Page 3 of Darkness and Deceit
At first, he drifted. Then he ruptured everything. And when he did, entire regions fell with him, plunging into chaos. The Balance reeled, and the Keepers who survived spent years patching the holes left behind.
The Darkness, by all accounts, is said to be neutral—an old force, a balance of its own. But that balance is delicate. One misstep and it begins to warp. Then it spreads like a sickness.
A Keeper’s greatest fear is not death, but dissolution: the slow unraveling of the self, the corruption of what was once pure and whole.
“When the scales tip,” Malissa continues, voice like a recitation of ancient scripture,“the Balance answers in kind. Chaos for chaos. Blood for blood.”
The words echo in my mind. They’re etched into the marrow of every Keeper since childhood. Every lesson, every punishment, every whispered rumor was meant to drive that simple truth home. We hold harmony by the smallest margin. One flicker of instability could cascade into ruin.
Now, that ruin has a name. Two names, if the council is to be believed.
Clarke is not mollified. “And we trust this girl?” he presses, voice sharp. “What is her name?”
“Lilith Knight,” Malissa replies.
My grandmother’s eyes narrow. “Knight? The daughter ofTheodoreKnight?”
The name hangs heavily in the chamber. Everyone seems to inhale at the same time. Even the Protectors, stoic sentinels that they are, lean forward.
Theodore Knight, the legendary Protector, the man believed to have ended Magnus. The records claim the breach was closed, the threat destroyed. How, exactly, remains sealed in silence. The details were redacted. The stories, contradictory.
But one truth endures: when the Balance trembled, it was Theodore who stood at its edge. And whatever he did… the world believed it was enough.
His name carries weight because no one speaks of what it cost.
Malissa raises her hand, and the murmurs die instantly.
“She claims to have seen Magnus alive,” she says. “We have reached out to Theodore, but received no answer. He has never spoken of what happened the day Magnus fell. Whether by vow, trauma, or deeper obligation... his silence has always stood unquestioned.”
She pauses, gaze sweeping the chamber.
“Now, that silence has come undone.”
It is Clarke who speaks next, always the first to test for weaknesses. “We are being asked to stake the Balance on the word of a young girl. And a Dual, at that. The daughter of a man whose allegiances are now in question, given his refusal to answer summons. If Magnus lives, if this is not merely a spectral echo—then what guarantee do we have that the girl is not an extension of his will? That she is not a decoy sent to infiltrate, to fracture us from within?”
A few heads nod, reluctantly. Some seem to flinch at the thought, but none refute it outright.
My grandmother’s voice cuts through the rising tension, clear and low. “You presume much, Clarke. Lilith has yet to even complete her first term among the academy. You think Magnus would use a pawn so untried?”
“Desperation breeds innovation,” Clarke replies. “We have seen it before.”
Malissa holds up both hands, palms outward. “Enough. We do not know what we do not know.” Her gaze sweeps the chamber, sharp and unwavering. “Let me remind you all:Balance above belief. Vigilance before trust.”
As one, we echo:“Balance above all.”
“Now, each temple will send a Keeper to the Academy to serve as a watchful eye,” Malissa says. “Thirteen chances to steady what now threatens to tip. We cannot afford to falter.”
She pauses, then gestures toward a cluster of Keepers standing apart from the others. “From our temple, we have selected Keeper Mara, Keeper Soren, and Keeper Elide.”
Her gaze sweeps the chamber until it lands on me. Her eyes pierce through me, as if stripping away everything I use to steady myself.
“But we need more than oversight. We need insight,” she continues, her voice shifting to something more urgent. “Lilith Knight’s presence complicates everything. As a confirmed Dual, as the daughter of Theodore, and now—as the only known witness to Magnus’ return—she stands at the heart of the storm.”
Malissa leans forward slightly. Her eyes gleam, not with suspicion, but calculation. “We need someone who can earn her trust.”
My chest tightens, as if something unseen has wrapped around my ribs and begun to pull.
“We will send you as well, Augustus.”
