The sound of the door opening made me jump to my feet.
My heart shot up into my throat.
For a second, I thought the worst.
A guard?
The king?
Had they found me?
But before I could even fully react, the figure that stepped inside, quickly closing the door behind her, was Aria.
I let out a breath all at once.
—Ren? What are you doing here? —she asked, raising an eyebrow.
—You scared the hell out of me… —I placed a hand on my chest—. I thought it was someone else.
Aria looked at me for a few seconds, clearly not understanding anything.
—Ren… this is my room —she said slowly—. How could it be someone else?
—Well… you do have a point —I replied, rubbing the back of my neck, somewhat embarrassed.
She set down whatever she had been carrying on the table and crossed her arms.
—Besides, I told you not to be here without me.
Her tone was a little more serious than usual.
And then I remembered.
Shit.
I had completely forgotten.
—I have a good excuse —I said quickly.
Aria narrowed her eyes.
—It better be a good one.
I hurriedly searched through the blankets and bed until I found the crumpled sheet that had shifted while I was asleep.
—This.
I handed it to her.
She took it carefully, as if she were afraid of damaging something important, and began looking it over.
She frowned slightly.
—What is this?
—I found it in the king's room.
She immediately lifted her head.
—What?
Her expression changed instantly.
—Ren! I told you we'd wait until the king was busy or went somewhere else!
She looked frustrated.
And somewhat worried.
—I know, but the room was empty and I thought… —I scratched the back of my neck a little— I wanted to find something out as soon as possible. So I could get home as quickly as possible.
Aria let out a deep sigh, placing a hand on her forehead.
She seemed torn between getting angry at me and simply accepting it.
—Fine… it's okay —she finally said—. But tell me one thing, did the king see you?
I quickly shook my head.
—I don't think he saw me. But he did see that the drawer where this was kept had been forced open and was empty… he ran out screaming for the guards.
Aria's eyes widened slightly.
—So that's why they were all so agitated…
She spent a few seconds thinking.
—Because of you, I almost got caught.
I blinked.
—What? What do you mean you almost got caught because of me?
Suddenly, she let out a small laugh.
—I'll tell you later.
Then she looked back down at the sheet.
—But first… what the hell is this? None of it makes any sense.
—It looks like some kind of encrypted code.
—If it is… then it's definitely important.
—That's what I thought.
Aria lowered her gaze back to the paper.
And suddenly, to my surprise, she smiled.
But not a normal smile.
It was an excited smile.
Almost childlike.
—How exciting…
I stared at her for a second.
I hadn't expected that reaction.
—Exciting?
—Yes —she said quickly—. I haven't been excited about anything in…
She stopped for a moment.
Her eyes lowered slightly.
—…years.
It didn't sound entirely genuine.
As if she had wanted to say something else and changed her sentence halfway through.
—If you say so… —I replied with a small smile.
She ignored the comment and focused on the sheet again, this time examining it much more carefully.
—Mmm… this seems familiar.
—It does?
—My mother told me about something similar when I was little —she ran a finger along the lines of the paper—. It looks like a military code.
—Military?
She nodded.
—Yes. Kingdoms used them to send secret messages to one another during wars between humans. That way, if someone intercepted the letter, they wouldn't understand anything.
—Right… that makes sense.
—Although that was a long time ago —she continued—. Before all attention shifted toward the demons.
She fell silent for a few seconds.
I leaned forward slightly.
—Do you know what it says?
Aria grimaced a little.
—No.
She sighed.
—No idea.
My hope dropped slightly.
But then she spoke again.
—Although… I can probably figure it out.
I felt something strange inside me.
A little hope.
Very little.
But enough.
But then I remembered.
That feeling.
Aether's.
I stayed silent for a few seconds.
Looking at the floor.
I wasn't sure how to bring it up.
I wasn't even sure if I should.
But in the end, I simply said it.
—I saw Aether.
Aria immediately looked up.
—Aether? —she frowned—. Here?
—Yeah… in the palace.
A brief silence followed.
—What was he doing?
—He was talking to a girl in one of the hallways.
Aria tilted her head slightly.
—That's strange… court mages don't usually wander around here without a reason —she crossed her arms—. Was she a servant?
I shook my head.
—No… or at least she wasn't dressed like you.
—And what did she look like?
I thought for a moment.
Trying to remember her clearly.
I hadn't seen much of her.
And I had been looking from below.
But some things stood out too much.
—She was wearing pretty elegant clothes, now that I think about it… —I placed a hand on my chin—. She had brown hair and…
I paused briefly.
—Very striking green eyes.
The moment I finished speaking, something changed in Aria's expression.
She froze completely.
