Chapter Text
“Ugh...!”
Silver groaned and rolled over, burying her face against the wall and pulling a pillow over her head.
From the armchair across the room, Malleus watched her quietly over the top of his book.
Three days had passed.
Lilia still had not returned.
And Silver refused to sleep.
At least Malleus had been able to heal the child's injuries after she spent an entire night hidden inside a drawer, only to be discovered the following morning by an owl that had flown into the cottage.
Even so, Silver continued to complain about the ringing in her ears.
Malleus was hardly an expert on human anatomy, but he was fairly certain she should not have been suffering any lingering side effects.
After all, he had personally used his magic to ensure that every injury had healed properly.
“Hgh... Mall...?”
The sleepy murmur immediately drew his attention.
“What is it?”
Closing the book on human physiology, Malleus set it aside and approached the bed.
“Could you... make them leave...?” she whispered, pressing her hands over her ears. “They've been really loud lately...”
“Them?”
Malleus glanced around the room.
There was no one there.
Not even Silver's animal companions remained nearby whenever he visited. The moment Malleus appeared, they usually retreated deeper into the forest.
May the sins and blood of your ancestors forever stain your soul.
Could the curse be manifesting as hallucinations?
“...Never mind."
After a moment, Silver sat up and silently reached her arms toward him.
A faint smile tugged at Malleus' lips.
The gesture was childish, but he found himself indulging her all the same.
Lifting the girl into his arms, he ignored the part of himself that screamed for him to keep his distance from the descendant of his mother's killer. The part that whispered of vengeance.
Another part, however—
A part that had begun emerging more and more often lately—
Demanded the exact opposite.
Never let her go.
Keep her close.
She was so fragile.
Humans died so easily.
They broke so easily.
He was the one who had cursed her.
It was only natural that he should be the one to care for her now.
No one knew Silver better than he did.
Lilia would surely agree if Malleus offered to bring her to the castle.
There she would remain close to him.
Safe.
Just as Lilia was.
And even if Lilia refused...
Well.
He would not have much of a choice.
Silver was so small.
So easy to carry away.
Lilia would follow them eventually.
Really, everything would be so much easier if everyone simply did what he wanted.
The moment he picked her up, Silver immediately curled against him, burying her face in the crook of his neck while absentmindedly playing with his hair.
“Would you like to do something?” he asked after a while, carrying her out of the bedroom and toward the living room.
“I want Papa...”
Her voice was barely more than a mumble as she clung tighter to him.
“Hm. I do not know when Lilia will return, but he should be back soon enough. How about lunch?”
Silver remained silent for several long moments.
Then she gave a sleepy nod.
A minute later, she was asleep.
“JoIN uS.”
One of them whispered.
Silver darted down the hallway, and a clawed hand narrowly missed her arm.
She did not stop running.
The moment she reached her father's room, she slammed the door shut behind her, locked it, and leaned her entire weight against it.
Safe.
This room was safe.
There was light here.
Taking several shaky breaths, Silver desperately wiped away the tears running down her cheeks before hurrying toward her father's bedside table.
She knew it was rude to search through someone else's belongings.
But right now, manners were the least of her concerns.
Opening the first drawer, she pulled out a golden chain.
Hanging from it was a ring shaped like a crown.
The moment her fingers closed around it, the ring began to glow.
The light was not particularly bright.
But it was enough.
Enough to force the Shadows back from the doorway.
Enough to make Silver feel safe.
Quickly slipping the necklace over her head, she sat down beside her father's bed and leaned against the mattress.
Raising a hand to her ear, she flinched.
The wound still hurt.
The last time she had fallen asleep, one of the Shadows had caught her before she could escape.
It had grabbed her by the ear.
Torn away a piece of it.
Even though big brother had healed the injury, the pain remained.
And a part of her ear was gone forever.
“THeY wIlL LeAvE yOU.”
A Shadow slammed itself against the door.
It could not enter.
“YOu AeE noT OnE Of TheM!”
It struck the door again.
This time the ring's light flared brighter.
Silver pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head against them.
Outside the window, the sky was red.
Not the gentle blue she knew.
Red.
The same color she sometimes saw when Fili and the others got too rough while playing and accidentally scratched or bit one another.
Whenever that happened, Silver would laugh, insist she was fine, and continue playing.
But this red was different.
It covered everything.
The moon she loved so much was black.
Almost the same color as big brother's hair.
Except his hair always shimmered beneath the light.
This moon did not shine at all.
Wiping fresh tears from her eyes, Silver buried her face against her knees and absentmindedly fiddled with the glowing ring.
The only source of light in that terrible place.
“I’m back!”
Lilia’s voice echoed through the living room as he appeared a few steps away from the sofa.
“Huh?” Malleus murmured, noticing the soup and second dish being magically prepared.
“Lilia,” Malleus said, drawing the fae’s attention. The older one turned toward the sofa, where the young prince sat quietly, holding the sleeping Silver in his arms.
“Fu-fu-fu, I didn’t think I’d find you here,” Lilia said with a light chuckle, approaching his wards.
“You didn’t think you’d find me here, even though you asked me to look after your charge?” Malleus raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing the fae who, in his mind, acted more like a parent than the long-dead queen he had never known.
“Well, you didn't seem very pleased when you agreed to my request” Lilia replied, settling beside the pair on the sofa and ruffling the young dragon’s black hair.
Malleus merely muttered something unintelligible, reluctantly handing the human child back to her father.
“Did you two have fun together?” Lilia asked, hugging the sleeping girl gently, wrinkling his nose slightly at the many scents Silver carried.
“As always. Last night, though, she slipped out to the forest,” Malleus muttered, unwillingly recalling the moment he had woken alone in the cottage, only to realize Silver had sneaked out to join the wolf pack on their hunt.
Not only had Malleus been unable to find her all night—despite being ranked among the five strongest magicians on Sage Island—but she had returned carrying an overwhelming mix of scents. Mud, unknown blood, and countless animal odors mingled around her. He did not want to think about it. Because to do so would mean admitting Silver valued the forest animals more than him—that she sought their comfort over his.
“Another nightmare?” Lilia asked, watching as Silver instinctively burrowed into his chest.
Malleus nodded. “They’ve been getting worse lately…” Lilia murmured, pressing her closer, as if to shield her from the world—though in reality, he had already kept her far from civilization.
It was safer this way. The fewer people knew about Silver, the fewer would intrude upon their tiny three-person paradise. Although Malleus would have preferred her and Lilia safely hidden in his castle, this way kept them always within his reach.
“Have you discovered anything?” Malleus asked, noticing the way Silver clung to her father.
“No. No matter where I look, I cannot find a way to remove the remnants of the fairy magic. The easiest solution would be to contact them directly, but…” he began, leaving the sentence unfinished.
He did not need to. Malleus already knew. The three fairies who had cast the spell that brought this human child to him and Lilia—putting her to sleep for hundreds of years until a general had found her—had unleashed magic so potent that its effects still lingered on Silver. Her constant drowsiness and fatigue were a part of that spell.
Sighing quietly, Malleus allowed himself a rare moment of vulnerability, leaning against his guardian’s shoulder and closing his eyes briefly.
Lilia merely draped an arm around him in a half-embrace, letting them remain in silence for a moment.
“It will be alright,” the bat whispered softly, also closing his eyes, giving himself and the children a moment of much-needed rest.