The palace was quieter than usual — not peaceful, but holding its breath. Everyone felt it. The nobles, the maids, the guards at the gates. Even the sky above Caelum Aureum seemed cloaked in a strange, silken hush.
Kael stood atop the eastern ramparts, overlooking the garden where Lysander trained. The boy's movements were sharp, relentless, blade slicing the air again and again. Sweat dripped from his brow, but he did not stop.
Elara joined Kael moments later, her cloak fluttering in the wind, the scent of sage and myrrh following her. "He's hurting," she said softly.
"He's trying not to," Kael replied.
Elara's eyes drifted to their son. "I wish he'd talk to her. She asks about him."
"He sees her as a threat now." Kael's voice was low, bitter. "He's afraid. Afraid the people will worship her more. That she'll be chosen for something he doesn't understand."
"She's his sister."
"She's the Starborn." His jaw clenched. "And that changes everything."
Below them, Lysander finished his drill and plunged his blade into the dirt, chest heaving. For a moment, he looked up toward the tower — eyes catching Kael's — before turning his back and walking away.
Elara's hand slipped into Kael's. "We need to protect them from each other. Before someone else tries to use them."
Kael nodded. "There are shadows circling again."
Elara frowned. "You've felt them too?"
He didn't answer — which meant yes.
---
Later that evening, the seer returned to the palace.
Blind-eyed and wind-worn, she was thinner than the last time they'd seen her, her robes torn by travel and time.
Seris waited for her in the old lunar chamber. Alone.
"You should not be here," the seer said.
"You came because I called you," Seris replied simply.
The seer hesitated. Then, bowed.
"Yes. Because the Gate is weakening."
Seris tilted her head. "He's closer, isn't he?"
"Yes. And next time, he won't come through your dreams."
The girl didn't flinch. "I'm not afraid."
"You should be," the seer said. "You carry power neither Light nor Dark was meant to hold. The Gate wants it. He wants you."
Seris' voice was steady. "And what do I do?"
"You must learn to refuse the Gate."
"And if I can't?"
The seer's silence was answer enough.
---
That same night, Kael summoned Lysander into the war room.
The boy arrived in full practice gear, his tunic soaked in sweat, his expression wary.
"You wanted me, Father?"
Kael studied him. "You haven't spoken to your sister in four days."
Lysander looked away. "She's busy."
"She's six."
"I'm training."
"You're avoiding her."
A tense silence.
Lysander's fists clenched. "Everyone stares at her. They whisper. They don't look at me like that."
Kael stepped forward. "Because you are already what they expect. A prince. A warrior. One day, maybe a king. But Seris is a miracle. That makes her a threat. She needs you."
Lysander met his father's eyes, and something in him softened. "I do love her. I just… I don't know who I am next to her."
Kael placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "You are her brother. That will always matter more than prophecy."
---
Meanwhile, Elara sat with Seris in the healing chambers.
The child was paler than usual. Her magic, though quiet, simmered like an ember beneath skin. A golden feather had sprouted in her palm, the result of a dream she wouldn't talk about.
"Why won't you let me protect you?" Elara asked, brushing hair from her daughter's face.
"Because you can't stop what's already coming."
"I can try."
Seris smiled — that same too-wise smile that chilled Elara to the bone. "I'll protect you instead."
---
That evening, as stars began to bleed light into the clouds, Kael and Elara stood before the royal council.
The seer was there. Lysander stood at his father's side. Seris sat beside her mother.
And from the far end of the room, a cloaked figure stepped forward.
"I bring word from the borderlands," the messenger said. "The Gate… it cracked again. This time, the mountain shook. The skies changed. And something slipped through."
Kael's eyes darkened. "What slipped through?"
The messenger swallowed. "We don't know. But it's not of this world."
The seer rose, her voice grave. "The Starborn must be hidden. Or protected. Or both. Whatever came through is hunting her."
Kael's voice was steel. "Then it will find only death."
---