The Sanctuary bells began to ring.
Slow.
Deep.
Warning bells—an ancient code only used for one thing:
A celestial entity was crossing the veil.
Claire jumped.
"Uh—why does it sound like we're about to get smited?"
Kael didn't answer.
He couldn't.
He was staring at Amila's wrist, where the sigil pulsed like a living heartbeat.
Amila swallowed hard."Kael… what does this mean? Who is coming?"
Kael's wings flared—instinct, fear, reverence, all tangled into one.
"The First Queen," he whispered."The original Dawnbringer. The mother of our entire clan."
Claire's face went blank."So basically—Amila's great-great-great ancient grandmother is on her way to murder us?"
Kael didn't deny it.
The Queen—the real Queen, Amila's mother—stepped forward sharply.
"No. She won't come for us."
She paused.
"She will come for Amila."
THE SKY SPLITS OPEN
A crack of pure light tore across the sky above the Sanctuary.
Not warm sunlight.Not celestial glow.
But the kind of light that made the world remember it was small.
Amila felt it in her bones—like something inside her was answering the call without her permission.
Her wings—still faint, still forming—fluttered behind her spine.
"Kael…" she whispered.
Her voice shook.
"I feel like I'm being pulled."
Kael grabbed her hand instantly.
"I won't let her take you."
But the Queen's voice cut through the tension:
"She won't need to take her."Her expression hardened."She'll expect her to kneel."
Amila stiffened.
"No. I won't kneel to anyone."
The Queen exhaled.
"Then pray she doesn't take offense."
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VEIL
A realm of endless dawn.
A throne of broken starlight.
And on it—
A woman with wings made of sunfire and shadows.
The First Dawn Queen.
Her eyes were closed.
For centuries, she had slept.Sealed.Forgotten.Her name erased.
But something had called her back.
A heartbeat.A bloodline.A power she once ruled over with iron and radiance.
Her eyes snapped open—gold bright enough to blind lesser beings.
"So," she whispered, rising from her throne."The child has awakened my mark."
Her aura rippled outward—so strong the veil shuddered.
Then—
She smiled.
A slow, ancient, regal smile.
"It is time I returned."
SERAPHINE ARRIVES FIRST
At the Sanctuary gates—
Horses screeched.Wards flared.Warriors froze in terror.
Lady Seraphine rode through like royalty returning to her city.
Her cloak swept behind her, dark and elegant.Her golden eyes burned.
She dismounted with a single graceful step.
The Queen appeared instantly, wings half-spread.
"Sister."
"Seraphine."
A moment of pure tension.
Claire leaned toward Amila, whispering:"Are they gonna fight? 'Cause your family reunions are wild."
But Seraphine didn't look at Claire.
Her gaze locked directly on—
Amila.
She took one step.
Then another.
Then—
Her face transformed into something unreadable.
Pain.Wonder.Hunger.Grief.
"You…" Seraphine breathed."You look exactly like your grandmother."
Amila blinked.
"…My grandmother?"
Seraphine smiled.
But it wasn't a warm smile.
It was the kind a serpent gives before the strike.
"Yes.The First Queen.The one whose crown was stolen from me."
Kael moved fast—placing himself between Seraphine and Amila.
"Liora, you are not touching her."
Seraphine's lashes lowered.
"You always were loyal to the wrong bloodline, Kael."
THE VEIL BREAKS
A scream of light tore across the sky.
Everyone looked up.
The crack widened—splitting the clouds—and something stepped through.
A silhouette.
Tall.Radiant.Terrifying.
Wings of pure dawnfire.Hair like liquid gold.Eyes ancient enough to break worlds.
It wasn't Raeth.
It wasn't a celestial guard.
It wasn't a spirit or demon.
Claire whispered:
"…Is that—?"
Kael swallowed.
Hard.
"Yes."
He bowed his head without thinking—not to swear loyalty,but because his body remembered what she was.
The First Dawn Queen.
Amila's grandmother.
And she had come for only one person.
Her gaze locked onto Amila—
—and the world bowed under the weight of it.
"Child," she said, her voice ringing like prophecy,"you carry my crown."
Amila trembled.
She lifted her head.
And whispered back—
"No."
The Queen's eyes narrowed.
"My crown does not ask for permission."
Amila's mark flared—gold and shadow.
"Then I guess," she whispered,"I'll just have to refuse."
The First Queen's wings spread—filling the entire sky.
"That," she said softly,"is exactly what your mother once said."
Amila froze.
"My… mother?"
The Queen smiled.
A smile full of truth and tragedy.
"Oh, child.There is much you do not know."