Lioran wailed—it was a war cry to the heavens. It echoed throughout the grove, through me. He gripped me, he shook me.
And then I heard nothing—no wind or traces of his breath. I no longer felt him cradling me—I felt nothing at all.
My final moments weren’t with him. They were taken. I screamed inside—desperate to come back to him—to come back to the life we never got to live.
Light seeped into the darkness.
Warmth ran over me, cradling me.
The land’s cries have been answered.
A sacrifice made.
Fear did not break you.
Weakness did not topple you.
Still, humanity failed you.
You must transform.
The stars have chosen.
You both will reign.
Starwoven and bound.
Hope carried within.
Blood pumped through my veins, magic coursing beside it. Trembling beneath a force I couldn’t describe—my bodyrenewed and strengthened. A steady inhale filled my lungs. The scent of something familiar greeted me—like leather and oak—like Lioran. The sound of leaves rustling in the trees—the sound of his sobbing.
I blinked as golden rays of light shone through the leaves of the trees overhead. Lioran hovered over me. His body convulsed as he roared in agony. I tried to reach for him, but my fingers stiffened.
“Lioran...” My voice sounded more melodic than before. He shook his head in disbelief. He scanned me. Horror etched into every line in his face.
He went rigid, his breath barely escaping his lips. “How?” Tears spilled down his cheeks.
I heard another murmur—a low voice I knew. I turned to see Fyn holding Cora—they were both watching me.
Cora gasped.
Lioran held his hand out toward them as he choked on tears.
Cora nodded, not another word was spoken between the three of them. Fyn guided Cora to a nearby tree, where they watched and waited.
Lioran set his hands on my abdomen and his lips parted. His chest heaved as he cried.
“What did it do to me? I don’t feel like me anymore…”
All color faded from his cheeks.
I tried to sit, but the sky whirled over me. My body felt different, like something had been taken from me—like I was no longer whole. Panic gripped me as his fingers trailed my ears. My hands pressed to my ears. They were altered, completely pointed like his.
“You’re fae…”
I didn’t want this, didn’t ask for it.
“The stars did this…to save me.” I remembered their words. “Humanity failed you. You must transform. The stars have chosen. You both will reign…”
