Chapter 1: The Hidden ChildThe night the Queen gave birth to her last child, the sky bled fire.Thunder cracked across the desert like the roaring of angry beasts, and even the palace walls trembled under the weight of the storm.Sweat clung to her brow as she cradled the newborn, a girl wrapped in torn silk and fear.At her bedside, the High Priestess knelt, her face hidden under a golden veil."You know the law, Your Majesty," the Priestess whispered, voice sharp as a blade."The gods demand the life of your seventh child."The Queen looked down at her daughter — tiny, perfect, innocent — and in that moment, she made a choice that would shatter a thousand years of tradition.She pressed her lips to the child's forehead and whispered, "Run far, my child. Run where even the stars cannot find you."Chapter 1: The Hidden ChildThe night the Queen gave birth to her last child, the sky bled fire.Thunder cracked across the desert like the roaring of angry beasts, and even the palace walls trembled under the weight of the storm.Sweat clung to her brow as she cradled the newborn, a girl wrapped in torn silk and fear.At her bedside, the High Priestess knelt, her face hidden under a golden veil."You know the law, Your Majesty," the Priestess whispered, voice sharp as a blade."The gods demand the life of your seventh child."The Queen looked down at her daughter — tiny, perfect, innocent — and in that moment, she made a choice that would shatter a thousand years of tradition.She pressed her lips to the child's forehead and whispered, "Run far, my child. Run where even the stars cannot find you."Chapter 3: The Festival of FireThe drums beat like thunder through the heart of Daram, calling every villager into the square.It was the Festival of Fire — the day when old debts were burned and new hopes were born.Ayanna weaved through the crowd, the hem of her patched dress brushing against dusty ankles and excited children.She had always loved this day: the dancing, the laughter, the way even the poorest could pretend they were kings and queens under the open sky.But tonight, the air felt wrong — thick, heavy, buzzing against her skin like invisible insects.From the edge of the crowd, she noticed them: strangers in dark armor, standing too still, watching too closely.Her stomach twisted in warning.She didn’t know it yet, but by the end of the festival, she would no longer belong to this village — or to any place she had ever called home.