Chapter 1; the cater calls
Smoke still clawed at the sky when dawn crept over Aderyn.
The city had not slept. It could not.
Elira Vale stood before the tall mirror in her chamber, staring at hands that no longer felt like her own. The crimson cracks had faded overnight, leaving behind faint silver lines that shimmered beneath her skin like veins made of starlight.
She flexed her fingers slowly.
They obeyed.
But they did not feel safe.
A knock came at the door—sharp, urgent, royal.
“Enter,” she said, forcing steadiness into her voice.
The doors opened to reveal Captain Rovan, head of the palace guard. His armor was still dusted with ash, his dark cloak torn at the edges. He bowed stiffly, though his eyes scanned her as if confirming she was still human.
“The council has assembled, Your Highness,” he said. “They request your presence immediately.”
Request.
Elira almost laughed. The council never requested anything. They commanded.
“I will come shortly,” she replied.
He hesitated, his gaze flickering to her hands before snapping away. “The High Seer insists it cannot wait.”
Of course he did.
“I said shortly, Captain.”
Rovan bowed again and left.
The moment the doors shut, Elira exhaled shakily. She reached for the gloves resting on her dressing table—white silk embroidered with the royal crest—and slid them over her hands. The fabric dulled the faint glow beneath her skin, though she could still feel the heat pulsing underneath.
Like something alive.
The memory of the voice brushed against her mind.
You took long enough.
She clenched her fists.
“I am not listening,” she whispered to the empty room.
But the silence felt like it was listening to her.
⸻
The royal council chamber buzzed with anxious voices when Elira entered. Twelve council members sat around the circular obsidian table, their elaborate robes dragging across the marble floor. Maps, scrolls, and star charts littered the surface, many hastily rolled open.
The moment she stepped inside, the room fell silent.
Every gaze turned toward her.
She hated how they looked at her now—not as a princess, but as a weapon they had not yet decided whether to wield or destroy.
The High Seer stood near the center of the chamber, his pale robes marked with fresh scorch stains. His hollow eyes locked onto her as she approached.
“Princess Elira,” he said quietly. “Thank you for coming.”
“You left me little choice,” she replied, taking her seat.
A councilwoman leaned forward, fingers trembling against the table. “The crater is growing.”
Elira stiffened. “Growing?”
“Expanding,” the woman corrected. “The ground surrounding it continues to collapse inward. Entire villages near the outer walls have already been evacuated.”
Another councilman slammed his palm against the table. “This is not merely destruction. It is transformation. The land itself is changing.”
The High Seer unrolled a parchment covered in glowing script. “The fallen star awakened something ancient—something bound beneath our kingdom for centuries.”
Elira swallowed. “You mentioned the Seal was broken.”
“Yes.”
“And you believe I caused it.”
The chamber filled with uneasy murmurs.
The High Seer met her gaze steadily. “We believe the prophecy has reached its final phase.”
Elira’s jaw tightened. “Then explain it to me. Fully. No riddles this time.”
He hesitated, as if weighing how much truth she could survive.
“The prophecy speaks of a Star-Bearer,” he said slowly. “A royal bloodline destined to either command the ancient power or release it upon the world.”
“And you believe I am that person.”
“We believe the star believes it.”
The words settled heavily in the air.
Before Elira could respond, the chamber doors burst open. A young messenger stumbled inside, breathless and pale.
“Forgive the interruption,” he gasped. “But the guards stationed near the crater—”
“What about them?” Captain Rovan demanded from the doorway.
“They’re gone.”
The chamber erupted into chaos.
“What do you mean gone?” someone shouted.
“No bodies,” the messenger said, shaking. “No signs of battle. Their armor and weapons were found melted into the ground, as if the earth swallowed them.”
A chill crawled up Elira’s spine.
The High Seer turned toward her slowly. “It is calling for you.”
“I am not going anywhere near that thing,” she snapped.
“You must.”
Her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she stood. “People are disappearing, and your solution is to send me into the source of it?”
“You are the only one it will not destroy.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” he said softly. “Because it has already spoken to you.”
The chamber fell silent again.
Elira’s pulse thundered in her ears. “You have no proof.”
The High Seer stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
“Last night,” he murmured, “you heard it, didn’t you?”
Her breath caught.
She said nothing.
“That is how it begins,” he whispered. “First, it speaks. Then, it marks. Finally… it claims.”
A sudden wave of heat surged through her gloves, sharp enough to make her gasp. Crimson light seeped through the silk, glowing brighter with each passing second.
The council members recoiled.
“Elira…” Rovan warned.
She ripped the gloves off.
The silver cracks across her hands burned crimson again, spreading further up her wrists like living lightning. Pain flared, dropping her to one knee as a voice exploded inside her mind—louder, clearer, undeniable.
Come to me.
The chamber trembled. Dust rained from the ceiling as a deep rumble echoed beneath the palace.
Outside, bells began ringing—emergency bells.
“Elira!” the High Seer shouted. “What is it saying?”
She pressed her hands against the floor, fighting to breathe.
“It…” She choked. “It wants me to come to the crater.”
The rumbling grew stronger, violent enough to crack the marble beneath them. A distant roar rolled through the city, followed by screams rising from the streets below.
Captain Rovan rushed toward the balcony doors, throwing them open.
Elira staggered to her feet and followed.
Across Aderyn’s skyline, the pillar of red light above the crater twisted violently, expanding like a storm swallowing the horizon. The ground beyond the city walls split apart, revealing glowing fissures that crawled toward the kingdom like reaching fingers.
“It’s spreading,” Rovan said grimly.
The voice returned, softer now—almost patient.
You cannot hide from what you are.
Elira’s hands throbbed with unbearable heat. The cracks had reached her elbows.
“If I go…” she whispered, staring at the growing destruction, “will it stop?”
The High Seer stepped beside her. “The prophecy says the Star-Bearer decides whether the world survives.”
“And if I refuse?”
He did not answer.
The silence was worse than any truth.
Another explosion shook the horizon. A tower near the outer wall collapsed into glowing rubble, sending clouds of ash into the sky.
Elira closed her eyes, her chest tightening with fear she could barely contain.
Then she opened them again.
“Prepare a royal escort,” she said quietly.
Rovan turned sharply. “You cannot be serious.”
She pulled her gloves back on, though the glow still bled through the fabric.
“I don’t think this is a request,” she said.
Far in the distance, the crater pulsed brighter—as if it had heard her decision.
And deep beneath the shattered earth, something ancient stirred, waiting for its key to finally arrive.
