Page 90 of Cursed Dreams
“No,” Thalia said, voice trembling. “Not yet.”
Caelum’s face shifted, the sorrow already settling behind his eyes. “The veil is closing.”
“I don’t care.” She stepped closer, grabbing both of his hands, desperate to keep him here “Tell me what to do, how can I fix this?”
Caelum looked at her as though seeing every version of her that had ever been, and everyone that ever would be. Slowly, he brought her hand to his chest, where his heart beat fast and steady beneath her palm.
“You’re sure? ” he asked, voice low.
Thalia nodded, “I’m sure. Whatever it is. Tell me I need to know. I want to help you.”
He exhaled slowly, his face became like stone.
“Then listen carefully,” he said, the air around them began to shimmer with the pull of the veil.
“There’s a place,” he said. “One the world has forgotten or pretends to. A temple. Hidden in lost lands. Ancient before the old gods were forgotten”
Thalia’s heart beat faster. “What temple?”
“The Temple of Kek,” he said. “It was a seat of old truths. Once, it stood as the heart of all understanding. A temple of knowledge.”
She frowned, the name strange on her tongue. “Why is it hidden?”
“There are those who didn’t want its truths to remain,”
“Who saw its knowledge as dangerous. They destroyed it. Wiped it from maps. From minds. From memory.”
“Who would do that?”
Caelum hesitated, just for a second, and then offered her a weary smile. “Those who fear what they cannot control.”
The words sank into her like stones in water.
“But it’s still out there,” he added, voice growing softer as the veil tugged harder at the edges of his form. “Somewhere, buried beneath myth and misdirection, if you find it… you’ll find the answers to all your questions, about your power, me. Even what’s coming”
“What is coming?” she asked, confused.
He leaned in, resting his brow against hers. “Truth. Thalia you will find the truth.”
She tried to tightened her grip on his hands but they were ethereal now. “Caelum—how will I find it?”
“You’ll hear the whispers,” “The wind will call. Dreams will guide. You’re already walking the path.” “Trust no one Thalia, this world is built on lies”
The ghost of his lips gently brushed against her brow.
“I’ll wait for you in the beneath the stars.”
He vanished with the last of the magic that shimmered over the square ,leaving Thalia standing alone staring at the spot where he had just been. The hollow echo of Caelum's absence was starkas she followed the lanternlight along the temple path, watching it flicker low, casting long shadows across the stone.
Her thoughts spun like leaves in wind, she had a task that now weighed on her shoulders: find a temple that the world had forgotten. The cold burn in her chest swelled. So lost in her thoughts she almost missed the silver glint of eyes that caught the light from under a stone archway, shadows coiled around him like they belonged to him. Vaelith stepped out as she approached, his face was a mask of calm, disinterest, yet she could see something burning in his eyes and tension tight across his shoulders.
“You’re out late,” he said quietly.
Her heart sank. Not tonight. Not now. She couldn’t do this now, she didn’t know what to say to him.
“I needed air,”
“I’m sure you did.” His voice held a slight tone of accusation, those pale, piercing silver eyes, searched her too closely.
