Seraphina told them to wait for the king to summon them.
She said it like a queen, not a girl who had just watched her world crack.
"Touch nothing. Speak to no one. If you need air, the eastern balcony is warded. If you need trouble…" She let the sentence hang, green eyes sharp enough to cut glass. "…don't."
Then she turned on her heel and left them in a guest suite that felt more like a beautiful cage: high windows, velvet drapes, a single door locked from the outside.
Mina flopped onto the bed, boots and all. "I've been kidnapped by royalty. Five stars. Would recommend." Kai paced. "We're not kidnapped. We're… monitored."
"Same difference, pretty boy." They explored anyway. Upper towers, forbidden libraries, moonlit corridors that whispered when you walked past. A shadowy figure flickered at the edge of vision: cloak swishing, vanishing into stone. Kai's hand went to his dagger. Mina clutched his sleeve. "Did you" "Yes."
Seraphina appeared at the end of the hall as if summoned by their fear.
"Ah," she said, voice cool. "The old guardian. No one has seen him in years. He keeps the palace safe." A pause. "Or keeps its secrets." She didn't smile. She didn't need to.
The next morning, the summons came. The grand hall echoed with quiet power. Marble arches soared. Banners of gold and silver hung like frozen rivers. Courtiers lined the edges, jeweled eyes watching every breath. King Alaric sat at the far end.
No crown. No heavy robes. Just a dark tunic lined with silver thread, hair streaked with iron, and a gaze that could freeze blood. Mina swallowed hard. "Kai… this was a terrible idea." Kai stood stiff beside her, coat freshly cleaned crest visible at his throat.
"We have no choice." Seraphina moved ahead of them, graceful and composed, but her eyes flicked back once. Be careful. The king's voice, when it came, was deceptively soft.
"So. You are the ones who crossed the Sky-Gate." Kai stepped forward. "Your Majesty, we come seeking knowledge about the magic that stirs" "Enough." The single word silenced the hall.
Alaric rose slowly, descending the dais one measured step at a time.
His gaze fixed on Kai. "I know your face. Velmire blood runs proud, does it not? You should be at your father's side, boy not chasing shadows and waking old ghosts."
Kai clenched his fists. "With respect, sire… I believe the shadows are coming for all of us." The king's eyes flicked to Mina. "And this one? A commoner girl with untrained magic, trespassing in the heart of my realm. Why should I let you walk free from this hall?" Mina's throat tightened. "Because…" she whispered, then stronger, "because you need us, whether you want to admit it or not." A ripple of biting laughter swept the court.
The king's face did not change. "Brave words." He turned, walking back toward his throne. "You bring me no proof. No allies. No crowns. And you ask for answers, as if the weight of this kingdom owes itself to strangers." Kai took a step forward, voice rising.
"We saw the vision, sire. We saw the Sleeper. We know time is short."
The word hung in the air: Sleeper. The hall fell deathly silent. Alaric turned sharply.
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes. "What did you see?"
Mina stepped beside Kai, hands trembling but voice steady. "A girl… pale hair, blue eyes… standing on a cliff as the storm broke behind her. We saw the world break. We saw the stars shift." The king's jaw tightened. "And you come here… why?"
Kai drew a slow breath. "Because all paths point here, Your Majesty. To Aurelis. To you. And to the truth you've kept locked away for years." For a long, heart-stopping moment, King Alaric said nothing.
Then he lifted one hand. Guards stepped forward not to seize them, but to close the great doors, locking them inside. "If you wish to know the truth," the king said softly, "then prepare yourselves. You may not survive it." The doors closed with a heavy boom.
Alaric stood with his back to them, hands clasped. "Elysia Valmont," he murmured.
Kai and Mina froze. Seraphina, just stepping inside, felt the name like a crack of thunder in her chest. "What… what did you say?" The king turned sharply. "You were never meant to hear that, Seraphina." Her green eyes blazed. "Elysia she's real? You told me she was lost to the sea!" Mina's breath hitched. "She's alive?" The king's jaw tightened.
"We don't know. That is the point." Kai stepped forward. "Your Majesty, we believe the prophecy is waking. The Sleeper is stirring. If she's out there, the storm will find her whether you do or not." Alaric's eyes darkened. "And what would you have me do, boy? Send soldiers? Summon magic we buried for a reason?"
"No," Kai said quietly. "Send us." Seraphina's voice cut through the tension.
"Father, you can't trust them." "And yet," Alaric murmured, "they are here when no one else dared cross the gates."
He turned back to Kai and Mina; face lined with grief and iron.
"If I let you go… know this: you do not carry just your own fates. You carry the fate of Aurelis. And if you fail, this kingdom burns."
Mina's throat tightened. "No pressure." The king's gaze softened just a fraction.
"Then prove me wrong." He gestured to Seraphina. "Take them to the academy. Keep them close. If the prophecy is true… they will reveal themselves soon enough."
Seraphina's eyes widened. "The academy?" Alaric's voice dropped. "Where better to watch fire than in a forge?" He turned away. "Dismissed." The doors opened.
Outside, courtiers whispered like wind through graves. Mina grabbed Kai's sleeve as they walked. "So… we're officially royal babysitting duty?" Kai exhaled.
"We're officially in over our heads." Seraphina walked ahead, back straight, but her voice carried back soft and dangerous. "Welcome to Aurelis," she said. "Try not to break it."