The Empire of Night and Nightmares

XIV

Mireya woke up determined to tell Ciaran everything. He deserved to know the truth after everything he had told her. With his help, Mireya was certain they would find a way around his death and break the curse.

She walked down the halls in search of Ciaran. She had visited the library, but there was no trace of him there.

He's usually always in the library though.

The next place she thought to look was the rose garden. She stepped out for a moment and her skin crawled at the sight of the demons roaming among the roses. She hadn't seen him there either and was confused.

Mireya wished the tug she used to feel in her chest would guide her to him once more, but the pull refused to make an appearance.

The more she looked around, the more she noticed how dim the lanterns and candles had gotten. The bright glow they emitted had diminished greatly, leaving the ends of some hallways looking very dark and menacing. Even the shadowed souls trapped in the castle were nowhere to be seen. They had made themselves scarce before, but now it seemed like they had never even existed.

Everything about the castle felt unsafe, and Mireya wondered if Ciaran knew what was wrong.

Mireya checked the dining hall, the storage and pantry, the ballroom, but there was still no sign of him. Mireya stepped into the throne room and found him sitting on the throne surrounded by the dark and billowing smoke.

She let out a quiet sigh and walked closer, but she could tell something was wrong. She hadn't seen him since their kiss and wondered if he regretted it.

"Mireya." His voice boomed through the large hall, startling her. His voice was the same as always, calm and soothing, but there was clearly something wrong. It had been so long since she heard the dark tone behind it.

He looked up and stared straight at her with a piercing gaze. His face was void of all emotion and his eyes gave nothing away.

He stood from the throne and took slow steps towards her. Her heart thumped in her chest at the sight of him, but she didn't know if it was out of nervousness or fear. The longer she looked at him, the more she realized how dark it was.

She felt a stinging pain in her temple and hoped it wasn't another incoming headache. The pain thrummed in the back of her head, enough to make itself present but not enough to make her feel weak.

When Ciaran finally stepped into the light, Mireya's eyes zeroed in on his right hand. It was covered in a dried up substance she didn't want to assume was blood, but there was nothing else it could've been. She rushed over to him, scared that it might've been his own blood.

Did Ariel do this? I thought he would wait for me to handle it...

She took his hand in hers and flinched at how cold it was. "Are you okay? What happened to your hand?"

His eyes followed her every move and refused to look away.

"What's wrong?" She asked. This moment felt too reminiscent of the first time they met.

He took his bloodied hand out of her grasp and placed it on the side of her face.

"What do you feel towards me?" He finally spoke, his eyes still not leaving hers.

The intensity of his gaze, coupled with his question made Mireya's cheeks flush. He had already admitted to caring deeply for her, but she had yet to do the same. Maybe that was why he was acting so strange.

"I care deeply for you." She looked into his eyes, hoping her words might bring back the glint in them that she always saw whenever he looked at her.

His thumb lightly grazed against her cheek and she leaned into his touch.