The throne reformed from the smoke. The Dark Lord sat again, his fingers tracing patterns in the air — old signs that glowed faintly red.
"Go," he said. "And do not return until she stands at the edge of the forest."
The illusions bowed.
The woman's form dissolved into a faint form of silver light.
The sorcerer turned back , his eyes cold but full of unspoken grief. Then he too vanished — slipping through the veil between worlds.
"Now the real chapter of your life will start Amelia, you won't be able to hide for long " he said coldly.
Inside the Study Amelia 's Side
Inside the study, the door clicked softly behind Alaric.
He stood still for a moment, breathing heavily, he pressed his hand on his left shoulder where the coat was torn as he removed his coat there was also a cut there he was injured . The bandage on his hand was soaked again — not with blood, but with a faint black glow that crawled like smoke.
He exhaled, tried,bit pale and moved toward the far wall. With a touch of his palm, the wood moved faintly — revealing a hidden compartment. Inside there layed few small glass vials filled with glowing blue liquid.
His hand trembled slightly as he opened it.
He removed his shirt, revealing deep, cut mark across his shoulder and the mark pulsed faintly with a dark light, like the remains of a curse. Without hesitation, he poured the liquid over the wounds.
The liquid hissed when it touched his skin.
Light burst — faint, blue-white, clean — swallowing the blackness for a moment. The marks began to fade, the skin knitting back together faster than human healing could allow.
But as the last trace of the wound disappeared, Alaric's knees weakened. He steadied himself against the table, breathing hard. The vial rolled from his hand, clinking softly against the floor.
"Too close…" he muttered under his breath.
He reached for another small crystal bottle — this one glowing faintly with white smoke — and pressed it to the wound. A sigh escaped his lips as the lingering traces of dark magic were burned away.
For a moment, the room fell silent. The faint hum of magic retreated into the corners.
Alaric sat on the edge of the chair, rubbing his temples.
His eyes were clouded — not from exhaustion alone, but from guilt.
"I shouldn't have spoken to her like that…" he murmured. "She's already seen too much."
He glanced toward the door — outside where Amelia had stood earlier — and his chest tightened.
The secret he had kept for years was slipping through the cracks.
And the shadows were moving faster than he had expected.
His gaze shifted to the window.
Outside, the clouds were beginning to gather again — though the day had barely begun.
Finally, he leaned back, closing his eyes. The effort of using such powerful magic had drained him more than he wanted to admit. Within minutes, sleep claimed him — heavy, uneasy, full of whispers.
Later that afternoon…
The sky was glowing with golden colour, but the forest beyond the house looked darker than usual.
Amelia sat by the window, her chin resting on her knees, watching the wind move through the trees.
Sophie was behind her, flipping through a book, humming softly. The world felt calm — almost too calm after the morning's confusion.
Amelia's eyes drifted toward the edge of the woods.
And that's when she froze.
Between the trees shadows, she saw a figure — faint and still — standing near the first line of trees. The form was blur, like smoke was between the sunlight.
A woman… with long silver hair.
Amelia blinked. The figure vanished.
Her breath caught.
She leaned forward, pressing her hand to the cold window, trying to see clearly — but before she could move—
"Amelia!" Sophie's voice startled her. "You were not replying me? I've been calling your name, Are you okay? ."
Amelia turned sharply, her heart racing. "I—thought I saw someone. Outside."
Sophie frowned and came closer to the window. "Someone? It's just the wind, maybe a reflection. You look really pale, Amelia."
Amelia hesitated. The figure was gone. The space where it stood looked perfectly ordinary — trees, leaves, sunlight.
"Yeah," Amelia said quietly. "Maybe just my imagination."
Sophie smiled faintly. "You've barely eaten anything since morning. Come on, I will make some tea and there should be some snacks in the kitchen to eat."
Amelia forced a small nod and followed her toward the table — but her eyes lingered on the window a moment longer.
Outside, the wind moved through the trees.
And deep within the forest , something glowed faintly — like silver eyes watching from afar.