Morning unfurled slowly over Carfein — the kind of stillness that felt staged, as if the world was holding its breath. From her balcony, Aria could see the mist gliding low across the valley, touching the silver leaves of the Tree of Life. The kingdom glowed in soft gold, unaware of how close it might be to unraveling.
The knock came late, two soft raps. A guard's voice followed."Letter for Miss Aria."
Aria took the rolled parchment, the red wax glinting faintly in the sun. The royal crest pressed upon it shimmered like blood. She broke the seal with cautious fingers.
Proclamation:His Grace, Kael of Carfein, shall be crowned King upon the night of the Red Moon.The kingdom will enter a seven-day celebration to honor his return.
Aria's heart slowed. Kael… She remembered Sira's voice just a week ago, bright and curious — "He's returning after years. He found his loved one."
But Aria could feel something twisting beneath the announcement. The ink itself seemed too sharp, too deliberate.
She stared long enough that she didn't notice the air shift — the faint chill that often came before magic. Then, like a sudden wind through a closed room, the light bent. Blue wings unfurled behind her reflection in the balcony glass.
"Don't scream," a voice murmured.
She turned. The blue-skinned guardian — Nike — stood half in shadow, his long hair rippling with a faint glow.
"You could at least knock," she said quietly.
He smiled, wings twitching once. "You think I use doors?"
Before she could reply, his arm swept out, and the air folded. The balcony vanished — replaced by the cold shimmer of stone walls and hundreds of hanging lanterns. The Room of Shadows flickered into being around her, alive with whispers of wind and candlelight.
The others were already there — Nina, perched cross-legged on a desk covered in parchment; James, chewing on a berry he'd stolen from somewhere; and Nico, green-skinned and silent, tending to what looked like a map of Carfein etched into glass.
And Xyren — standing near the far wall, his back to her.
When he turned, the light caught his eyes — not their usual storm-grey, but something darker.
"She's here," Nike said, folding his wings.
Xyren gave a curt nod. "Good. We start now."
Aria frowned. "Start what?"
Nina hopped down, her tone almost playful. "Saving your favorite kingdom, of course."
James snorted. "If it doesn't burn itself first."
Nico shot him a glare. "Enough. Tell her."
Xyren looked at Aria then — sharp, searching. "Lirien's been preparing something. The Red Moon isn't just for Kael's coronation. It's… timing. A ritual, maybe. We don't know the shape yet — only that it needs power. A lot of it."
Aria blinked. "And you think he'll do it then?"
Nina nodded. "Every sign points to it. The Court's been acting strange, the priests silent, and there's movement near the Tree."
"The Tree?" she echoed.
"Roots are pulsing," Nike said quietly. "Old magic stirs there. I can feel it in the air. It's wrong."
A pause hung between them — thick with the kind of fear no one wanted to name.
Xyren's jaw tightened. "We have seventeen days until the Red Moon. Lirien has power. Access. And the Council won't stop him — they trust him too much. So we do it ourselves."
"And what exactly is the plan?" Aria asked, folding her arms.
Nina shrugged. "To find out what he's hiding. Where. How. And stop him before it happens."
"Without dying," James added with mock seriousness.
Aria gave him a look. "Very comforting."
He grinned, boyish and unbothered. "That's my job."
Nike rolled his eyes, muttering something in a tongue Aria didn't understand.
Then, silence again. The candles fluttered. Xyren stepped closer. "We'll need someone Lirien won't suspect," he said. His gaze lingered on her.
Aria understood before he said it. "Me."
"You can move where his guards can't. The marks of the Tree don't bind to you."
"And if I'm caught?"
His voice didn't waver. "Then you die."
Nina smacked his arm. "What he means is, we won't let that happen."
Xyren shot her a warning look but didn't correct her.
Aria looked around the circle — the strange, mismatched group that somehow carried the kingdom's fate in their hands. Shadows. Spies. Guardians. And her — a girl pulled from another world who only wanted to go home.
Her throat tightened. "You said seventeen days."
"Yes."
Her voice fell to a whisper. "I'll help. But after that… I'm leaving."
The words caught even her off guard.
James blinked. "Leaving?"
"To where?" Nina asked.
"Home." Aria's voice softened. "To Earth."
The word felt distant now — like something from a fading dream.
Nike frowned, his tone unreadable. "You still believe there's a way back?"
"I have to."
Xyren's jaw flexed. For a moment, his mask cracked — something unreadable passed in his eyes. "We'll see," he murmured.
Before Aria could ask, he raised his hand. The floor beneath them glowed faintly — symbols sparking alive in a ring.
"Our meeting ends here. Lirien's patrols are everywhere today."
The world tilted again. Light swallowed them. When Aria blinked next, she stood back in her chamber — her heart racing, the air warm again, sunlight spilling through her balcony.
The letter still lay on her table. Kael's coronation.
She stared at it until her reflection blurred in the wax seal. The noise of the city drifted faintly through the windows — cheers, bells, traders shouting about silks and fruits.
But all she could hear was Xyren's voice —
"Then you die."
And beneath it, quieter — almost lost in the hum of wind —
"We'll see."
She moved to the balcony, gripping the stone edge. The valley stretched far below, alive with color, music, and laughter. Yet under it all, she could feel something… watching. The Tree of Life shimmered faintly in the sunlight — its leaves whispering with the wind.
A celebration was coming. A coronation.And maybe — the end of everything that came before.
She pressed a hand to her heart. It beat too fast, too loud.
"Seventeen days," she murmured. "Then I'll be gone."
The Tree swayed in the distance. And though she couldn't hear it — it almost seemed to sigh.