The Duke's decree echoed in my head long after the council ended:
"Let him prove himself in the Trials."
My fate was sealed.
If I failed, my brother would win everything. If I succeeded… I'd make enemies far more dangerous than Calen.
That night, I returned to the abandoned greenhouse. Hidden beneath cracked stone tiles, I found what I'd been searching for—my predecessor's notes. Scribbled in half-faded ink, they described a method of refining star energy through pain and restraint.
I pressed the words to memory: Bend the flame, do not let it consume. The body is fragile, but the will is infinite.
So I trained. Hour after hour, sweat and blood soaking into the soil. The flicker of starlight within me pulsed, faint but steady.
And then.
A voice. Smooth, cutting.
"You're going to break yourself before the Trials even begin."
I spun, heart pounding. Aster stood there, cloak trailing silver in the moonlight.
"Why… why do you keep following me?" I demanded.
His gaze was calm, unreadable. "Because I dislike wasting potential."
He stepped forward, kneeling just enough to take my hand. My breath caught as his fingers pressed against my palm, cool and deliberate.
"Your energy is leaking. You're scattering your focus."
He guided my hand to the center of my chest, where the faint star flickered weakly. The warmth of his touch lingered far longer than it should have.
"Feel it. Do not chase it. Command it."
His voice was low, almost intimate. For a moment, the world shrank to just the two of us my trembling breath, his steady gaze.
And then the energy inside me surged, steadier than before. My star pulsed with new life.
I gasped. "It… it worked."
Aster released me abruptly, his face as cold as ever. "Do not mistake guidance for kindness. I want to see whether you survive… or shatter."
He turned to leave, but paused at the threshold. "Your brother is not waiting idly. Be careful, Erian. In the Trials, he won't play fair."
When the door shut behind him, silence swallowed the greenhouse.
I pressed my hand to my chest, where his touch still burned.
Was this protection? Or another trap?
Either way, I couldn't stop trembling.