The memory flowed again, this time gentler, like dawn light warming the cold corners of her heart.
Liora watched Aeris—herself, younger—walking through the tall gates of the Spire Military Academy. The campus was vast, shaped in perfect symmetry, with towering silver buildings and curved walkways stretching toward the skies. Everything gleamed under the morning sun. Drones flew silently overhead, and the scent of charged metal and polished marble filled the air.
Aeris stood at the threshold in her standard black cadet uniform. The collar was stiff. The boots were heavy. But she stood tall, a determined look in her eyes. She had left Eli safely in the care of her father and returned to the life she had once dreamed of.
She was no longer just a girl burdened with the weight of sudden motherhood. She was a cadet now. A fighter in training.