Ophelia's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Seraphina had never once set foot outside the tower her mother built from magic. She was twenty years old, and the stone staircase ended at a locked door she had never passed. She woke to moonlight on her face and the warm weight of her beast against her side. The creature was shadow given shape, its red eyes watching her braid of copper hair. She stroked its black fur and whispered the one wish she never said aloud. She wanted someone to see her horns and her dark magic and still want to stay. Her mother climbed the stairs holding a letter. Morgana Ravenwood had raised Seraphina alone inside these walls, and the white streaks in her dark hair caught the candlelight. Her black gown dragged across the floor as she crossed the room. She did not smile. She held the paper out like it might bite. "From the king," Morgana said. "He calls every unmarried woman in the land to a ball. He is choosing a wife." Seraphina took the letter. The wax seal was already broken. Her mother had read it first, as she read everything. The king's name was signed at the bottom in heavy black ink. He ruled this realm, and the rumors reached even their tower. People said he was dead and alive at once, a king of ghouls with hair white as bone. "I want to go," Seraphina said. "No." Morgana's hand closed over hers. "You stay here. You are safe here." "Safe and alone." Seraphina stood. Her beast rose with her, growling low at the tension in the room. "You built these walls to protect me. But no one out there has ever looked at my face. Not once." "Because they would fear it." Morgana's voice cracked. "I kept you hidden so no one could hurt you. The horns, the magic in your blood, they will call you a monster." Seraphina touched the curved horns above her brow. She had felt them her whole life. She had never felt ashamed until her mother spoke that word. "Then let them call me one," Seraphina said. "I would rather be feared outside than loved by no one in here." She walked to the locked door. Her mother did not follow. Seraphina pressed her palm flat against the wood and let her magic rise. Darkness poured from her fingers. The lock cracked. The hinges split. The door swung open to cold night air for the first time in her life. Below her, a forest spread black and endless. Somewhere past it, a castle waited, lit for a ball. "If you leave," Morgana said behind her, "I cannot protect you anymore." "I know." Seraphina did not turn around. She stepped onto the stair, and her beast followed. The door she had broken could not close again.