The table was made of stardust.
Not metaphorically. Real stardust—compressed, woven, sealed by magic older than language. It shimmered like snowfall caught in moonlight, and across its surface stretched a map.
No parchment. No borders. No cardinal directions.
Just motion.
Threads of light arced and bent like rivers of possibility, intersecting in glows and pulses. Some snapped mid-flow, others frayed at their ends. And in the center, pulsing with a soft thrum, was a name:
Elara Thorne.
A cartographer stood beside her—tall, lithe, with eyes that swirled like nebulae.
"We call this the Loom of Ways," they said. "Every step you take makes a mark."
Elara stared. "This is me?"
"A part of you. A path. Not fixed, but responsive. You're a living constellation."
"And I can... chart this?"
The cartographer smiled. "Not just chart. Expand."
Cassian stood in the shadows, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
When Elara found him after the archive meeting, he didn't speak at first. Just watched her—eyes dark with stormlight, jaw tight with thought.
"You heard," she finally said.
"I heard."
"They think I'm some kind of... wayfinder."
He nodded. "A Key. A bridge. You could travel anywhere. Help others find their paths."
She exhaled. "And you?"
"I'm a prince without a realm," he said quietly. "You're a star with a map."
"But we could go together," she pressed. "Rewrite the constellations."
For a long moment, he didn't answer. Then: "Only if the stars permit it."
That night, Elara stood in the Loom room alone.
She placed her palm on her glowing thread. The map pulsed, responding.
She felt the tug of other worlds. A garden-world where light grew on trees. A city suspended in fog. A frozen moon echoing her mother's lullaby.
She saw people. Like her. Travelers. Lost. Waiting.
The cartographer's voice came back to her: "Every wayfinder leaves a trail. You could be the first to draw stars no one's ever seen."
She chose.
Not with a grand speech, but with a breath and a step forward.
The map shifted. Threads reformed. Her name brightened.
Behind her, Cassian appeared.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"No," she said. "But I want to find out."
He reached for her hand, his own trembling.
"Then let's walk this sky together."