It made her ache—with longing, with hope, with the sudden sting of homesickness and wonder.
She paused, one hand lifting instinctively to her heart.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Whatever came next, whatever Queen Magika decided…
At least for this one moment, surrounded by energy unlike anything she had ever known?—
She remembered what it felt like to believe in wonder.
The path curved gently down into the village, and as Alice stepped past the last of the trees, she felt it—the energy.
It brushed her fingertips like warm silk.
A thread of light touched her skin—and didn’t vanish.
It lingered.
Her breath caught. She yearned to lift her hands, to weave the thread between her fingers like a ribbon of starlight, but a sharp glance from Isha froze her in place.
Not yet.
Houses rose like living sculptures from the valley floor, their walls glowing faintly with enchantment, rooftops adorned in drifting vines of light. Suspended lanterns floated lazily through the air, ready to cast golden ripples along the cobbled paths after dark. Everywhere she looked, she saw life infused with magic—beautiful, breathtaking… and wary.
Shadows shifted. Doors opened. One by one, the villagers stepped out.
Dozens of eyes turned toward her.
Alice could feel their fear before she saw it in their faces—curious, cautious, and edged with the bitter scent of old pain.
“We’ve rebuilt everything after the alien was defeated,” Geoff murmured beside her, his voice low. “The village… even with magic, it took years. We lost so many to the darkness. Everyone… they remember.”
Alice’s gaze dropped to the path, her heart heavy with sudden sorrow. She thought of the old stories—the war between the Valdier, Curizan, and Sarafin. A time when even her father had been young and full of fury. A time when trust had shattered and whole worlds had nearly been lost.
Peace had come—but barely. Even now, she knew there were still whispers, threats hiding in the shadows.
Her dad didn’t speak of it often, but she had learned to listen between the silences. To understand the weight of his caution. The secret meetings with her uncles.
The idea of having to hate someone she cared about—someone like Bálint—made her heart twist in a way that felt almost too painful to bear.
Her vision blurred. Tears burned behind her eyes.
She blinked them back.
These people were afraid of her. She couldn’t blame them. She tried to imagine what it must have been like when the first Valdier or Sarafin visited Ceran-Pax. She would have been suspicious and terrified.
But she could choose who she wanted to be. She could show them that she wasn’t a threat.
Lifting her chin, she pulled her shoulders back and took a steadying breath.
I am Alice Ha’darra, Curizan princess. A daughter of peace. A bridge between worlds. A representative of my people.
The energy swirled around her again—gentle, insistent. She opened her senses and listened.
Colors burst like fireworks around her. Gold and sapphire, deep green and violet—a mixture of the soft pastels of magic and the vibrant colors of pure energy. Vibrations thrummed through her, resonating in her bones. The cadence of the energy moved through her like a song she had always known but had forgotten until now.
And suddenly… she understood.
