Chapter 1
1
Adelaide
Mornings were never kind to me.
Not the sun that slipped through my thin curtains like a nosy intruder, not the alarm that screeched from my nightstand like it was personally offended by my existence, and definitely not the cold floor that bit at my feet when I finally got up.
The ceiling fan creaked above me as I stumbled toward the tiny kitchenette, still half-asleep. My apartment was small—barely large enough for one person, a dying plant, and a desk covered in files I never got around to reading. The place always smelled faintly of old coffee and lavender detergent. It wasn’t perfect, but it was mine.
I poured water into the kettle and leaned on the counter, scrolling through my phone while it hissed.
Three missed calls from Damon aka my boyfriend.
Two texts:
You up?
I’m outside.
I winced. Damon never waited patiently.
Throwing on my navy shirt and black trench coat, I tied my long curly hair into a loose ponytail. My reflection stared back at me through the mirror near the door—tired eyes, faint dark circles, the kind of face that carried more stories than sleep. I smiled at myself anyway. "Detective Adelaide Van doren." I murmured under my breath. "Still standing."
By the time I stepped outside, the city had already woken up—cars honking, people rushing, morning fog clinging to the buildings like secrets. Damon’s car was parked by the curb, gleaming black and silent. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel when I approached.
“Morning,” I said softly, sliding in.
He didn’t look at me. “You’re late again.”
“I know. The alarm—”
“Don’t.” His tone was sharp, clipped. “Just don’t make excuses, Addie.”
Addie. He only called me that when he was irritated. I bit my lip and turned to stare out the window.
The ride was quiet except for the low hum of the radio. Damon’s profile looked carved from stone—handsome in the way statues are: cold, distant, and impossible to move. We’d been together for almost a year now, and yet, every day felt like walking on cracked glass.
When he finally stopped in front of the Department of Paranormal Investigation and History, I unbuckled quickly.
“I’ll see you tonight?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
He exhaled, still staring ahead. “We’ll see.”
Same answer. Different day.
I stepped out and shut the door before the ache could settle in.
Inside, the department buzzed with its usual chaos—machines humming, the faint smell of burnt coffee, papers rustling like whispers. The walls were lined with framed photographs of ancient ruins, artifacts, and old news clippings about the Eryndor Kingdom.
The receptionist looked up when I entered. “Morning, Detective Adelaide. You’re wanted in the main room. It’s… urgent.”
“Urgent,” I repeated, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Of course it is.”
When I walked into the main office, my boss, Marcus Hale, looked up with visible relief. “Finally, Adelaide! I thought I’d have to send someone to drag you out of bed.”
“Morning, boss,” I said, setting my bag down. “What’s the emergency this time? Ghost, ghoul, or government cover-up?”
He smiled faintly. “Something bigger.”
He gestured toward the large glass door of the lab. A faint blue glow flickered inside. My teammates—Lila and Reese—were already there, faces pale with awe.
When I entered, the sight stopped me in my tracks.
It stood in the center of the room—a circular structure made of silver and obsidian, veins of light pulsing across it like living energy. Wires coiled along the floor, connecting to monitors that displayed unreadable data streams. The hum it emitted wasn’t mechanical—it felt almost alive.
“What is this?” I asked, moving closer.
Marcus followed me in. “This,” he said, “is a time-transport prototype.”
Lila blinked. “A what now?”
Reese crossed his arms. “You mean a time machine?”
Marcus nodded. “Officially classified, built by the Historical Division. We’ve been granted access because of a new case—one that’s… centuries old.”
I turned toward him. “The Eryndor case, isn’t it?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve heard the name?”
“Who hasn’t?” I said quietly.
It was one of those stories everyone in the department grew up hearing—half history, half myth.
A kingdom lost to time.
A royal bloodline cursed by love.
Centuries ago, the Kingdom of Eryndor thrived under the Valen Dynasty—a family of rulers born with elemental powers. The Queen could control the wind; the King could summon light; and their children were said to wield the forces of nature itself.
All except one.
Prince Andrés Valen, the youngest, was born without any power at all. Instead, the royal oracle had whispered a prophecy over his cradle:
He will die before the age of thirty unless he finds his soulmate—the one whose soul burns the same color as his.
At first, it was dismissed as superstition. But as the years passed, the prince’s health began to wane, his nights haunted by visions of crimson fire and silver blood. He searched endlessly for the one who could break his curse. He never found her.
The night before his thirtieth birthday, the kingdom fell.
