The first time I met Seren Vale, he was smiling.
That should have been my warning.
The Council had summoned us at dawn Aster in his command uniform, me in the plain black of an "observed vessel." The chamber smelled of incense and ozone.
The High Seer's voice carried through the air.
"Commander Aster, Vessel Erian this is your overseer, appointed directly by the Council of Stars. He will ensure compliance with containment protocols."
Footsteps echoed.
A young man stepped into view, tall and composed, with pale hair that shimmered faintly silver in the light. His eyes sharp as blades, almost too beautiful turned toward me first, then lingered on Aster.
"It's been a while," Seren said.
Aster's expression didn't change, but his aura tightened like a sword half-drawn.
"Seren."
So they knew each other.
The Seer gestured dismissively. "You'll find the details in your summons. The Council expects weekly reports, Lord Vale. Dismissed."
When the Seer vanished in a ripple of light, silence took its place.
Seren broke it first.
"You look tired, Commander."
"I didn't ask for your concern."
"Of course not." Seren's gaze flicked to me. "So this is the vessel. The boy who swallowed a sun."
His words were almost gentle but his tone wasn't.
I stepped back instinctively. "I didn't"
He smiled again. "Relax. I'm not here to kill you."
Then, after a pause:
"Yet."
Aster moved before I could breathe, hand on his blade. "Enough."
Seren's eyes softened, almost amused. "You're still the same. Always ready to draw blood for someone else's sin."
"What are you doing here, Seren?"
He took a slow step closer. "Observing. Testing. Reporting. The usual. The Council wants data I deliver."
His gaze slid back to me. "But between us… I'm curious."
"About what?" I asked.
"About why you."
His tone was neither cruel nor kind just hungry.
"Why the Black Sun chose a boy with shaking hands and borrowed power. Why Aster risked his rank to protect you. Why the gods haven't erased you yet."
My throat tightened. "Maybe because I'm not what you think."
"Maybe," Seren said softly, "you're exactly what I think."
He stepped even closer too close. I could see the faint glow beneath his skin, the runes etched along his throat like veins of starlight.
Aster's voice cut through the tension. "You'll stay away from him."
Seren turned to him, smiling faintly. "Is that an order… or jealousy?"
The air between them crackled two storms colliding, invisible and violent.
I felt it through the bond Aster's restrained fury, his fear, his protectiveness.
And beneath it all… guilt.
Seren's eyes softened, but his smile didn't fade. "You can't protect him forever. The Council doesn't assign me to observe. They assign me to end what can't be contained."
Then he brushed past me, whispering as he did.
"Let's hope you're not one of them, little star."
That night, Aster didn't speak.
He sat by the window in silence, moonlight cutting sharp lines across his face.
Finally, I asked, "Who is he?"
Aster's voice was low. "My former partner."
I froze. "…Partner?"
"In the Division. And once…"
He trailed off, eyes darkening. "More than that."
The bond pulsed, faint and sharp jealousy, fear, confusion emotions that weren't all mine.
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky, splitting the silence in two.