The Thirteenth Night at Briarholt Manor
Rain whispered across the lantern lit path as Liora Hayes stepped through the rusted gates of Briarholt Manor. The estate loomed against a sky the color of ash, its tall windows glowing faintly from within as if watching her approach. She paused, letting the cool mist cling to her skin. The air smelled of wet stone and something sweeter underneath. Something familiar. Something she had not breathed in ten years.
She tightened her coat and forced her feet forward. Each step cracked old gravel beneath her boots. Thorned vines curled along the walls like frozen serpents. Lightning flashed behind the mansion revealing its silhouette in stark detail. She nearly turned back. But then she remembered the letter she had received two days earlier written in neat handwriting across parchment that looked far older than it should have.
Liora. Come at once. The veil stirs. I cannot hold it. He is awake again.
Signed only with a single initial. C.
She knew who it was even before she opened it. Cassian Thorne. Her childhood friend. Her once protector. The man whose ghost she had spent ten years trying not to remember. A man who died the night the veil cracked open beneath Briarholt Manor.
Except perhaps he had not died at all.
She reached the front steps and raised a trembling hand to knock. Before her knuckles touched the wood the door opened.
A tall figure stood in the foyer. Candlelight flickered behind him casting his features into sharp contrast. Messy black hair. Broad shoulders. Pale skin that almost shimmered. And eyes. Those same dark eyes she used to know so well. But they were different now. Brighter. Deeper. Reflective like obsidian submerged in water.
Liora whispered his name as if afraid he might vanish. Cassian.
He exhaled a breath that sounded both relieved and pained. You came. Thank the stars.
She stepped inside slowly. You wrote to me. I would not ignore that.
His gaze lingered on her face longer than necessary. Liora noticed a faint tremor in his hands. The last time she saw him he was collapsing amid smoke and shadows. She had screamed his name until her voice broke. But they never recovered his body.
Now he stood in front of her. Alive. Or something like it.
He closed the door. We do not have much time. The veil is thin. Tonight is the thirteenth night. It will try to cross again.
Liora gripped her bag tightly. Cassian what happened to you
His jaw clenched. His voice dipped lower. I will explain everything. But first I need to show you something.
He led her through the foyer and down the long corridor. Portraits lined the walls. Their painted eyes followed her with unsettling intensity. Some frames were cracked. Some canvases torn. As if something violent had passed through.
The entire house felt wounded.
The corridor opened into the grand hall. A tall mirror stood at its center. Its surface rippled like disturbed water even though no breeze touched it.
Liora froze. That mirror was the veil door. The one that tore open the night Cassian died. She felt her throat tighten.
Cassian stepped beside her. His reflection did not appear in the glass.
She swallowed. You are not reflected.
I know he said softly. His voice carried a bitter edge. The veil never gave me back completely.
Liora turned to him sharply. Then what are you Cassian What did the veil turn you into
His eyes met hers with a raw honesty that made her chest ache. Something between. Not dead. Not alive. Tethered. And the tether is breaking.
She shook her head. Why bring me here
Because he said almost too quickly you are the only one who can seal the veil again. You were born with the sight. The gift. The one you spent your whole life denying. You are the anchor that can mend what tore me apart.
Her hands trembled. Cassian I have not used that gift since the night you fell. I thought it caused your death. I thought if I closed myself off from it nothing like that would ever happen again.
His expression softened with a sorrow so deep it nearly broke her. Liora none of that was your fault. I crossed the veil to protect you. I would do it again a thousand times.
Her breath caught. She had imagined this moment for years. An apology. A truth. A chance to speak the things she never said. Yet the ache inside her only grew.
Before she could reply, the mirror pulsed with a low thrum. Shadows coiled along the edges. A whisper drifted through the air like a cold sigh.
Cassian tensed. It is starting.
He touched her arm gently but urgently. Come with me. There is something you must see before the veil opens.
He guided her upstairs to the west wing. Moonlight filtered through shattered windows. The floor creaked beneath them. The wing looked abandoned for decades though it had only been ten years.
They stopped outside the last door. Cassian pushed it open.
It was his old room.
Dust covered everything except for the center of the floor where a circle of silver ash formed a perfect ring. Runes glowed faintly inside it.
Liora stepped closer. What is this
Cassian hesitated as if the words weighed heavily. When I crossed the veil I was supposed to be taken completely. But something stopped it. Something pulled me back. Something that refused to let me go.
He looked at her meaningfully.
Liora felt her chest tighten. Me
He nodded. The night I died your voice reached me in the dark. It tethered me when everything else let go. The veil bound itself to that voice. To your grief. That is why it calls to you now. And why it wants you.
A shiver crawled up her spine. Wants me
Yes. He stepped closer, lowering his voice. The veil wants to use you as a vessel. It wants to cross into this world fully. And on the thirteenth night it will try with everything it has.
She shook her head. Cassian what if I do not know how to stop it
He touched her cheek gently. His fingers were cool but warm enough to feel real. You do. You always have. I will help you. I am with you. I never left you. Not really.
Her breath hitched. His closeness stirred memories she had buried. Summers spent in the garden chasing fireflies. Nights leaning out her window to exchange whispered stories. His laugh. His hand brushing hers. The kiss they almost shared but never did.
She blinked away the pull of memory. Cassian we cannot let the veil take this house. Or the village. Or you.
Cassian gave a small smile touched with sadness. Liora I have no future without the veil closing. Either it consumes me or it releases me. Tonight decides which.
