Kael's words echoed in Azaelith's mind long after he finished speaking. "Your soul, your humanity." She had already lost so much—was she willing to sacrifice more for the answers she sought? For vengeance?
She stared at him, the rogue mage who had chosen to walk the dangerous path between light and dark. His eyes never left hers, as if he could see the doubts swirling in her heart.
"Why do you speak of a price?" she asked again, voice steady despite the unease creeping beneath her skin.
Kael leaned back against the wall, a sly grin playing on his lips. "Because power, my dear Azaelith, always demands something in return. You are not the same girl who walked this city before. You've already changed, and it's the price of that change that will shape everything. Magic that raises the dead is not something to be taken lightly."
Azaelith's mind raced, her thoughts torn between the hunger for revenge and the growing realization that Kael might be right. She wasn't the same girl anymore.
"You know about my family," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Tell me, then. What happened? Who did this to us?"
Kael looked at her with a mix of curiosity and caution. "Your family... they crossed a line. A line that's tied to ancient powers, not just the royal bloodlines, but the very forces that rule this world from the shadows. Your father's arrogance was his downfall. He believed he could challenge those who are far more dangerous than kings or emperors."
Her heart tightened. Her father had always been proud, too proud perhaps. But she had never known him to meddle with powers that could destroy them all. "Who were they?"
"They are the Ascendants," Kael said softly, his eyes darkening as he spoke the name. "A secret order, older than the royal family itself. They manipulate the threads of magic that bind the world. And your family, your father, was too curious, too defiant. They paid the price for his transgressions."
Azaelith's blood burned with rage. "And I? Why was I killed? What did I do to deserve that?"
Kael's gaze softened for a moment, though his tone remained firm. "You were the last remaining heir. You were the one who could unravel everything. The Ascendants feared that. They saw you as a threat to their control."
Her thoughts raced. She had always been a mere bystander to the power struggles of her family. She had never thought herself capable of being a threat to anything, let alone to those who ruled from the shadows.
"Why didn't they kill you?" she asked, suspicion creeping into her voice. "You know so much about them."
Kael chuckled darkly, his gaze flickering with something unreadable. "Because I was useful to them, for a time. Until I wasn't."
Azaelith could see the bitterness in his eyes, the ghosts of his own past haunting him. She didn't trust him completely, but there was no denying that he knew things no one else did.
"Then help me," she demanded. "I need to find them. I need to make them pay for what they did."
Kael hesitated, his expression shifting. "It's not that simple. The Ascendants are not just a shadowy group—they are powerful, ancient, and they know how to hide in plain sight. We can't just walk in and demand retribution. It requires careful planning, strategy. And... power."
Azaelith looked down at her hands, feeling the magic within her stir. She could feel it now, pulsing beneath her skin like a living thing. Dark, beautiful, and dangerous. It was hers to wield, but at what cost?
"I'll do whatever it takes," she said firmly.
Kael studied her for a long moment, then nodded, as if coming to a decision. "Very well. But first, we must uncover the path to them. There are people who know more, those who serve the Ascendants and remain loyal. We need to find them, and we need to break their silence."