Chapter 75
The room remained suspiciously silent after Theo announced that touching the Solithium hadn't immediately resulted in my death.
Unable to stand any longer under the weight of this absurd, hard-to-digest news, I sank into a nearby chair.
Theo looked thoughtful.
Lysenne looked curious.
Lucien looked entertained.
Rhaevan just looked concerned.
I was deeply beginning to miss the days when my absolute biggest problem was accidentally floating heart-shaped bubbles across the room.
"Alright," I said, holding up a cautious hand. "I don't see how this is my problem. We have an archmage, a high archanist, and a tower full of terrifyingly powerful mages who can easily handle this. I am untrained, wildly reckless, and I formally refuse to step anywhere near this situation."
I crossed my arms tightly, hoping my stance was clear enough to draw a boundary in the stone floor.
Theo studied me for a silent second before turning to the others. "Could you give us a moment?"
Lysenne and Lucien offered brief nods and headed for the door. Rhaevan hesitated, his eyes lingering on me before Theo offered him a reassuring nod. Inclining his head, Rhaevan finally followed the others out, the heavy door shutting behind them.
Theo turned his full attention back to me. "The Solithium reacts differently to you," he said gently. "Or more accurately, it doesn't react to you at all."
"You're an archmage with centuries of experience," I interrupted, leaning forward. "You can solve this on your own. Why on earth am I being dragged into it?"
Theo leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. "I cannot do what you just did."
That shut me up. For approximately three seconds.
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
"The Solithium doesn't kill me because my magic actively resists it," Theo explained patiently. "But resistance and compatibility are entirely different things. You touched it as if it were an ordinary rock."
"It's an ugly, ordinary rock."
"It could annihilate a kingdom."
"An ugly, dangerous rock."
Theo pinched the bridge of his nose with a tired sigh.
"Theo, you know well I... I'm not ready for this!" My voice cracked slightly as panic scraped against my chest. "I'm scared, okay? I don't want to fight a war, and I definitely don't want to accidentally blow up the side I'm supposed to be protecting!"
Silence stretched between us.
"I'm not asking you to fight the war, Cassiane," Theo said softly.
He stood up and walked toward the high arched window, his gaze fixed onto whatever lay beyond it, clasping his hands behind his back.
"In fact, I never wanted you to do anything about Solithium. It's time for you to do what I want you to."
I blinked, thrown off. "Huh?"
"Remember when I asked you to retrieve something for me when the time came?" Theo turned slightly, meeting my gaze. "It's time, Cassiane."
"Already?!" I sat upright. "I haven't even finished basic training! I have zero control over my magic, other than randomly blowing stuff up when I get startled. Even the greatest wizard of the century got seven years at a magic school before he had to fight his archenemy!"
Theo frowned, genuinely puzzled. "Who?"
Right. Different universe, different timeline.
"Just... a novel I read," I muttered, hoping he'd drop it.
"Cassiane, danger doesn't wait for you to feel ready," Theo said, ignoring the weird reference. "And you never know what you're capable of until you're actually out on the field."
Heh? What kind of terrible advice is that?
This man was asking me to handle radioactive magic stones, sending me off to hunt down a dangerous mystery object, and comparing it to a high school sports pep talk?
"Cassiane," he said after a long silence. "What do you know about your lineage? About Ardentia?"
That wasn't the question I had expected.
I frowned, digging through the scraps of information I could remember from the novel. "Nothing good," I admitted. "Just that it was a fallen dukedom and its magic was forbidden."
Theo nodded slowly. "Before I send you on this mission, there's something you deserve to know."
He walked over to the map spread across the table, his finger resting on a vast stretch of land. "Long before Viremont, Eryndor, or Varynthar rose to power, these lands belonged to House Ardentia. They weren't kings. They were guardians."
I blinked. "Guardians?"
"The guardians of the world's greatest magical relics."
There was no pride in his voice. Only respect.
"For centuries, no kingdom dared challenge them. Their strength was unrivaled, and the relics remained untouched under their protection." He paused. "But great houses are rarely destroyed by their enemies. They fall because of the rot within. Greed. Jealousy. Ambition."
"Some coveted the relics they had sworn to protect. Others believed they deserved greater power than the rest of their own blood. Betrayal spread through House Ardentia until it finally consumed itself."
"The civil conflict weakened them. The neighboring kingdoms saw their chance. They invaded. A brutal war followed. When it ended, Ardentia was gone."
His gaze lowered. "The relics suffered the same fate. Some were destroyed. Some were stolen. Some were twisted into weapons. And a precious few disappeared before anyone could claim them."
He looked back at me. "One of those relics was Solithium. It had always been under Ardentia's protection. After their fall, the fragments were scattered among the kingdoms that inherited their lands. Each ruler swore to protect what remained."
