Kaelion was two years old when he first intentionally lit a fire.
Tiny. The size of a fingertip. And it went out on its own in half a second.
But he saw it himself. Lyra saw it too, but she was cooking in the corner of the room and thought it was just a reflection from the candle. Kaelion didn't correct her.
Better to stay quiet for now.
He had actually been trying for a long time.
Every night, after Lyra put him to bed and blew out the candle, Kaelion lay in his bed and focused. He tried to feel the fire that used to be in his chest. Tried to call it back, slowly, like someone trying to remember a dream that was almost forgotten.
The first week had no results at all.
The second week also nothing.
The third week, something moved. Very small, like a spark that appeared and disappeared before it could become anything. But that was enough for Kaelion to know his fire was still in there.
He kept going.
Every night. Every time he had a quiet moment. Focus, pull, hold, release. Focus again. Pull again.
The results weren't dramatic. There was no big moment where fire suddenly burst out and everything looked impressive. Just very slow, very small progress. From a spark that immediately disappeared, to a spark that held for a moment, to a small light he could see in his palm if the room was dark enough.
It took months to get to that point.
And Kaelion didn't mind. He had plenty of time.
Living as a toddler had one advantage he hadn't expected.
Nobody took him seriously.
Whatever he did, whatever he showed, the reaction from the adults around him was always the same. Smiles. Clapping. Comments like "oh how clever" or "oh how cute" or the most common one from Lyra, "mama's boy really is the best."
This meant he could train as much as he wanted without anyone getting suspicious.
When he intentionally fell over and over on the floor to test how well he could control his body now, Lyra thought he was learning to walk and cheered him on excitedly from the side of the room. When he sat still for hours with his eyes half closed because he was focusing on his fire practice, the servants thought he was sleepy and immediately went to prepare his bed.
Nobody knew what he was actually doing.
Perfect, he thought.
Theron showed up in his life when Kaelion was almost three years old.
More precisely, Theron showed up at his bedroom door with a face full of mud and a smile that was too wide for a kid who had just been caught doing something he probably shouldn't have.
"Hey," said Theron. He was around five years old at the time. Bigger than Kaelion but with a very innocent looking face. "You're Lord Aldric's kid right?"
Kaelion looked at him.
"I'm Theron. My dad runs this castle." Theron walked into the room without being invited and sat down on the floor. "Can you talk yet?"
"Yes," answered Kaelion.
Theron looked surprised. "Oh. I thought you couldn't yet. Because you're always quiet every time I see you."
"You've been watching for a while?"
"Not watching. Looking." Theron scratched his head. "Big difference."
Kaelion didn't answer.
"You wanna play?" asked Theron.
Kaelion thought for a moment. He had never actually played before. All his time up until now had been spent on body control training and fire training. Playing wasn't something on his list.
But on the other hand, he was a two year old who probably should look like a two year old.
"Sure," said Kaelion.
Theron immediately jumped to his feet. "Okay follow me, there's a cat in the back storage room that just had kittens, they're so cute, but don't tell anyone because my dad will kick them out."
Kaelion followed.
That was the first time he had left his room without being carried by Lyra.
The cat in the storage room didn't have a name because Theron hadn't gotten around to giving her one.
There were four kittens. Three were sleeping pressed against their mother. The smallest one was sleeping a little apart from the others, in a cold corner of the storage room.
Kaelion looked at the smallest kitten.
Theron was already crouching in front of the other three, whispering to them like they could answer back.
Kaelion walked slowly to the corner and sat down beside the kitten that was alone. Very small. Its fur still wasn't even. Its breathing went up and down slowly.
He reached his hand out carefully.
The kitten half opened its eyes, glanced at his hand, then closed them again.
Kaelion kept his hand there. Didn't move. Didn't force anything.
A few minutes later, the kitten shifted slightly toward his hand.
"Hey you got the hard one!" Theron called from across the storage room. "That one's really shy, it won't let me touch it no matter what."
"You don't have to touch it," said Kaelion quietly.
Theron looked at him confused. "Then what are you doing?"
Kaelion didn't answer. He looked at the small kitten now sleeping pressed against his hand. Warm. Slowly.
Theron eventually sat down beside him too, going quiet as well.
A few minutes passed without either of them saying anything.
"Hey you're different you know," said Theron suddenly.
"Different how?"
"I don't know." Theron thought for a moment with a serious expression that looked very funny on a five year old's face. "Like you're already old. Even though you're younger than me."
Kaelion glanced at him.
Theron glanced back. Then laughed to himself. "Never mind, I don't even know what I mean by that."
Kaelion looked back at the kitten beside him.
Old, he thought. If only you knew how accurate that was.
That night, Kaelion lay in his bed and tried again.
Focus. Pull. Hold.
This time something felt different. Maybe because he had gone outside for the first time today. Maybe because the air was different. Maybe because there was no logical reason at all and that was fine too.
In his palm, a small fire appeared.
Not a spark. An actual fire. Small, the size of a marble, but stable. Orange colored with a little ash at the edges.
Kaelion held his breath.
The fire held for five seconds. Then ten. Then went out on its own when his concentration slipped.
But he smiled in the darkness.
A very small smile. Almost invisible if anyone had been looking. But it was there.
Still there, he thought. Still here.
He closed his eyes.
Outside his room, the night wind passed slowly. The old castle creaked a little. And somewhere in the back storage room, a small kitten slept alone in its corner.
Kaelion fell asleep with his hand still slightly warm.