Morning in the Ravenshade house arrived like a soft hand brushing against the window. The sun slipped through the curtains in gentle lines, warm and gold. The air smelled of bread roasting and the light spice of tea that Rowan brewed every morning. It was the kind of morning that tried to make the world feel normal, even when nothing inside Kael was normal anymore.
Kael sat on the edge of his bed, slowly buttoning his shirt. Every movement felt new. His adult body worked like a machine he hadn't learned to control yet—too long arms, heavy shoulders, stiff joints. His mind still felt thirteen sometimes, then twenty the next moment. It was a strange space to live in.
A soft knock touched the door.
"Kael?" Zara's voice came, gentle but bright. "Breakfast is ready."
Kael smiled at the sound. Zara. His sister. A girl when he last saw her, now a young woman with quick steps and a sharper mind. She was the bridge between the past he remembered and the present he had woken into.
"I'm coming," he said.
When he opened the door, Zara stood there with her long brown hair tied in a loose ribbon, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw him. "You're slower than you look," she teased, but her smile betrayed her relief.
Kael nudged her shoulder lightly. "I wasn't asleep for seven years just to wake up fast."
She grinned. "Fair enough."
Downstairs, Rowan stood by the table, already dressed in a clean, neatly pressed shirt and dark trousers. He had aged—silver hair now ran through his black strands, and his face carried lines of fear, grief, and patience. But his eyes were still Rowan's eyes: steady, deep, and gentle.
And beside him stood Finn.
Kael felt something loosen in his chest when he saw Finn again. The young man had come early, his shirt rolled at the sleeves, his hair slightly messy as if he had rushed from his home.
"You're awake," Finn said with a half-smile.
"Only because someone kept talking all night," Kael replied, smiling back.
Rowan pulled out chairs for them. "Eat well. Today is your first day outside after… after everything."
The pause in Rowan's words carried a shadow, but Kael nodded. He understood.
They ate together, simple food but warm and comforting. As they finished, Finn leaned back in his chair.
"I have a plan," he said. "You need to see the city. The real city. The one outside this house."
Zara lifted a brow. "Are we calling it a tour?"
Finn shrugged. "We can call it whatever helps him breathe easier."
Kael chuckled. "Then let's go."
THE CITY UNFOLDS
The city of Eryndor stretched out under the morning sun, shining with its towers, markets, and long stone roads. Kael had memories of the city as a boy—narrower, smaller, slower. But now, standing there with Finn and Zara on either side, he felt as if he were looking at a world built on top of the old one.
People moved with purpose. New shops had risen. Carriages were sleeker. There were more soldiers on every street, their uniforms polished, their faces stern. A new fountain stood in the town square, sculpted from white stone, water rising and falling like the breath of the city.
Kael paused, taking it all in.
"It changed…" he whispered.
Finn kept his eyes on him, watching carefully. "Change doesn't ask for permission."
Zara folded her arms. "And it never waits for anyone."
Kael smiled faintly. "Seven years is a long time."
"Seven years changes everyone," Finn added.
They walked through the market street, where the smell of fresh fruit mixed with the scent of leather, spices, and warm bread. The voices of buyers and sellers rose like a sea of sound. Kael watched the way people moved, the way the sunlight hit the roofs, the way children laughed and ran.
For a moment, life felt normal.
Then, as they turned a corner, Kael's steps slowed.
Two figures walked ahead on the wide stone path—one tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair tied neatly behind; the other graceful, sharp-eyed, with long golden hair floating like silk in the breeze.
Darian Crestwood.
Alisha Silverwindcrest.
Two names known throughout the academy. Two names Kael had last known as privileged children from noble families. Now they were young adults, poised and refined.
Darian walked with straight posture, hands behind his back, speaking quietly about academy matters.
Alisha walked beside him, eyes calm, listening with a thoughtful tilt of her head.
Zara leaned close to Kael's ear.
"You know," she whispered softly, "Alisha came to see you. Every single day."
Kael blinked. "What?"
