Chapter 281 The Search

Chapter 281: Chapter 281 The Search

Talia’s POV

We moved deeper into the dungeon, and the silver pressed in on us from every direction.

The cells stretched out before us, row after row, and cage after cage. Some were empty, while some held nothing but darkness. The torchlight flickered, casting long shadows across the stone floor.

Kaelen’s breathing was still shallow beside me, but he was walking on his own now. His hands were wrapped in fresh cloth, and his eyes were still watering, but he did not complain. He never complained.

I looked at his hands, at the burns that were still healing, and I felt the guilt settle in my chest like a stone. He had followed me into this darkness, endured the silver, and suffered because of me, and he had never once complained or made me feel like I was a burden. I did not know how to carry that kind of love without feeling like I did not deserve it.

I stopped walking and looked at the wall. A torch was mounted there, with its flame sputtering in the damp air. I reached up and pulled it from its bracket. The fire cast a warm glow around us, pushing back the shadows.

"Talia," Kaelen said. "What are you doing?"

I held the torch higher. "We need to see. We need to search every cell."

He nodded. "Then we search."

We walked to the first cell, and I held the torch up to the bars. The light flickered across the stone floor, revealing nothing but dust and shadows.

"Empty," I said.

Kaelen looked inside. "No one has been here in years."

We moved to the next cell. I held the torch up again, and I saw more dust. There were more shadows, and more emptiness.

"Empty," I said again.

We kept walking to Cell after cell. With the torch in my hand, I searched each one, looking for any sign of life.

The third cell had a pile of rags in the corner. I felt my heart leap, but when I looked closer, I saw they were just rags that were old and decayed. But no one was there.

"Nothing," I said, with my voice tight.

Kaelen squeezed my hand. "Keep going, Talia."

The fourth cell had a broken cup on the floor, the fifth had a rusted chain hanging from the wall, and the sixth was completely bare.

I felt the frustration building in my chest. "Where is she, Kaelen? Where is my mother?"

He pulled me close. "We will find her, Talia. We just have to keep looking."

I nodded, and I forced myself to keep moving.

Cell after cell, we searched. I held the torch high, letting the light fall on every corner, and every shadow, but there was nothing. Just empty cages and cold stone.

Then I saw something.

There was a cell at the end of the corridor. It was different from the others. The bars were thicker, and the door was heavier. I could see something inside that looked like a figure.

"Kaelen," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Look."

He followed my gaze, and I saw his eyes widen. "Talia, is that...?" ℴ

I did not answer, because I could not find the words.

I walked toward the cell, with my heart pounding in my chest. The torchlight flickered, casting dancing shadows across the bars. I could see the figure more clearly now. It was the figure of a woman that was thin and pale, with her back against the wall.

"Mother?" I whispered.

But the figure did not move.

I stepped closer, and I felt the hope rising in my chest. Then the torchlight fell on the figure’s face, and my heart shattered.

It was not my mother, it was a skeleton that had been dressed in tattered rags. Its bones were bleached white, and its empty eye sockets stared back at me.

I stumbled back, and Kaelen caught me. "Talia."

I shook my head, with tears streaming down my face. "It is not her, Kaelen. It is not her."

He pulled me into his arms. "I know, Talia. I know."

I pressed my face into his chest, and I let myself cry. The tears came fast and hot, and I could not stop them.

"I thought it was her," I said. "I thought I found her."

Kaelen held me tighter. "We will find her, Talia. I promise."

I pulled back and looked at him. "How do you know?"

He wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Because she is still waiting for you. And we are not going to stop until we find her."

I looked at him, and I let his words sink in, because Kaelen was right. I had been so focused on the bones, and on the fear, that I had not seen what was right in front of me.

"Kaelen," I said, with my voice steadier now. "You are right."

He looked at me. "About what?"

I gestured to the cells behind us. "All those bones, and all those prisoners, but none of them felt like her."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

I touched my chest. "I can feel Silvertongue magic, Kaelen. It is faint, but it is there. And none of the bones we passed carried that feeling. None of them were her."

"I have been so afraid of finding her dead that I forgot to trust what I already know," I said, pressing my hand against my chest, where the Silvertongue magic hummed faintly beneath my skin. "My mother’s magic is still out there, still calling to me, still reaching across all this darkness and silver, and that means she is still alive, still fighting, and still waiting for me to find her."

Kaelen’s eyes softened. "So you think..."

I nodded. "If she was among them, I would have felt it, and the magic would have called to me. But it did not."

He squeezed my hand. "That means she is still alive."

I looked at him, and I felt the hope rising in my chest. "Yes. She is still alive, and we are going to find her."

I nodded, and I forced myself to breathe. "You are right. We keep going."

I took the torch from the floor and held it up again. The light fell on the cell ahead, revealing more bars, and more darkness.

I stopped walking and closed my eyes. The torch flickered in my hand, casting warm light across my face.

"Moon Goddess," I whispered. "I know I have not prayed to you in a long time. I know I have doubted and questioned and feared. But please, I am begging you at this moment. Please keep my mother safe, guide me to her, and do not let me fail her now."

I opened my eyes, and I felt a warmth spread through my chest. It was faint, but it was there.

Kaelen looked at me. "Talia, what is it?"

I shook my head. "I do not know. But I felt something, like someone was listening."

He squeezed my hand. "Then keep going before we get caught. Then if we encounter anyone, then we will deal with it as fast as we can."

"you are right, Kaelen," I said. "We keep searching, and keep our eyes and ears open for any attacks."

He took my hand. "Together."

We walked forward, and the dungeon stretched out before us with cell after cell, and darkness after darkness.

But I did not stop.

I could not stop because my mother was somewhere in this darkness, and I would not give up, until i find her.