Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Elara:

Consciousness returned slowly.

At first, there was only darkness. Then came the dull ache pounding behind my eyes. I frowned, trying to move, but even that simple action made my stomach churn. Everything felt strangely heavy, as though my body no longer belonged to me. I lay still for several long moments, breathing slowly, listening to the rhythmic sound of my own heartbeat while trying to remember why every inch of me hurt.

Something beneath me felt... soft. The smell told me it was leather, and not my bed.

My eyelashes fluttered open.

The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, dimly illuminated by faint lights filtering through tinted windows. My vision blurred before gradually sharpening enough for me to recognize where I was.

A car.

No... a large black SUV.

I was lying across the backseat, my head resting against expensive black leather cushions. The air smelled faintly of cedarwood and expensive cologne, so different from the comforting scent of home that it immediately filled me with unease.

Home...

The word echoed inside my mind. Then everything came rushing back. The screams. The blood. Dad collapsing. Mom. Felix...

My breath caught in my throat. ”No...” The whisper escaped before I could stop it. My hands flew to my mouth as tears instantly flooded my eyes.

No.

No... it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

If I closed my eyes... if I counted to three... I’d wake up in my own room, and Felix would be banging on my door, telling me to hurry downstairs before the birthday cake melted.

One...

Two...

Three...

I opened my eyes and immediately met with the same black leather, tinted windows, and silence. I was still in the SUV and not back home. The truth crashed into me with merciless force.

Mom was dead. Dad was dead. And Felix... the image of his trembling hand reaching toward me flashed before my eyes, followed by the sickening sound of steel piercing flesh.

My stomach twisted violently. I lurched sideways just in time, dry heaving against the floor mat as wave after wave of nausea rolled through me. There was nothing in my stomach to throw up, yet my body continued trying anyway until painful sobs replaced the retching.

”They are...” My voice broke. ”They are gone...”

The words sounded wrong. Impossible. How could three people who had laughed with me only hours ago simply... cease to exist? How could a family disappear in a single night?

Tears rolled silently down my face as I curled into myself, hugging my knees against my chest. I didn’t know how long I stayed like that. Minutes. Maybe longer. Eventually, survival instincts forced their way through the suffocating grief.

I blinked away my tears and looked around properly. There were no ropes around my wrists, no chains, no cuffs, nothing. My captors hadn’t restrained me.

Why? Were they so confident I couldn’t escape?

Slowly, I pushed myself upright despite the pounding in my head. The SUV wasn’t moving. There was no vibration beneath my feet, no engine sound, and no passing scenery outside the dark windows. It had stopped.

Carefully, I leaned toward one of the windows.

Outside was almost completely dark. The vehicle appeared to be parked somewhere surrounded by trees, though the heavily tinted glass made it difficult to see clearly. More importantly, there was no one inside. The driver’s seat was empty, so was the passenger seat.

Hope flared inside my chest for the first time since everything had fallen apart.

This was my chance. If I could slip out quietly, if I could disappear into the forest... maybe I could escape. My fingers had barely touched the door handle when voices drifted through the silence outside.

”...What exactly were you thinking?”

The voice froze me in place.

It was male and young. Far younger than the cold, emotionless voices of the masked men. His tone wasn’t calm, but it wasn’t loud either. Instead, it carried something far more dangerous - controlled anger.

I instinctively lowered myself beneath the window before slowly pressing one ear against the door.

”...Our orders were simple.”

”You were told to locate the Moon Princess and bring her back.” There was a small pause. ”So explain to me, why did you massacre an entire family?”

My heart skipped painfully.

He was talking about my family.

A familiar voice answered, one of the masked men. ”Regent Moonveil...”

The title alone made my breath hitch.

Regent?

”I merely carried out the orders given to me.”

”What orders?”

Silence lingered for several seconds before the masked man finally answered. ”The family keeping the Moon Princess hidden was to be eliminated. We were to leave no witnesses and no loose ends. It would serve as a warning to whoever abducted Her Highness twenty years ago.”

The air itself seemed to grow colder.

When the younger man spoke again, every word was frighteningly measured. ”Who gave that order?”

The masked man hesitated. ”I...”

”I need the name.” The young man, Regent Moonveil, spoke again. He didn’t shout, didn’t throw threats, yet the sheer pressure in those two words made even me tense inside the SUV.

Several long moments passed. Then finally-

”...It was the combined decision of the other four Regents.”

Silence.

Absolute silence. There wasn’t a single voice. Not even footsteps. It stretched on for so long that I began wondering whether everyone had left. The forest itself seemed to have stopped breathing.

Then...

”Where is she?” The young man’s voice had become unreadable.

”In the back of the SUV, Regent.”

My heartbeat exploded as I realized he was coming. Panic surged through every nerve in my body and I found myself torn between whether I should run or pretend to still be unconscious.

Would he believe it?

Maybe I could slip out the opposite door before-

My ears registered the sound of footsteps, steady and unhurried, as he moved closer and closer before stopping right outside.

I held my breath. Every instinct screamed at me to move, yet my body refused to obey. I watched the handle turn.

Click.

The door beside me swung open, allowing cool night air to rush inside. And for the first time... I saw him.

For one suspended heartbeat, neither of us spoke. I simply stared into the eyes of the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life.