I understand now. Everything. Why he did what he did. Why my father hated him. Why this continent is still bleeding from their war."
Mihai didn't answer right away.
Because in his silence, he realized something that Kael hadn't.
Kael thought he knew the truth.
But he was still only scratching the surface.
He hadn't seen the real reason Andreas betrayed Andrew. The hidden hands. The long game. The prophecy buried beneath Dream Land's throne. The existence of Kael himself—a living weapon shaped by both love and manipulation.
But Mihai said nothing.
Because some truths had to be earned, not given.
Instead, he offered a faint smirk and turned toward the door.
"Then go. Find Andrew. Tell him what you believe. But be warned…" he paused, glancing back.
"The truth doesn't care if you're ready."