Fear like a cold and heavy chain had wrapped itself around Rio's being. Before Valentina, who according to his father's stories, was the most powerful dragon in the world, he had no escape. Every wrong move, every misplaced word, could lead to his death—a death that might leave no trace of him in the world. With a heart trembling with fear, he slowly rose from the wooden chair and took Valentina's hands. Her hands were firm and seasoned, as if forged from centuries of war and training.
Valentina led him out of the kitchen with slow but determined steps. Her silence, heavier than the snowy storm outside, followed them like a sinister shadow. The dark, ruined corridors of the castle, with their cracked stone walls and the smell of decay lingering in the air, seemed to suck at Rio's soul.
Minutes later, they reached a massive metal gate of the castle, sealed with a gigantic wooden bar. Hanging on the wall beside it was a black woolen cloak with a brown belt. Valentina walked toward it, fastened the belt with a calm motion, and four heavy metal orbs attached to it gleamed in the faint light of the torches.
She wrapped the black cloak around herself and pulled the attached hood over her head until nothing of her face was visible except her shining turquoise eyes.
Her shadow danced on the wall like a living creature.
Suddenly from the darkness of the corridor, Frohel, Valentina's white wolf appeared with icy eyes and silent steps. He carried Rio's coat in his mouth, its sleeve still stained with dried blood. Rio, with a body trembling from weakness and anxiety, struggled to put on the coat with Valentina's help. A storm raged within him. He didn't know where he was being taken, but the fear of Valentina's question—the question about X—had paralyzed him. He remained silent, for no action, no resistance, could save him from this nightmare.
Valentina glanced at him, her eyes shining like two cold stars in the shadow of her hood. In a soft but resolute voice, she said:
"William said you have no problem with the cold, right?"
Rio with a trembling and hesitant voice, nodded and whispered:
"Yes ma'am. I don't feel the cold."
Valentina nodded, as if expecting this response.
Then, with a strength that seemed to come from the depths of her being, she lifted the massive wooden bar and pushed it aside. The gate opened with a roaring sound, and the snowy storm rushed in like an angry monster. Snow and wind blurred Rio's vision, and he could barely see anything. Valentina took his hand, her fingers wrapping around his wrist like an iron chain, and with Frohel moving like a white shadow beside them, they stepped into the darkness and storm.
As they moved away from the castle, Rio could for a moment, see its ruined face—collapsed turrets, broken stone walls, and windows that stared at him like the empty eyes of a giant skull.
The storm howled, and the snow scratched his skin like icy blades. His heartbeat was so rapid it seemed it would tear through his chest. In a loud voice, barely audible in the storm, he shouted:
"I don't think a simple bath is worth this! We should go back!"
Valentina didn't respond. Her silence, colder than any words, cut deeper. She gripped Rio's hand tighter and, ignoring his cry, pressed forward through the storm. They walked through snow and darkness for a while until the massive shadow of a mountain appeared before them. Valentina carefully moved along the frozen cliffs until she found a dark opening. Without a word, she pulled Rio into the cave.
Frohel, with his glowing eyes, followed them like a loyal guard.
The cave's interior, unlike the deadly cold outside, was warm and damp. The black stone walls, streaked with golden veins, glimmered like living veins in the faint light. The sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling to the ground echoed in the cave like a calm heartbeat.
Rio with hesitation and fear that grew deeper by the moment, followed Valentina. After a few minutes, they reached a larger space. In its center was a hot spring, with steam rising like white mist dancing in the air.
The faint light of the cave made the water's surface shine like a magical mirror.
Valentina sat on a smooth rock beside the spring, her cloak gathering around her like the wings of night. In a soft but commanding tone, she said:
"Alright, get in."
Rio, with fear coiling around his heart like a snake, said in a trembling voice:
"But I…"
Valentina tilted her head, and her eyes, now like two icy black holes, fixed on him. In a terrifying and threatening voice that seemed to come from the depths of the earth, she repeated:
"Get in the spring!"
Rio swallowed hard, his throat dry and burning. With trembling hands, he began removing his clothes. Each movement seemed to take a part of his being with it. Meanwhile, Valentina detached two heavy metal orbs from her belt and held them in her hands. The cave's light reflected on their polished surfaces, and her eyes, fixed on them, seemed to see a deadly secret.
She paused for a moment, then, without taking her gaze off the orbs, said in a voice that blended curiosity and threat:
"The destruction of the elves' empire is a horrific event. For an unusual six-year-old boy, it's utterly terrifying. At first, I thought you might still be in shock, but this relative calm, this absolute silence… you're more than an ordinary kid, aren't you?"
Rio now completely consumed by fear, slowly entered the warm water of the spring with his body bare. The water enveloped his body like a searing embrace, but no warmth could melt the cold that had taken root in his soul. He kept his wounded hand raised, as if afraid even the water might awaken his wound. He leaned against the stone wall of the spring, with Frohel standing behind him like a silent shadow and Valentina sitting before him with that icy gaze.
Rio, in a broken voice full of pleading, whispered:
"I just want to go back to my family."
At that moment, Valentina released the metal orbs. But instead of falling, they began to spin in the air above the spring with an eerie sound, like living creatures. The golden veins in the walls reflected on the orbs, and their shadows slid across the cave walls like dancing spirits.
Valentina raised her head and fixed her gaze on Rio. Her eyes were now like two icy storms, as if determined to extract the truth from his being. In a voice where each word was like a dagger, she said:
"I'm sure you've had a conversation like this with William before. A conversation that questions your identity?"
Rio swallowed hard. His lips trembled, and his healthy hand clenched into a fist under the water, as if trying to save himself from collapsing. His breath caught, and his heart beat so fast it seemed it would tear through his chest. Valentina let out a deep sigh.
In a voice now deeper and more terrifying, she continued:
"The power Valdis wields is the pure power of fate. The threads of fate allow him to erase anyone and anything from existence, as if they never existed. A person who is erased is not only removed from the world but also wiped from the minds of everyone in this world. The only ones who remember the erased are Valdis himself…"
She paused for a moment, lowered her head, and stared at her hands—hands covered in old scars, each seeming to tell a story of war and death. Then, in a voice that seemed to come from the depths of darkness, she whispered:
"and.... the Sentinels."