Morning came in pale gold.
Aria woke to a soft draft of air brushing against her face like a whisper. For a moment she didn't know where she was. The walls weren't her aunt's little house, and the faint humming in the air wasn't the sound of waves on the bay.
It all came back: the storm, the rift, the monsters, Kaelen.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Outside her small window, the twin suns were just lifting over the silver-blue forest, one warm and one ghostly pale. The trees glittered faintly in the light, and mist curled across the ground like slow-moving rivers.
There was a knock on the door. Sharp, quick.
"Get ready," Kaelen's voice said through the wood. "The Elders are waiting."
Her heart jumped. Right. The mysterious, possibly scary "Elders" who were apparently going to decide her fate.
She dressed quickly in the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday—damp, wrinkled, and stained from crashing through a new dimension—and splashed cool water on her face from the strange, endless basin. It helped a little. Not enough.
When she opened the door, Kaelen was there, already dressed as if he had been awake for hours. His silver hair was tied back at the base of his neck. The teal of his eyes seemed sharper in the morning light.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Define ready," she muttered.
"That'll do."
They climbed spiral stairs to the very top of the Spire. The higher they went, the more the air seemed to hum, as though the tower itself was alive.
At the top, the stairway opened into a wide circular chamber ringed with open windows. The breeze moved through like a living thing, swirling around a raised platform in the center. On it stood five figures.
The Elders.
They were not like Kaelen. Their presence pressed against Aria like a weight, though they barely seemed to move. Each wore long robes marked with symbols she didn't recognize, and their eyes… their eyes glowed faintly, different colors: silver, blue, green, gold, and white.
She swallowed hard.
Kaelen stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Honored Elders."
The one with silver eyes inclined their head. "Kaelen. The Rift has spoken."
Their voices overlapped—five tones at once, like wind blowing through five different chimes. The sound made goosebumps crawl across Aria's arms.
"And this," the gold-eyed Elder said, their voice soft but piercing, "is the human who crossed."
Aria straightened. "Uh, hi?"
For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of their gazes pinned her like insects on a board.
"Your name?" the blue-eyed Elder asked.
"Aria Solen," she said. "And before you ask—I didn't mean to cross! I was just—"
"Pulled," the white-eyed Elder finished, tilting their head. "Yes. We felt the rift open. It is… unusual."
"She carries a Key," Kaelen said.
The air in the chamber seemed to still. The five Elders exchanged glances.
"Show us," the silver-eyed one commanded.
Aria hesitated, then stepped forward and opened her palm. The bronze key lay there, glowing faintly as if it recognized their presence.
The Elders leaned forward, their robes whispering against the stone. "A Key bound," murmured the green-eyed Elder. "After so long."
Aria blinked. "What's a Key bound?"
No one answered her. They kept talking as if she hadn't spoken.
"She should not be here," the blue-eyed Elder said. "The Rift has rules. When they are broken, danger follows."
"But the Rift brought me here!" Aria protested. "I didn't open it!"
The gold-eyed Elder studied her, their gaze thoughtful. "Perhaps that is why."
A gust of wind swept through the chamber, tugging at her hair. It was as though the Spire itself disapproved of her presence.
"I just want to go home," she said, her voice smaller now. "My aunt doesn't even know where I am. She'll think I'm dead."
The silver-eyed Elder's gaze softened slightly. "Child. The Rift doesn't choose without reason. If you were brought here, there is something only you can do."
"Do?" Aria repeated. "Like what?"
"The Sigils," said the green-eyed Elder. "Three ancient marks of power, scattered across Aeloria. If they are not brought together and sealed, your world and ours will collapse into one."
Aria stared. "That sounds… bad."
"It is," said the white-eyed Elder.
Kaelen stepped forward, frowning. "You can't mean to send her—she doesn't even know what a Sigil is!"
"She will learn," the silver-eyed Elder said. "And you will guide her."
Aria's head whipped toward him. "Wait, what? No! I don't even know how to survive a forest full of creepy shadow monsters!"
"The Rift has chosen," the Elders said, their voices weaving together like threads of air.
Kaelen's jaw tightened. "And if she refuses?"
"Then both realms will be lost," said the gold-eyed Elder.
Aria's pulse raced. She couldn't think. This was insane. Less than 24 hours ago, she had been on a pier, living her normal, boring life. Now they wanted her to—what? Save two worlds?
"I didn't ask for any of this," she whispered.
"No one ever does," the silver-eyed Elder said gently.
The chamber fell silent. The wind slowed, heavy with expectation.
Finally, Aria said, "If I help… if I do whatever it is you're talking about… you'll send me home?"
"You'll have a choice," said the green-eyed Elder. "But know this: finding the Sigils will not be easy. They are guarded, and the Shades are not the only dangers that stalk Aeloria."
Aria glanced down at the key in her palm. It glowed brighter now, as if it wanted her to say yes.
Her parents had disappeared into a storm eight years ago. Was this why? Was this key connected to them? Could it lead her to answers she'd been waiting for all her life?
She took a deep breath. "Fine," she said. "I'll do it. But not because I want to save your world. I just… I need to know the truth."
The Elders inclined their heads, as if this was the answer they had expected.
"Then you must begin," the white-eyed Elder said. "Kaelen, take her to the training grounds. She will not survive long without learning to wield the wind."
Kaelen grimaced. "With respect, Elder, she has no connection to the winds."
"Perhaps not," said the gold-eyed Elder. "But the Rift does. And it left its mark on her."
"What mark?" Aria asked, alarmed.
The Elders' five voices overlapped again, low and strange. "The Rift does not let go, Aria Solen. You are no longer of one world."
A shiver ran down her spine.
The meeting ended abruptly. The Elders turned away, their robes flowing like water, and the wind picked up, pushing her gently but firmly toward the stairway. Kaelen walked beside her, silent.
When they reached the lower chamber, she finally exploded. "Did they just… sign me up for some epic quest without even asking me?!"
"Yes," Kaelen said.
"And you just… agreed?!"
"I didn't agree," he said, his tone clipped. "I follow orders."
She stopped on the stairs, glaring at him. "Well, I don't."
"Then you'd better learn fast," he said, looking back at her, "or this world—and yours—will tear themselves apart."
A sudden roar echoed outside, deep and terrible, shaking the Spire's stones. Kaelen's head snapped toward the window, his expression sharp.
"What was that?" Aria whispered.
Kaelen drew his blades. "Trouble," he said. "Stay here."
But as he raced down the stairs, the sound came again—closer this time—and the walls of the Spire shuddered.
Something had found them.