CHAPTER 105
THE UNKNOWN EYES
The group moved between the library shelves, keeping low as the approaching footsteps grew louder. Anya maintained the spatial distortion around them, bending the space and light until their figures blended into the surroundings. Every step demanded more concentration than the last.
Fury led the way.
His wide-range perception reached beyond the walls and corridors, tracking the movements of the people approaching the library. He guided the group away from the nearest passage and toward the route they had used to enter.
They slipped through the library doors just as voices sounded from the other side of the room.
The castle corridors stretched before them, illuminated by enchanted lamps mounted along the walls. Their escape followed the same route they had taken earlier, through the western archive wing and across the elevated passage.
No one spoke.
Roman kept his attention on the path ahead, his mind returning briefly to the artifact they couldn't find.
They had found just the book, yet they had been unable to open it.
He pushed the thought aside. Getting out of the castle came first.
Fury paused at an intersection, his ears twitching as he sensed movement nearby. After a moment, he guided them down a narrower passage that led toward the eastern administrative wing.
Anya followed closely, her breathing becoming heavier beneath her hood.
Maintaining the distortion around four people had already drained a considerable amount of her spirit energy. Moving through the castle while constantly adjusting their concealed positions had made the strain worse.
Still, she kept going.
They crossed the circular hall and slipped through the service passages until the garden entrance came into view. Beyond the walls, the night sky stretched over the enormous garden, where flowers swayed gently in the breeze.
Fury checked the surrounding area with his perception before leading them outside.
The garden appeared deserted.
They hurried across the grounds toward the flower-covered metal casing that concealed the tunnel entrance. To anyone unfamiliar with the place, it looked like an ordinary patch of flowers growing over the earth.
Fury, however, knew exactly where it was.
He moved straight toward the concealed entrance without hesitation, brushing aside the flowers with his small paws.
Roman and Lunar lifted the metal casing while Sylver helped keep the flowers from falling into the opening. One after another, they climbed down into the narrow passage.
Anya was the last to enter.
The moment she descended into the tunnel, her spatial distortion collapsed.
The faint shimmer around the group vanished, leaving them visible beneath the dim light filtering through the opening above. Anya leaned against the cold metal wall, breathing heavily. Her spirit energy was nearly exhausted.
Sylver glanced at her but said nothing. She simply stayed close while Anya recovered enough to stand properly.
"You did good, thanks"
Roman patted her shoulder
She nodded without a word.
"Tell me, was that freaking and dangerously awesome or what!!?"
Lunar couldn't help but exclaimed.
"Keep it down, we're still directly under the castle"
Sylver glared at him.
"Let's chat when we reach the dorms"
Roman nodded as he looked at the book in his hand.
"We could check for Penny in the academy library if there's still time"
He added.
"Right, let's go"
Sylver said.
Roman looked toward the entrance as Lunar and Fury moved farther into the tunnel.
They had escaped the castle without being discovered.
And not with empty hands.
Roman adjusted the dagger strapped to his thigh, then turned away from the fading light above.
Without another word, the group followed Fury deeper into the tunnel, leaving the royal castle behind them.
____
The castle had fallen silent.
Beyond the towering corridors and the sleeping chambers of its noble occupants, a pair of enormous doors stood open at the end of a long, shadowed hall. Beyond them lay the grand throne room of the Avalon Kingdom.
Moonlight poured through the towering windows, spilling across the polished stone floor in pale silver streaks. The light stretched between rows of massive pillars, illuminating ancient carvings that covered their surfaces. Royal banners hung motionless from the vaulted ceiling, their black dragon-head crests barely visible in the darkness.
At the far end of the chamber stood an elevated platform.
And upon it rested the grand throne of Avalon.
Carved from a single mass of black stone and adorned with precious gems, the throne seemed to absorb the faint light surrounding it. Its imposing structure rose above the floor like a monument to the authority of the kingdom itself.
Someone occupied it.
The King of Avalon sat perfectly still.
His face remained hidden beneath the heavy shadows cast by the darkness. Neither his expression nor his features could be discerned. The only clearly visible part of his appearance was his footwear: a pair of black armored boots, their surfaces embedded with dark crystals that caught the moonlight whenever it shifted across the chamber.
His eyes were closed.
Yet he had seen everything.
From the moment four hooded figures emerged from the concealed entrance in the royal garden, the King had been aware of their presence.
Their arrival had not escaped him.
Neither had their movements through the castle.
He had watched them cross the garden, slip through the service passages, and navigate the corridors with the caution of intruders who understood the consequences of being discovered. He had watched them approach the royal library, where their attention had settled upon the history section.
Most interestingly, he had watched the red-haired boy.
Roman.
The boy possessed a certain quality that reminded him of someone.
The persons name just at the tip of his tongue.
This boy was a younger version, certainly.
They were not ordinary children.
And their destination had not been chosen at random.
The library.
The history section.
The restricted records.
A faint smirk formed beneath the darkness obscuring the King's face.
Then came a soft chuckle.
It was brief, barely more than a breath escaping into the enormous chamber, but its sound carried through the silence.
Four children had infiltrated his castle.
His heavily guarded castle.
They had crossed the royal garden, slipped past the watchful eyes of his soldiers, and entered one of the most important libraries in the kingdom.
All beneath the noses of his guards.
The King found the entire affair amusing.
He could almost appreciate the audacity of it.
They had planned their movements carefully. The girl with the pink aura had even managed to conceal their presence by manipulating the space around them.
An impressive ability, though maintaining it over the entire group had clearly exhausted her.
Their little expedition had been executed with more competence than he might have expected.
And their objective?
That was the question that interested him most.
The King had watched Roman discover the reference to the old Tiger Clan. He had seen the boy locate the enormous red book and examine the strange lock embedded in its binding.
He had even noticed the brief disappointment when the group realized they had no time to open it.
The King's smirk deepened.
He had followed every movement they made, from their first appearance in the garden to their departure through the concealed tunnel entrance. He had watched them retreat beneath the flowers and disappear into the darkness below.
He had not summoned a single guard.
He had not sounded an alarm.
He had not so much as opened his eyes.
There had been no need.
After all, this was the Avalon Kingdom.
His kingdom.
His domain.
Every stone within its walls stood beneath his authority. Every corridor, every chamber, every hidden passage belonged to a realm he had ruled for years. The castle might have been filled with guards, enchanted defenses, and secrets buried beneath centuries of history, but those things were merely extensions of his power.
The King himself was its greatest defense.
And tonight, four young intruders had walked through his domain believing themselves unseen.
Perhaps that was what made the experience so entertaining.
The throne room returned to silence.
Moonlight glided across the black crystals embedded in his armored boots, casting tiny reflections upon the stone beneath them.
The King remained motionless, his eyes still closed.
Only the faint curve of his mouth betrayed his amusement.
Let the children play.
For now, he would allow their little secret to remain a secret.
Because in Avalon, nothing moved beyond the King's awareness for long.
And nothing, not even the most carefully concealed intruder, could truly escape his eyes.
TBC