Before she could respond the mirror in the hall let out a sharp crack like splintering ice.
Cassian grabbed her hand. It is time.
They ran down the staircase as the house trembled. The portraits rattled on the walls. Wind swept through the corridor though every window was shut. The mirror pulsed brighter until darkness poured from its center like spilled ink.
A figure emerged.
Tall. Shifting. Shadow wrapped in shadow. Its eyes glowed a sickening white. Its voice poured through the room like a hive of whispers layered atop one another.
The vessel arrives. The thirteenth night begins. The veil will feed.
Liora felt her knees weaken. Cassian stepped in front of her shield like.
You cannot have her.
The creature hissed. You are incomplete Cassian Thorne. A remnant. A fragment. A mistake. You cannot protect her. You cannot protect yourself.
Cassian steadied his stance. His form flickered once weakly before solidifying. Watch me try.
The creature lunged. Cassian threw out his hand and a burst of blue light erupted from his palm. It struck the shadow but barely slowed it. The creature swayed then lashed again. Cassian dodged though the effort cost him. His flickering grew worse.
Liora stepped forward. Her voice cracked but steady. Leave him alone. Take me if you want someone.
Cassian spun. No. Never say that. It wants you to surrender. It cannot take you unless you let it.
The shadow laughed. She will surrender. They always do.
Cassian whispered sharply. Liora look at me. not at it. Listen to my voice.
She did. His voice carried warmth. Memory. Hope. Something deep and fragile and precious. The fear inside her loosened.
He squeezed her hand. You can close the veil. You can end this. You just need to remember that night. Not the fear. The truth.
She closed her eyes.
She saw herself kneeling on the floor of the old library ten years ago. Fire everywhere. Smoke choking her lungs. The mirror cracking open. Cassian rushing forward to shield her. His scream as the veil pulled him under. Her voice breaking as she cried his name again and again until her throat tore.
That was the night she learned desperation makes people do impossible things. That was the night she discovered her voice could cross between worlds.
She opened her eyes.
Cassian nodded. Good. You remember.
The shadow launched at them. Cassian pushed Liora behind him. The creature struck him full force. He crashed against the wall with a sound that made Liora gasp. His form fractured into shards of light before pulling itself back together slowly painfully.
He is weakening the creature whispered. He will break soon.
Liora’s heart pounded. She moved to stand beside Cassian ignoring the fear clawing at her.
Cassian breathed hard. Liora. You must stand in front of the veil. Call the breach by its true name. Command it to close.
She swallowed. I do not know its name.
You do. His hand trembled as he touched her cheek. Because the veil named itself the night it reached for you. You heard it.
The creature hissed. Do not speak the name. Silence her.
It surged forward. Liora shut her eyes and listened.
Memory echoed.
A whisper beneath the scream of fire.
A word repeated again and again.
Not a word spoken but felt.
Her eyes flew open.
She stepped forward. The shadow lunged but Cassian intercepted it again holding it back with weakening strength. Blue cracks formed across his arms.
Liora shouted the name.
Corathul.
The creature froze. Everything fell silent. Even the rain outside stopped.
Liora’s voice rose stronger. Corathul. I command you to close.
The mirror rippled violently. The creature shrieked as invisible force dragged it backward.
Cassian’s form steadied as if her voice strengthened him. Liora seized the moment. She raised her hands. Light burst from her palms. Pure gold. It wrapped around the shadow binding it in chains of shimmering radiance.
The creature thrashed. You cannot seal what you opened.
Liora shouted back. I did not open you. But I will end you.
She thrust her hands forward. The chains pulled the creature into the mirror. The glass cracked. Then healed. Then glowed with a soft silver light.
The shadow vanished.
Silence fell over Briarholt Manor.
Liora stumbled. Cassian caught her before she fell. His hands were warm. Solid. Alive.
She blinked. Cassian your reflection
He turned. In the mirror his image stared back.
A breath escaped him in disbelief. Liora. You freed me. You closed the veil and released what was left of me from its hold.
She laughed through tears. You are alive.
He cupped her face. His voice trembled. I am alive because of you. Because you never let go. Not then. Not now.
She leaned into his touch. You came back for me Cassian. I am not letting you slip away again.
He smiled softly. Then do not let go.
She lifted her face and he kissed her. Gentle at first. Then deeper. Desperate. Years of longing and grief and hope poured into the space between them. His arms wrapped around her. Hers around him. The world outside collapsed into silence. Only the warmth of his lips. His heartbeat. His breath.
When they finally parted Cassian rested his forehead against hers. Liora Hayes. Anchor of my soul. I think I have been in love with you for longer than I understood.
She laughed breathlessly. I know. And I think I have been waiting for you longer than I want to admit.
He kissed her again. Soft. Certain. Full of promise.
Then distant thunder rolled across the sky clearing the stillness.
Cassian took her hand. The veil is closed. The house is safe. We can leave now if you want.
She looked around the grand hall. The darkness was gone. Light felt warm again. The house felt breathing. Healing.
She looked back at him. No more running. No more fear. Whatever comes next we face together.
He nodded. Together.
They walked out of Briarholt Manor as morning light broke through thick clouds. Rain eased into mist. Birds began to sing in the distant trees. The world felt new.
Cassian glanced at her with a smile that warmed her entire soul. Shall we go home
She squeezed his hand. I already am.
And beneath the quiet dawn sky they stepped beyond the gates leaving the thirteenth night behind them forever knowing that whatever forces once tore them apart could never break them again.