His expression hardened. "They broke those promises. Many of the mages who had trained under Ardentia... who had pledged loyalty to them... abandoned every oath they had ever taken. They believed magic wasn't meant to protect the world. They believed it should rule it."
"They vanished into the shadows and came to be known as the Veiled Thorn. For decades they remained hidden, gathering forbidden knowledge and waiting."
"Then a new king rose in Varynthar. A tyrant. He shared their ambition. He gave them wealth, soldiers, laboratories... everything they needed. Together, they began hunting every relic that once belonged to Ardentia."
"One by one, the kingdoms entrusted with protecting the Solithium fragments fell. The relics are disappearing. And with them... the balance of this world."
Silence settled over the room.
Then Theo spoke again, his voice quieter than before. "There is only one relic powerful enough to stop them."
"The Heartforge Core."
His eyes met mine. "It answers only to the blood of Ardentia."
A strange knot formed in my stomach.
"You are the last person who can reach it," his next words carried the weight of an entire kingdom. "Find the Heartforge Core. Before it falls into the wrong hands."
I simply stared at him, my mouth agape like a fish.
If someone had told me the moon had resigned from the sky and taken up farming, I probably would have believed them. At this point, I wasn't sure there was any revelation capable of surprising me anymore. There was only so much shock a person could reasonably endure in a few days.
None of this was in the novel.
Not House Ardentia as guardians of ancient relics.
Not the Veiled Thorn.
Not some tyrant king of Varynthar funding a secret order.
And definitely not a legendary relic that only someone carrying Ardentia's blood could touch.
Theo let the silence linger before speaking again. "The contract still stands. Once you find the Heartforge Core and hand it over to me, you're free to leave."
Leave.
Funny. That word should've been comforting. Instead, my mind was still trying to untangle everything he'd just told me.
This world had stopped following its script long ago.
Then again... I'd stopped relying on that script a while back. The moment the people I'd once dismissed as fictional characters began laughing, arguing, bleeding, and risking their lives for one another.
They weren't characters anymore. They were people.
This wasn't the story I'd read. It hadn't been for a long time.
So maybe it was time I stopped trying to predict the ending... and started making one of my own.
I let out a slow breath. "...Fine."
The word escaped before I could overthink it. "I'll find the Heartforge Core."
Theo gave a single nod, as though he'd expected nothing less. "You won't be going alone."
I narrowed my eyes. "...Please tell me you're sending an army."
"Rhaevan will accompany you."
Of course. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Do I get a second option?"
"No."
"I was afraid you'd say that." I sighed dramatically before looking back at him. "If the Heartforge is so important, why aren't you coming?"
"Because Viremont and Eryndor are on the brink of war. The Veiled Thorn won't wait while we search for the Heartforge. Neither will Varynthar."
He met my gaze. "I leave for Viremont tomorrow. There are preparations that cannot be delayed. So while I deal with the kingdoms... you and Rhaevan will find the Heartforge."
"You leave in the morning tomorrow," Theo continued. "The world will know that you two are going on an assignment granted by the tower to the Solithium - affected villages. But under the cover of it, you shall fulfill your true mission."
I stared at him. Right. Secrecy. Classic Archmage move.
"And where exactly should I begin looking?" I asked.
"I have no idea."
"Of course you don't."
"However, there is someone who can guide you," he said, ignoring my sarcasm. "I will handle the travel arrangements. Pack only what is necessary, and please... try not to fight with Rhaevan."
"I make no promises."
Theo chuckled softly. "I figured as much. You need to rest for today."
After a brief pause, I sighed and said, "Alright." I turned toward the door.
"Oh, and Theo."
He looked at me.
"Can you... not tell Rhaevan about the contract?"
Silence.
I could practically feel him studying me. Not my face. Me. As if he were trying to understand the question behind the request rather than the words themselves.
Then he simply said, "...I won't."
That was all. No questions. No judgment. Just a quiet promise.
I nodded once. "Thanks."
With that, I pulled the door open. As the door clicked shut behind me, I couldn't decide what I was dreading more: the mission, or the journey we'd have to survive together.
Third-Person POV
As the door clicked shut behind Cassiane, Theo's smile slowly faded.
He remained where he was for a long moment before turning toward the window. Beyond the glass, the kingdom bustled as if war were nothing more than a distant rumor.
He exhaled quietly. "Eryndor has already lost its hope," he murmured. "I won't allow Viremont to lose theirs."
His gaze drifted toward the northern mountains.
Cassiane had accepted the mission. One challenge remained: Rhaevan.
The young mage would never willingly let Cassiane walk into danger.
Theo closed his eyes briefly. Time was running out. Every passing day brought the Veiled Thorn closer to their goal, and every move he made had to stay within the boundaries of the ancient oath.
He could no longer guide them.
All he could do now... was trust them.