Seraphine's tears changed the sky.
The first tear struck the silver ground.
A single drop.
Nothing more.
Yet the moment it touched the island—
a star returned.
Far above the Shore of Lost Things, one missing point of light flickered back into existence.
The entire realm froze.
The forgotten beneath the lake looked upward.
The tree of starlight trembled.
The throne roared through the connection between worlds.
Not in warning.
In hope.
Midnight stared.
Another tear fell.
A second star returned.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
The realization hit everyone simultaneously.
The Hollow Silence wasn't fueled by hatred.
It was fueled by grief.
And now—
for the first time—
that grief was being released.
Seraphine noticed too.
The silver-haired woman looked upward in shock.
The