No one knows how—only that Eryndor vanished from maps, and every trace of it was buried in silence.
Marcus’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Last week,” he said, “we found something.”
He placed a weathered box on the table. Inside was a letter—old parchment, the ink faded but still legible.
“It was discovered beneath an old monastery in Northern Spain,” he continued. “Written by one of Eryndor’s scholars. It describes a hidden chamber, one the prince visited hours before his death. And something about… ‘the blood of time.’”
“The blood of time?” I repeated.
Marcus nodded. “If we find it, it might explain how the kingdom disappeared—or how the curse worked.”
Reese frowned. “So you’re sending us back? As in… back?”
“That’s the plan. Three agents. One mission.”
Lila gave a shaky laugh. “You can’t be serious. We’re detectives, not… time tourists.”
But my heart was already racing. I didn’t know why—but the name Andrés Valen stirred something in me. Something old, buried, and familiar.
Marcus turned to us. “We’ll start the final tests tomorrow. I need three volunteers.”
He looked around the room.
My teammates shifted uncomfortably, exchanging nervous glances. No one spoke.
And before I could stop myself, my voice broke the silence.
“I’ll go.”
The words left my mouth before my brain caught up.
Marcus blinked, clearly surprised. “You’re volunteering?”
I nodded once. My heartbeat was loud in my ears, like a warning I couldn’t quite hear.
Lila shifted beside me, arms crossed. “Well, if she’s going, I’m not staying here just to stare at monitors. Count me in.”
Reese gave a low whistle. “You two are insane.” He hesitated for half a second, then sighed. “Fine. I’m coming too. Someone has to keep you both alive.”
Marcus studied the three of us for a long moment, then finally exhaled. “Alright. Adelaide Van doren, Lila Ortega, Reese Kwon—you’ll be the travel team. The rest of the team will remain here to monitor the jump.”
Lila grinned. “We’re actually doing this.”
Reese groaned. “You say that now. Wait till we’re stuck in medieval plague times.”
But Marcus wasn’t smiling. He looked… tense. His usual calm expression had cracked just slightly, enough for me to notice.
When the others left to prepare, he gestured for me to stay behind.
“Adelaide,” he said quietly. “A word.”
The lab door clicked shut behind them, muffling the hum of the machine.
Marcus rubbed his temples before speaking. “You shouldn’t have volunteered so quickly.”
I frowned. “Why not? I’m one of your senior detectives.”
“This isn’t a normal case,” he said. “If something goes wrong, we can’t just… pull you out. You’ll be centuries away.”
“I know the risks.”
He looked up sharply. “No, you don’t.”
Something in his tone made my chest tighten. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Marcus hesitated, then walked to the desk and pulled out a thin, sealed folder. My name was printed across the top.
He slid it toward me. “Do you remember your ancestry file? The one from your recruitment background check?”
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “Why?”
“There’s something unusual in it,” he said. “An untraceable bloodline marker—something we’ve only seen once before. In the royal archives of Eryndor."
I stared at him. “You think I’m related to someone from that kingdom?”
He met my gaze. “I don’t think. I’m certain.”
The hum of the time machine behind us grew louder, like it was reacting.
Marcus lowered his voice. “Adelaide… there’s a reason I didn’t tell the others. If this curse is real—and if the prince’s bloodline survived—you might be walking straight into something that’s been waiting for you for centuries.”
I swallowed hard. “You think the curse could still exist?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he said softly, “If you feel… anything strange while you’re there—visions, dreams, memories that aren’t yours—don’t ignore them.”
I blinked. “You’re really comforting, boss.”
He managed a weak smile. “I’d rather you be scared and cautious than brave and dead.”
I exhaled, half laughing, half trying to steady my heartbeat. “So, when do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning,” he said. “Be here before sunrise. Lila and Reese will join you for final calibration.”
I nodded, clutching the folder he’d given me. My name—Adelaide March—stared back at me in sharp black ink.
As I turned to leave, Marcus added quietly, “Oh, and Adelaide?”
I paused at the door.
“The kingdom of Eryndor fell in one night,” he said. “Its people vanished without a trace. If you see the prince…”
He hesitated, eyes dark with something unspoken.
“…don’t trust him too quickly.”
Outside, the corridors felt longer than usual. I could still hear the faint hum of the machine following me, echoing down the hall like a heartbeat from another time.
For the first time since joining the department, I didn’t feel like a detective chasing history.
I felt like history was chasing me.
