Aria
The dream begins with fire.
Not destruction. Memory.
Flames stretch endlessly across a black sky, gold and crimson twisting like living things as heat rolls through the air thick enough to steal breath.
But the strange part— the terrifying part— is that none of it feels unfamiliar.
I know this place.
Not consciously. Not logically.
But somewhere deeper— something inside me recognizes it.
Stone towers rise through smoke in the distance. Ancient. Massive. Broken.
A kingdom.
No— four kingdoms.
The realization arrives suddenly. Not through thought. Through knowing.
The fire shifts violently around me.
And suddenly— I’m not alone.
The bond pulses beneath my ribs even inside the dream. Stronger than before. Alive. Aware.
Then—footsteps.
Cassian stands behind me first.
Not d