Wide-eyed.
As if she had just seen a ghost.
—Aria?
It took her a second to react.
—I know who she is… —she murmured.
—Who?
She looked at me.
Then looked away.
—She was my friend.
I blinked.
—Your friend?
She remained silent for a moment.
As if she were debating whether to say it or not.
—And the princess of this kingdom.
What?
I froze completely.
The princess.
Had I seen the princess talking to Aether?
I had expected any answer except that one.
And then something clicked in my head.
The green eyes.
The brown hair.
The painting above the king's bed.
It was her, or at least she looked like her.
Although in the painting she seemed older.
—Wait… the princess? —I said, still trying to process it—. The king's daughter?
Aria nodded slowly.
—I'd never seen her before —I admitted—. I didn't even know what she looked like.
—That's normal —she said—. She doesn't usually make public appearances.
Her voice sounded more subdued than usual.
As if something made her uncomfortable.
—But… your friend?
Aria lowered her gaze slightly.
Her fingers absentmindedly played with the fabric of the bedsheet.
—Yeah.
A brief silence followed.
—It's a long story.
Her tone had changed.
A lot.
—I don't think we have time to talk about that right now.
Okay.
She clearly didn't want to talk about it.
And judging by how she avoided looking at me, it didn't seem like a simple subject either.
So I decided not to push it.
But before I could say anything, she spoke again.
This time more to herself than to me.
—Although I don't understand what she was doing talking to Aether…
She frowned slightly.
She looked genuinely confused.
—And laughing, too —I added—. They seemed pretty close.
Aria stayed silent for a few seconds.
Too many.
—That really doesn't make any sense… —she murmured.
She thought about it for a while.
Then sighed.
—Anyway… another mystery to add to the list.
She turned toward me.
—I guess we'll figure it out eventually.
Though from the way she said it…
She didn't seem all that convinced.
Suddenly, Aria moved a little closer.
Not much.
Just enough to lower her voice slightly, as if whatever she was about to say wasn't meant for anyone else to hear.
—So… do you want me to tell you how I almost got caught?
I looked at her.
—For starters… almost got caught doing what?
I couldn't help being curious.
Aria gave a faint smile.
One of her small smiles.
—Sneaking into the royal library.
The royal library.
Wait.
That name sounded familiar.
And then it hit me.
The king's papers.
"Access restrictions to the royal library."
—Wait… it actually exists?
—Of course it exists —she said as if it were obvious—. Only court mages and the king himself are allowed inside.
—And why did you sneak in there?
Aria looked at me as though the answer were obvious.
—Information, Ren.
She leaned back slightly onto the bed.
—It's the place with the most knowledge in the entire kingdom. There are books about history, magic, wars, diseases… practically anything you can imagine.
She paused briefly.
—That's why access is so restricted. Very few people even know it exists.
I looked at her for a second.
And then something clicked in my head.
My chest.
The mark.
The burn.
Aether's hand.
—Wait… —I frowned—. You went there because of my mark.
Aria smiled slightly.
—Exactly.
She pointed at me for a moment.
—You finally got one right.
—Well? —I said, ignoring the comment—. Did you find anything?
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The smile disappeared.
She looked away for a second.
As if she were thinking about how to say it.
And that sent a chill through my body.
—I found something… —she murmured—. But I don't think you're going to like it.
I felt my stomach tighten slightly.
—Say it.
I swallowed.
—I'd rather know.
Aria remained silent for a few seconds.
Too many.
Then she sighed.
—Aether placed a rune on your chest.
I blinked.
—A… rune?
—Yes.
Her tone was much more serious now.
—It's a very rare type of magic. And dangerous.
Her gaze dropped toward my chest.
As if she could see it through my clothes.
—From what I found, there are many kinds. Some runes benefit the person carrying them. Others harm them.
—So… what does mine do?
Aria didn't answer immediately.
She frowned slightly.
She looked uncomfortable.
Even worried.
—That's the problem.
My breathing grew a little heavier.
—What problem?
—Yours doesn't look like any of those.
I felt a small knot form in my stomach.
—Normal runes are usually small —she continued—. Symbols, shapes, strange drawings…
She paused.
—But yours…
She swallowed.
—Yours is a letter.
Instinctively, I placed a hand over my chest.
Feeling the exact spot where it had burned.
—What do you mean by that?
Aria lowered her voice slightly.
As if even saying it out loud was dangerous.
—That I haven't found anything exactly like it.
She fell silent for a moment.
—But I did find something very similar.
The room seemed to fall silent.
Even I stopped moving.
—Ren…
She looked directly into my eyes.
—I think it's a death rune.
I froze.