It was just an ordinary warm summer evening. In the Western Province of the Aracels Empire, the weather rarely turned cold. But the weather isn’t the point right now.
A tall, imposing, and still quite young lord sat lost in thought, flipping through the pages of a book. Every now and then, he’d pause his captivating read to jot down neat notes in a small notebook. His young son slept peacefully nearby. His pregnant wife, exhausted from tending to their little one, had drifted off to dreamland shortly after their boy. There was no reason to worry.
The lord glanced up from his book for a moment, casting a puzzled look out the window. Something had unsettled him, put him on edge, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. His eyes wandered aimlessly among the trees until they caught sight of a lone rider galloping toward the castle.
Lord Vel felt every muscle in his body tense instantly, a fiery surge of magic burning through his veins. His hands trembled, nearly dropping the book. His sharp eyesight picked out the crest on the rider’s cloak, and he forced himself to stand. Setting the book down on the table, he ran his fingers through his hair and shot a worried glance at his wife.
“Vel?” his lady called sleepily, clearly sensing his unease, her hand instinctively shielding her belly.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he hurried to reassure her. “Go back to sleep. I’ll step out for a few minutes and be right back.”
With those words, he gently tucked the blanket around her, kissed her forehead tenderly, and quietly slipped out of the room, hurrying downstairs. He met the unexpected visitor at the threshold and would’ve preferred to bid them farewell right there. But his upbringing wouldn’t allow him to be so rude to a woman, so he felt compelled to invite her inside. The rider looked weary and frightened. Silently, the lord led her to his study, and only after closing the door behind them did he stop.
“What do you want from me?” he asked, irritation sharp in his tone.
The woman took a shaky breath and pulled the hood from her head.
“I’m sorry, Vel. I know I’m the last person you’d want to see. I know I treated you poorly. I’m so sorry… You can’t imagine how much I…”
“Enough!” the lord cut her off, heaving a heavy sigh. “I have a family now, children. Why are you here?”
The woman flinched and paled even more at his sharp tone, but as soon as he finished speaking, her chin trembled, and a sob escaped her throat. The lord’s face turned to stone in an instant.
“My son, Vel… I…”
She choked on a sob, and the lord muttered a frustrated curse under his breath, handing her a handkerchief. It took her just a few minutes to pull herself together. Then, with a sharp exhale, she looked into his eyes.
“You’re the only one I can trust with this secret,” she whispered hoarsely.
In that moment, a magical barrier enveloped the study. Now, no one could overhear their conversation.
“My husband knew from the start that I wasn’t pregnant with his child. But if he ever found out whose baby I was carrying, I’d be killed without mercy. Ten years ago… You remember, I was at court?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“The Emperor often gave me lingering looks, but I never paid them any mind. He was always surrounded by the most beautiful ladies of the capital and beyond. That evening, I stayed late in the imperial office, and as I was heading back…” She sobbed again, hastily wiping tears from her face. “He raped me, Vel… I couldn’t do anything to stop him. For the first time in my life, I felt utterly helpless.”
The lord crossed the study in silence and stopped by the window. His hands trembled even more.
“You got pregnant by him?”
“I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the child,” she replied, her voice rough. “I just couldn’t… The Emperor was a healer, you know that. He made sure there wasn’t a single trace of what he’d done to me.”
“Were you involved in the conspiracy?” the lord asked coldly, though he already knew the answer.
“I’m a lady, Vel. You, of all people, know me. We grew up together…”
“We were engaged,” the lord interrupted, “but you managed to surprise me. I thought I knew you better than anyone. Yet you chose someone else and didn’t even bother to tell me.”
The woman paled and looked away.
“You have to understand. It was bigger than me.”
The lord only sighed heavily. So much time had passed, yet recalling that day still hurt.
“You wanted revenge on him, didn’t you?” he asked in a low, hollow voice, his gaze fixed on the landscape beyond the window.
“I knew people who weren’t happy with his rule. All it took was a few hints here, a few there, and the wheels started turning on their own.”
“Gods!”
The lord rubbed his face with his hands. If he kept what she’d just told him a secret, he’d be killed, executed as a traitor in the public square of the capital.
“Vel, please. I know you have the knowledge I need. I’m begging you…”
“What do you want?”
“My son… He’s almost ten, Velemar. He’s going to reveal himself soon. And at the Academy of Eternal Darkness, they’ll recognize him immediately. Too many traits of the imperial bloodline. Vel, they’ll execute him! They’ll kill him to protect the throne!”
“The Emperor has a right to know he has a brother,” the lord countered, and the woman burst into tears.
“You don’t understand!”
“Taurelion isn’t Ranagar. He wouldn’t…”
“You can’t be sure of that!” she interrupted, sobbing even louder. “Please, I’m begging you, Vel. Teach him to control the darkness. I know you have the skills. I’m pleading with you, Velemar, for my sake, for the good memories we still share. Don’t let them kill my son, Vel.”
Everything inside Velemar Lightinsky rebelled against the idea. Even his magic surged in protest, warning him. But as he looked at the pale, terrified woman who had once carved a permanent place in his heart, he already knew he’d agree. Just as he suspected this endeavor would bring him nothing but trouble.