Zara nodded. "Not even one day she missed. Even when Finn came, even when father sat here, even when the healers said you might never wake… she still came."
Kael's breath caught. "Why would she—"
"Because she cared," Zara said. "Maybe more than you ever knew."
Finn said nothing, but Kael caught the quick glance he stole at him—quiet, knowing, but respectful enough not to step into that space.
Kael swallowed hard. His heartbeat felt strange. Heavy. Loud.
"What did she do?" he asked quietly.
"Sat by the bed," Zara replied. "Talked to you sometimes. Brought flowers. Once she read to you. Sometimes she just watched and said nothing."
Kael's eyes softened. A quiet ache formed in his chest.
Alisha Silverwindcrest.
The president's daughter.
A girl he had spoken to only a few times when he was young.
A girl he had never given reason to care for him like that.
"Why would she do that… for me?" Kael whispered.
Zara gave him a gentle smile. "Some people don't need a reason."
Finn's voice was low. "Some bonds choose us, Kael. Not the other way around."
Kael sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't even know what I am supposed to feel."
"That's fine," Zara said. "You just woke up."
THE MEETING
Darian noticed them first. His sharp eyes narrowed with surprise before his expression straightened into polite calm.
Alisha turned next. Her gaze landed on Kael—and the world around her seemed to pause.
Her steps froze.
Her breath caught.
And her hand, which held the edge of her cloak, trembled just slightly.
For a long second, she didn't move at all.
Then she walked toward Kael.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if afraid he might disappear.
"Kael…" she breathed, her voice soft, as though she was afraid the wind might steal the word away.
Kael stood still. His heart thudded once, hard.
"Alisha," he said gently.
She stopped a few steps away, eyes shining—not in shock, but something deeper. Something like relief. Something like disbelief finally letting go.
"You woke…" she whispered. "You actually woke."
Kael nodded. "Yes. Yesterday."
Her hands tightened at her sides. "Seven years, Kael… seven years you slept. Seven years you breathed without speaking. Seven years you were here but not here." Her voice cracked, but she steadied it. "And now you're standing in front of me."
Kael took a careful breath.
"I am sorry," he said quietly.
"For what?" Alisha asked.
"For making people wait."
She shook her head, eyes soft. "No one waits unless they choose to."
Darian stepped forward, clearing his throat with a formal tone.
"Ravenshade," Darian said. "It is good to see you awake. The academy will want to speak with you soon."
Kael nodded.
Finn stepped forward slightly, placing his presence between Kael and the world like a quiet shield. Zara stood close by Kael's elbow.
Alisha looked at Kael again, her gaze traveling over his face, as if memorizing every detail.
"You look older," she said.
Kael smiled softly. "I feel younger."
A small laugh escaped her lips. "That sounds like you."
Finn spoke. "We were just touring the city. Letting Kael see what he missed."
Darian nodded. "The city changed much in these years. He will need time to adjust."
Kael looked at the two nobles, then at his friends beside him.
"Time is something I have," he said.
Alisha stepped closer—just one step, but enough to let the closeness speak.
"If you need anything," she said softly, "anything at all… you can call me."
Kael met her eyes. "Thank you."
Her lips curved into a small, warm smile.
Darian placed a hand on her shoulder. "We should go. The academy council requested our presence."
She nodded but kept her eyes on Kael a moment longer.
Then she turned and walked away with Darian, her golden hair catching the sunlight like strands of light itself.
Kael watched until they disappeared into the crowd.
Zara gently bumped his arm. "You're popular."
Kael sighed. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that."
Finn chuckled. "You live. One day at a time."
Kael looked at his two companions—his friend and his sister.
The city around them felt loud, bright, alive.
And for the first time in years, Kael felt himself slowly stepping back into life.
Not as the boy he was.
Not as the ghost he became.
But as someone new—someone between the two, shaped by both.
"Let's keep walking," Kael said.
And they did, three figures moving through the city that had changed, while Kael began the quiet work of changing with it.