Night had fallen over Qamar Village like a velvet cloak stitched with stars.
Layla's heart pounded as she crept past the sleeping form of her mother, careful not to let the door creak as she stepped outside. She carried two waterskins, wrapped dates in cloth, and a small oil lamp flickering in her hand.
Malik was waiting.
She found him beneath the date palms at the southern edge of the village, where shadows stretched like long fingers across the sand. He sat cross-legged, face upturned to the sky, and for a moment, he looked like he belonged to the stars more than the earth.
"You came," he said without turning.
"I told you I would," Layla replied, settling beside him.
He finally looked at her. The golden glow of his eyes shimmered faintly in the dark. "You could've said no."
"I could've," she agreed, "but then I'd always wonder what would've happened if I said yes."
Malik smiled … a small, thoughtful thing that faded almost as quickly as it appeared. "Then it's time."
"Time for what?" she asked.
Malik rose to his feet and extended a hand. "To show you what fell from the sky… and why I came."
Layla hesitated only a moment before placing her hand in his. It was warm and strange, not like a normal touch. It felt like energy beneath skin, as if he was made of sunlight and shadows.
They walked in silence, away from the soft lights of the village and into the deepening dark of the desert. Layla's lamp cast a circle of golden light that flickered against the dunes.
After an hour, the stars above seemed brighter, and the dunes steeper. Just as Layla was beginning to tire, Malik raised a hand.
"Here," he said quietly.
Layla turned her head and gasped.
There was a crater. Not massive, but deep enough to have torn open the sands. At its center lay a strange object half-buried: a shard of crystal, as tall as a man, glowing faintly with blue light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
"What… is that?" she whispered.
Malik stepped closer, kneeling beside it. "It's a piece of the Star Key," he said. "A fragment from the Celestial Gate."
"Gate to what?"
"To where I came from."
Layla's breath caught.
"You're really… not from this world, are you?"
Malik shook his head. "I was born of the desert wind and starlight. My kingdom is hidden beyond the dunes, veiled in illusion. Once, long ago, the jinn and humans walked freely among each other. But then came the Shadow Sultan."
He paused, eyes darkening. "He broke the harmony. Stole power that was forbidden. He was cast into exile beneath the earth… but he's stirring again."
Layla knelt beside him, heart racing. "And the Star Key?"
"It's the only thing that can seal him away again. But it was shattered centuries ago. This" ….. he gestured to the glowing shard …. "is just one piece. I must find the others."
Layla stared at the shard, its surface etched with ancient runes that seemed to shift when she looked directly at them.
"Why did this one fall now?"
"Because the barrier between realms is thinning," Malik said grimly. "And because something… or someone… is helping him rise."
A breeze swept across the dunes, sudden and cold. Layla shivered.
Malik looked at her. "I didn't expect anyone to see the fall. But you did. That means something."
"What does it mean?"
"It means you're connected to this. More than you know."
Layla opened her mouth to respond, but something moved at the edge of her vision.
A shadow.
She turned sharply. "Did you see that?"
Malik stood instantly. "We're not alone."
From behind a nearby dune, a figure rose. Tall. Cloaked in tattered black. Its face was hidden behind a bronze mask etched with cruel lines. The eyes of the mask glowed red.
"The Shadow Sultan's servant," Malik growled.
The air thickened. Layla stumbled back as the figure raised a skeletal hand …. and the sand beneath their feet began to churn.
"Run!" Malik shouted, grabbing her hand.
They sprinted into the darkness, Malik guiding her with impossible speed. Behind them, the ground cracked and hissed. From the crater, the Star Shard flared brightly…. then shattered into motes of light.
"No!" Malik shouted. "It's a trap…. he destroyed the shard!"
Layla risked a glance behind. The masked figure was not chasing them, but had vanished in a swirl of black smoke, its work complete.
They didn't stop running until they reached a low ridge, panting hard.
"He destroyed the piece?" Layla gasped.
"Yes. To weaken me… to slow me down." Malik's voice trembled with fury. "Each shard holds power. That one alone might have bought us time. Now—"
He paused, looking at her with a new intensity.
"Now I need your help more than ever."
Layla straightened. "What can I do? I'm just a girl from Qamar."
"No," he said. "You're more than that. You saw the fall. You heard the desert's song. And… the shard responded to you."
"What do you mean?"
"When you touched it …. did you feel anything?"
Layla remembered. A strange pulse. A warmth. A moment where the symbols had glowed more brightly.
"Yes," she whispered.
Malik exhaled. "Then you're attuned. That means the other shards might react to you as well."
He stepped closer. "Layla… if you're willing, I want you to come with me. I don't know where the other shards have fallen. But the stars might lead us. And your presence … your connection … might help us find them."
Layla looked past him, to the endless dunes stretching into darkness. The stars glittered above like they were watching.
Fear flickered in her chest. But so did excitement. This was what she had dreamed of, wasn't it? Something more. Something magical.
She met his gaze. "I'll come."
Malik smiled again, softer this time. "Then the desert is no longer silent. It walks with us."
They sat down together beneath the stars, the desert stretching quiet and vast around them. Malik began to trace strange patterns in the sand … symbols of old, he said, to ward off watchers.
And Layla? She watched him, listened to the wind, and wondered what else the desert had hidden in its song.