Chapter 20: The King's Claim
The words echoed across the battlefield, silencing even the storm above.
"Child of the Veil... you belong to us."
Lila's blood turned cold.
Around her, the clash of spells and shadows seemed to blur, fading into the background. All she could see was him—the Forgotten King. His presence pressed down on her like a weight, his voice still vibrating in her bones.
"Lila!" Niall's voice broke through her trance. He grabbed her arm, tugging. "We have to go! Now!"
But she didn't move. Couldn't.
The King stepped forward, every stride elegant and slow, as though he had all the time in the world. The other Wraithborn parted for him like mist.
"Why me?" Lila asked, her voice a whisper. "What do you want from me?"
"You are the balance," the King said, stopping just short of the protective barrier she'd unconsciously raised. "The link between the dying world and the forgotten one. The Veil calls to its heir."
He extended a hand.
And something inside her responded.
A tremor of magic surged through her veins, not from fear—but recognition. A pull. Like some part of her remembered him. Remembered them.
Thorne appeared beside her in an instant, raising her staff. "Back away from her," she growled.
The King's gaze shifted, cool and disinterested. "You trained her well, Thorne. But you cannot sever blood."
A blast of shadow ripped from his hand.
Thorne countered it with a wall of light, the two magics clashing with a thunderous boom that shattered the ground around them. The force knocked Lila and Niall backward. Dust and magic spiraled into the sky.
Lila's ears rang. Her vision spun.
She struggled to her feet, heart pounding, head reeling. The King was still there—but now a shimmering barrier pulsed between them. The Academy's inner wards. Just barely holding.
"Fall back to the Hall of Whispers!" Thorne commanded, her voice hoarse. "The rift is widening—we can't hold them here!"
Lila and Niall ran with the others, magic erupting behind them as Thorne and the senior professors held the line.
Inside the Hall, the atmosphere was frantic. Students crowded together, some bleeding, others pale with fear. But Lila could feel it—the King's presence still looming outside, waiting.
And within her... something had been awakened.
"What did he mean?" Niall asked as they slid against the wall, panting. "Why did he say you belong to them?"
Lila shook her head, her thoughts racing. "I don't know... but it felt true."
Silence hung between them.
Then the voice returned—soft, whispering through the cracks in her mind.
You are one of us, daughter of the Veil. The blood remembers... and the time has come to choose.
Lila's heart pounded harder. Not in fear. In dread. In destiny.
She knew, without question, this battle was only the beginning.