Seren giggles this time.
Teddy’s mouth kicks up at the side, though his attention appears to be on the conversation. But Seren notices. She notices the way he imbibes her laughter every time. The way it soothes something ruinous inside him. So she keeps going. Uninhibited. Letting it echo through the great halls like a note held just a little longer than necessary.
And with that, Teddy’s eyes close. She’s seen him do this before—heighten specific senses by blocking out others.Aetherstride in action.
She bounds up the stairs two at a time to catch up, but she hasn’t missed a thing. Elandor is still speaking in riddles.
Seren clears her throat.
“You were saying something about the Fallen, Elandor?”
Elandor startles for a heartbeat.
“I was? Yes. I was. We’ve taken to calling you the Fallen. The scholars here, I mean. We like to do this when recording history. All realm-changing groups of people have a name, you see,” he explains, still gripping Elyssara’s arm.
Realm-changing groups of people.
The words don’t feel like they belong to her. Not yet. They settle in Seren’s belly. Real and true and entirely unfamiliar.
Elandor’s gaze settles on Seren. Holding for one heartbeat. Two. Then pans across the group.
“Elyssara may be the prophesied one, but all ofyou,” he drags a gnarled finger across the group, “you aredestined. You have found each other, despite your pain and allegiances. And you have forged a bond.”
He leans into the heavy door to his study, but it barely budges.
Kael steps in, brows still pinched together, and holds it open with little effort.
“You have all fallen—Ronyn and Seren, from families who would not or could not have you. Therion, from a family who were taken too soon. Kael, from a kingdom who turned their backs on you when it mattered most. Jax, from a poor excuse for love that doomed us all.” Elandor hobbles through the door, scraping a chair across the floor to sit down. “Rubi, from sobriety, of course.”
She shrugs, lifting her flask in mock salute.
Elandor’s eyes drag across the group once more, his expression more weighted and serious than ever before. “Youarethe Fallen. Destined to bring Elyssara’s prophecy to life. You are the ones who will remake the Known Realms.”
The room stills. As if something larger than them just settled into place.
The Fallen.
The words reverberate through Seren’s skull. Because it strikes her:maybe she was being chosen all along?
Not from her father who would have her sold and discarded.
Not from her mother who didn’t object or repent.
Not chosendespiteeverything she has been, butbecauseof it.
And maybe… chosen by the Stars themselves.
CHAPTER FIVE
The farther fate pulls love apart
The deeper ruin roots its heart
Kael feelsthe moment fracture before anyone speaks, moves, notices. Because while the others get reacquainted, Kael knows the truth: this is the part they will remember.
The moment the group breaks apart.
The moment the Stars demand a sacrifice.
