The wind that greeted us upon returning to the valley was eerily quiet oppressive, almost heavy, as though the land itself was holding its breath. The kind of silence that presses against the ears and crawls beneath the skin. It wasn't natural. It was warning.
We had been gone for less than a fortnight. But everything felt different.
The forest didn't sing like it used to. The birds were quieter. The usual chorus of morning howls that welcomed returning warriors was absent. Even the trees, ancient and thick with magic, stood a little more still.
Lucian's boots crunched on the gravel beside me. He looked over the valley with a storm behind his eyes.
"They're afraid," he said simply.
Of what, I couldn't yet tell. But dread seeped into my bones like icy water. Kieran appeared at the boundary line, flanked by two warriors, his expression hard and hollow. There was exhaustion in his eyes more than just physical.
"There's been a death," he said, his voice flat, as though he'd rehearsed it. "Elder Marcus is dead."
The words struck me like thunder. The kind that doesn't rumble but cracks. For a moment, I couldn't speak. I felt the ground tilt beneath my feet, my breath lodged in my throat.
"Dead?" I whispered. "How?"
"Poisoned," Kieran said. "Two nights ago. It happened during the council supper. He collapsed mid-meal. He never made it to a healer."
Lucian cursed under his breath. I was still frozen, trying to comprehend.
"Who?" he began, but Kieran raised a hand.
"They're blaming Lira."
My stomach dropped.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "She's a child. She's barely fifteen barely even knows what she is."
"That doesn't matter," Kieran replied. "She's Moonborn. That's all the excuse some of them need. Fear is spreading like wildfire. The council is divided some are calling for her exile. Others want her executed before sunrise."
Heat surged through me anger, frustration, protectiveness.
"She didn't do this," I snapped. "I know she didn't."
"I believe you," Kieran said. "But belief doesn't carry weight in a room filled with fear and politics. Not anymore."
Lucian's face had gone cold, carved in stone.
"Council chamber. Now."
The council chambers were heavy with tension thicker than anything I had felt since my trial beneath the moonstone arch. The chamber's high ceiling loomed above like the sky itself was watching. Runes etched into the walls pulsed faintly. Even the air buzzed with suppressed magic.
Moonlight streamed through the skylight above, casting silver streaks on the floor like a celestial judgment.
At the center of the room knelt Lira. Her wrists were shackled in glowing enchanted cuffs, meant to suppress raw magical surges. Her dark hair hung loose around her face, and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. Her lips trembled.
"She's terrified," I whispered to Lucian.
"She should be," he said tightly. "Not because she's guilty but because they've already made up their minds."
Elder Vira, her ceremonial robes lined in mourning silver, stood with her hands raised.
"Aurora Quinn," she intoned, voice echoing. "You carry the Flame. You call the Moonborn. You brought this girl into our borders. She bears your legacy. Do you stand for her?"
I stepped forward, chin lifted.
"I do. And I will not let you condemn an innocent child for a crime she could not have committed."
"Do you deny she arrived shortly before Marcus's death?" Elder Saran asked, his voice like rusted iron.
"I deny nothing but her guilt," I said. "You want answers fine. Where's the evidence?"
"She carries unstable magic," another elder replied. "She could've killed Marcus without a single touch. Magic that wild... it acts on instinct."
"Then why didn't it lash out before? Why hasn't she harmed anyone else? She's confused, frightened, and newly awakened. She needs guidance. Not a blade."
"She's dangerous."
"No," I countered. "She's vulnerable."
I moved to kneel beside Lira.
"Tell me what happened. The truth. Just as it was."
"I stayed with the others," she whispered. "We were in the sleeping den. The guard told us we weren't allowed near the upper halls until the training sessions resumed. I never left. I never saw Marcus. I, I didn't even know he'd died until this morning."
I stood and faced the council.
"She has an alibi. Speak to the others. You'll hear the same story."
"And if they lie for her?" Vira asked.
"Then may the Flame judge me," I said. "But you'll find nothing in this but fear and manipulation. Someone wants her blamed. Someone wants us divided."
Lucian's voice cut through the chamber.
"I will oversee the investigation myself. Until proof is found, Lira will be placed under my personal protection."
Murmurs rose like wind in tall grass. Shock. Disapproval.
"That's a dangerous precedent," Elder Saran snapped.
"Then consider it a necessary one," Lucian replied. "These are dangerous times."
That night, I couldn't sleep. My thoughts churned. My steps eventually led me to the abandoned quarters of Elder Marcus.
The space felt untouched. A frozen moment in time. The air smelled of old ink, dried lavender, and charred wax. His books still lay open on his desk, notes half-written, as though he meant to return.
But he wouldn't.
Something drew me to the far corner. A leather-bound tome sat on the shelf, dustless despite the rest. A golden clasp sealed it shut.
When I opened it, a letter slipped free.
My name was written across the front in familiar handwriting.
I sank into the chair, hands trembling as I broke the seal.
Aurora,
If you are reading this, I am no longer among the living. And I regret not telling you the truth sooner. You deserved better than shadows.
Your mother was not simply a healer. She was the Keeper of the First Seal.
I froze.
The Flame you carry is more than a birthright it's a key. It binds, but it also awakens. Long before Malrik or even the Moonborn lines, there was something older. A force sealed away beneath the earth, beneath the bloodlines. The Flame was created not just to protect but to imprison.
Your mother died defending the First Seal. Her death wasn't an accident. It was the beginning.
Now that you've awakened, the others will stir. And so will the darkness they sealed. You must find the remaining three seals. You must protect them. Or the world we know will be consumed in shadow.
Trust only the Flame. And trust yourself.
Marcus
My hands trembled. My thoughts scattered.
Everything I knew about my mother the warmth, the wisdom, the bedtime stories about ancient stars now hid the truth: she had died for a purpose far beyond anything I had imagined.
She wasn't just a healer.
She was the last line of defense against something older than prophecy.
Kieran found me seated in the shadows of Marcus's chamber, the letter clenched in my hands.
"Aurora?"
"She knew," I whispered. "My mother. She wasn't just protecting me. She was protecting the world."
He knelt beside me. "Then we need to finish what she started."
"No," I said, voice shaking. "We need to start what she couldn't finish. We need to unite the valley. Moonborn, Elders, warriors. Everyone. Because if we don't stand together, we'll fall before the first seal even cracks."
I rose to my feet, fire igniting in my chest.
"Call a gathering. Tonight."
Kieran nodded. "What should I tell them?"
"Tell them," I said, "that a storm is coming. And this time, it doesn't wear a face. It wears history."