The night after the attack was restless. The palace guards doubled their patrols, but it did little to calm the tension that had sunk into the walls like smoke after a fire.
Lila couldn't sleep.
The mark on her palm no longer burned with fire—but something else stirred beneath her skin, something fluid and cold.
She sat barefoot at the edge of the moonlit reflecting pool in the inner garden, silent. The water shimmered under the silver light, perfectly still until her fingertips brushed its surface.
At first, she thought it was wind.
Then the water responded—coiling gently around her hand like a curious serpent.
She froze.
The ripple didn't fade. It danced and swirled with her presence, and a faint blue glow spread from her fingers in glowing tendrils.
Her breath caught.
Another mark.
"Second king," she whispered.
Fire had been raw, urgent. But water was different—deeper. Serene on the surface, wild beneath. It whispered, not with words, but emotion—waiting for her to understand.
A footstep behind her.
"You shouldn't be alone right now," Cassian said gently.
"I needed air," Lila replied. "And I think… something's happening again."
Cassian approached slowly. "The water?"
She nodded. "It's responding like the fire did. I think I just awakened a second element."
He didn't answer at first, tension coiling around him.
"I want to try something," she said. "I want to look at your curse. Not just with my eyes. With… this."
Cassian hesitated. "You think you can see it?"
"I can feel the water inside you. In your blood. Maybe this can show me what others haven't seen."
After a pause, he sat across from her. She lifted her hand and laid it gently over his closed eyes.
The second her palm met his skin, the world tilted.
She was submerged.
Not blind—buried in silence. Inside his body, inside his magic.
And there it was.
A coil of shadow, wrapped behind his eyes. Blue and black. A curse—but older. Hungrier.
She gasped and pulled back, face pale. Cassian caught her wrist.
"What did you see?"
"It's draining you. It's feeding off your magic, Cassian. This isn't just about sight. It's trying to take everything."
Cassian's mouth tightened. "That explains a lot."
"I think I can fight it," she said. "But not yet. It's too strong. I need more."
"You want to wield all four elements."
"They're inside me," she whispered. "Fire, now water. I think Earth and Storm are waiting."
"Why risk it?"
"Because if we wait, it'll kill you."
Cassian stilled, then nodded. "Then we don't wait."
She looked into his face, her hand still faintly glowing. "You trust me?"
"I trust the girl who scorched a hedge maze to keep me alive."
She laughed quietly.
Then he said: "There's something else."
Her expression shifted. "What?"
"A memory. A voice. From before the curse."
She leaned closer. "Whose voice?"
"My uncle. Lord Veren. He was whispering about removing obstacles. About cleansing the line."
Her breath caught. "He cursed you?"
"I think he's behind it all. My blindness. Elira's death. Maybe even Ashkar's silence."
The pieces fell together.
"We'll expose him," Lila said. "But we'll need proof."
Cassian nodded. "And allies."
She turned to the water. It curled around her fingers with gentle strength.
Tomorrow, she would ask Isolde to guide her to the Earth King.
And after that, the King of Storms.
End of Chapter 9