The sun rose red the next morning. A bad omen, the palace gardeners whispered.
But Seraphina wasn't in the palace.
Cassian had taken her beyond the walls—into the ancient courtyard ruins that had once been a training ground for the Guardians of Light. The world there was quiet, hidden beneath climbing ivy and whispers of the past.
"You brought me here to learn to fight," Seraphina said, glancing down at the slender sword Cassian handed her.
"No," he said, "I brought you here to survive."
He stepped back, drawing his own blade. "Show me how you hold it."
She tried to mimic his grip, but her fingers were too stiff. He stepped behind her, gently adjusting her arms.
"Not too tight," he murmured. "You're not strangling it."
"I feel ridiculous."
"Good. That means you're learning."
She gave him a glare—but didn't let go.
---
They trained until her arms ached and her legs felt like stone. Sweat clung to her forehead. Her hair was a mess. But her eyes were shining.
Cassian lowered his sword. "You're better than you think."
She sank to the grass, panting. "You say that to all princesses?"
"You're the only one I've met who hit me in the first lesson."
She smirked.
But her smile faded when a breeze swept through the courtyard, carrying a low, humming sound—faint and distant, like a voice singing in the wind.
Seraphina stood. "Do you hear that?"
Cassian's face darkened. "No."
Her heart beat faster. "Then why do I hear it?"
The humming grew louder. Not from outside—but from within her.
She stepped toward a crumbling wall covered in ivy. Her fingers brushed the stones… and one of them sank inward with a click.
A narrow archway opened before her.
Inside, an old stone chamber, circular and carved with ancient runes. And in the center—an orb, glowing with soft silver light.
Cassian reached out. "Don't touch—"
But it was too late.
Seraphina stepped into the chamber, drawn by something she didn't understand.
As her hand brushed the orb, it flared—and the runes lit up like fireflies. Images danced in the air above her: a young queen with golden eyes… a prince with a face like Cassian's but older… and the silhouette of Malrec, cloaked in darkness.
Then a voice echoed, not out loud—but inside her mind.
> "The blood remembers. The fire returns. Light and shadow shall rise again, and the balance must not be broken."
Seraphina stumbled back. The orb dimmed.
Cassian caught her. "What did you see?"
She looked up at him, breathless. "My mother. She knew everything. She left me a message… but only I could hear it."
He helped her to her feet. "The orb is old magic. Only those with the queen's blood can unlock it."
Seraphina swallowed hard. "Then it's true. I'm part of something bigger."
"You always were," Cassian said gently.
Their hands were still touching. She didn't pull away.
---
That evening, she sat at her windowsill once more, watching the moon rise. But this time, she didn't feel so small.
She sang—not because of magic, but because her heart needed it.
---
Song: "The Thread of Light"
There's a thread of light that winds through me,
A voice I didn't choose to hear.
A path that calls when all seems lost,
A star that only shines through fear.
I don't yet know what waits ahead,
Or what my fate will ask me to be.
But I was born with fire inside—
And I will not let darkness bury me.
---
Outside her room, Cassian stood with his back against the door. He'd heard every word.
And somewhere deep in the forest, Malrec's crows stirred again—unsettled.
"She is awakening," the Fallen King whispered.
"And she will remember everything."
---