Cassian didn't speak again for three days.
Each morning, Lila visited his chamber, offering quiet greetings he rarely returned. She brought news from the palace halls, tried to make him smile with stories from her world—about tangled headphone cords, thunderstorms without magic, and how people in her world thought magic only existed in books. He didn't laugh. But sometimes, when he thought she wasn't looking, he listened.
On the fourth morning, as light streamed through the stained-glass windows, Cassian finally broke the silence.
"Why did they take my sight?" he asked, voice low, brittle.
Lila turned, startled. She hadn't expected words—least of all those.
"The curse," she said carefully, walking toward him. "Isolde says it's more than simple magic. Someone wanted to weaken you."
Cassian's fingers curled around the edge of the chair, white-knuckled. "Sight was never my strength. I led with instinct. With fire."
"Maybe that's why they took it," Lila said, sitting beside him. "To make you doubt your instincts. Yourself."
His head tilted toward her, the movement small but significant. "Do you believe I can be saved?"
She hesitated—a heartbeat. Then nodded. "Yes."
That was the first time he looked almost at peace.
Night had settled in when a sharp knock jolted Lila from sleep. She sat up quickly, her heart racing. Isolde stood in the doorway of her chamber, torchlight flickering behind her.
"You must come," the guardian said. "The Fire King has awoken."
Lila threw off the covers. "Another spirit?"
Isolde nodded. "Yes. He is… difficult. Proud. But he has agreed to speak with you. Come quickly."
They moved through the palace's deeper corridors—winding staircases and long-forgotten halls where the air grew hotter with every step. The walls were lit by a golden glow, as if fire itself pulsed just beneath the stone. Runes flickered faintly, ancient crests half-worn by time.
Finally, they reached a great stone door. Heat radiated from behind it.
Isolde stepped aside. "He waits for you alone."
Lila swallowed hard, nodded, and stepped inside.
End of Chapter 5