When the light fades, and the world grows still, seek the house of peace. There, in the quiet embrace of dusk, strength waits to be renewed, just as it has for those who came before us.
Elora stared at the prayer, trying to decipher its meaning. Sadia wouldn’t have given this to her just to keep her hope alive.The house of peace.Surely, that was referring to the mausoleum where the ashes of the dead lay.
In the quiet embrace of dusk.Elora looked out the window, seeing the reddish hues of the setting sun. She had to leave. Now.
Amara tilted her head, watching Elora closely, confusion clear in her expression. “What does it say?” she asked, trying to peer at the note.
Elora folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket. “It’s a prayer,” she replied smoothly. “I just remembered. I need to go somewhere. I’ll be back before dinner starts, promise.”
Before Amara could question her further, Elora stood and headed quickly for the door. The mausoleum wasn’t far, tucked away at the edge of the Institute grounds, but she couldn’t waste a second. She had no idea what awaited her there, only that Professor Sadia had gone to great lengths to hide this meeting in the guise of a prayer.
Elora stepped cautiously into the House of Peace, the air thick with the scent of decay and the lingering ghosts of forgotten souls. The sun had fully set, leaving the room bathed in an eerie twilight. A few flickering lanterns, like dying embers, struggled against the encroaching gloom, casting long, skeletal shadows that dancedacross the moss-covered walls. The silence was deafening, broken only by the drip-drip-drip of water somewhere deep within the structure, and the frantic beating of her own heart.
She ran her hand along the rough wall, her fingers tracing the names etched into it. Names of professors and leaders from ages past, some of whom bore the last name Thorn. She shivered, her fingers lingering on the carved letters. These names represented history, power, and legacy—a lineage she now knew included Tehvan. It didn’t seem right. The only Thorn she thought she knew was the man who had broken her mind, body, and spirit, the one who wore cruelty like a second skin. The contrast was impossible to reconcile, the name Thorn holding both salvation and destruction in its grasp.
Her gaze shifted to the heart of the room, where a large stone basin stood, solemn and still. Ash filled it, left loose and exposed to the air. This was what the failed students and “escaped” wards had been reduced to. A final, silent resting place for those whose hopes had been crushed on this island. Arria’s ashes would have been scattered here; it was as close as she’d come to her friend in what felt like so long. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to look away, though the ache of loss lingered painfully.
The door creaked open behind her, and she spun around. Tehvan emerged from the shadows, his silhouette highlighted in a silver glow from the moon outside. The lantern’s glow, when it finally reached him, illuminated his face. Elora saw the bags under his eyes, the subtle lines around his mouth, and the crease between his brows. He wore the face of someone in mourning. She supposed, however, that this place, with its basin of ash, was not somewhere anyone could feel anything besides quiet sorrow.
“Elora,” he said, closing the door behind him. His gaze flickered over her, not meeting her eyes. There was a hint of relief mingled with the tautness in his features. “You came.”
Elora nodded, unable to speak. She hadn’t expected to find him here, hadn’t expected the somber intimacy of the House of Peace to heighten her own sense of desperation. “Professor Sadia’s note… I thought it was from her,” she managed.
“It was from both of us,” he replied softly. “We couldn’t risk anything more direct.” He glanced around the room, his eyes lingering on the names etched into the walls, the basin filled with ash. “This place…” He hesitated. “It’s hardly fitting. More of a dark omen.”
She couldn’t shake the dread that clawed at her, the thought that their attempt to escape might end them up here, their lives reduced to a nameless mix of ashes, forgotten. Or at least her life.
“Why did you want me to come here?”
Tehvan’s gaze met hers, his mouth half-open as if the words had caught in his throat. Elora watched as his eyes flickered, his expression shifting as he registered the subtle, unmistakable change in her appearance. Her eyes. She understood they reminded Thorn of his niece. Maybe Tehvan also saw Florence in them. But they are different now. She saw the flicker of grief pass over his face.
Grief.I’m not Florence. I’m not a replacement.So why would he grieve for her eye color changing? Elora felt no guilt for the ache her appearance caused him. In fact, she found herself strangely grateful for the difference, however slight. She wasn’t Florence.
Tehvan crossed the small space between them, reaching out to touch her cheek, but she shifted her head ever so slightly, avoiding his hand. “What happened?”
“Thorn has started a new experiment,” she replied, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. “And if it continues, I… I don’t think I’ll survive it. Not mentally, at least.”
A grim understanding settled over Tehvan’s face. “You’ll be okay. Only one more day.”
“So, it’s happening? There’s a ship?”
He nodded. “Tomorrow night. We just need to keep Thorn preoccupied long enough for the boat to sail away with us on it.”
She swallowed, her mind spinning with the sheer magnitude of it. It sounded so simple on the surface, but they both knew it was anything but. Thorn’s presence was everywhere; he was the force holding this place in his grip. Escaping him would mean moving through a gauntlet of danger, and she was painfully aware of what Thorn would do if he found them before they made it to that ship.
“How are we supposed to do that?” she asked, trying to hide her anxiety.
Tehvan held up a small vial, the thin blue smoke swirling inside catching the faint light. She recognized it immediately,Somnus Vapor.Its potent fumes could render anyone who inhaled it unconscious for hours, even days, depending on the potency.
“When Thorn brings you to his study, use this. When he resides himself in his research, no one ever expects to see him for hours. Nobody will suspect anything is wrong.” He held the vial out to her, his fingers trembling ever so slightly. “Don’t let him get his hands on you first.”
Elora took the vial, her fingers closing around it as her mind raced. Taking out Thorn, the most crucial part of the plan, was falling on her. If she messed up or someone discovered her with the vial, everything would fail. It would all be over.I can’t doubt myself. It’ll be fine.
“And after he’s unconscious?” she asked.
“Meet in the storage hall, closet 3A. There is a secret passage into the tunnels there.”
“I’ll be there,” she nodded, clutching the vial tighter in her hand. For the first time in weeks, a spark of confidence lit up inside her. She could see the glimmer of freedom on the horizon, so close she almost tasted it.
