The eastern wall of the palace burned orange beneath the dusk sky. Smoke curled like black vines against the horizon, and the guards were already at the ramparts, shouting orders, drawing weapons.
Seraphina followed Cassian through a hidden passage behind the music hall. She'd been in this corridor once as a child, when she was lost during a game of hide and seek. It hadn't changed—narrow, dark, and filled with whispers of forgotten things.
"Stay close to me," Cassian said, sword in hand.
"I should be fighting too."
"Not yet."
She hated the way he said it—not to belittle her, but to protect her. Still, it burned.
They reached the outer courtyard. The eastern gate loomed before them, splintered open. A low rumble echoed through the air, not from footsteps—but from the sky.
Thunder without a storm.
And then they saw it.
A creature—twice the size of a horse, covered in gray, jagged stone-like skin—crawling forward on clawed limbs. Its eyes glowed like burning coals. Around it slithered three shadow-wolves, barely visible except when their forms shimmered against the firelight.
"A gholmir," Cassian muttered. "It's a summoning beast. Someone sent it."
The creature turned its head toward them—and shrieked.
Cassian pushed Seraphina behind a marble column just as the beast lunged. His sword clanged against its hide but left only a spark.
"It's too strong!" he yelled.
Seraphina looked around, frantic. Her eyes fell on the old well at the courtyard's center—the place her mother used to sit and tell her stories.
A memory struck her:
"The old well hides something deeper than water," her mother had once said with a wink.
She sprinted toward it.
"Seraphina!" Cassian called—but she was already pulling at the stone cover. It wouldn't budge.
"Please," she whispered. "There has to be something."
She sang—not a full song, not even knowing why—but her voice trembled with hope.
---
Song: "The Story My Mother Told"
There's a place the stars once fell,
Where the wind still speaks in rhyme.
And when the shadows crawl too close,
It hides the light in time.
Oh, mother, tell me once again,
What lies beyond the stone—
A secret gift you left for me
So I won't fight alone.
---
The well shuddered.
The stone slid open.
Inside was a scepter—elegant, silver, carved with ancient runes. Its top held a crystal shaped like a teardrop, glowing with soft golden light.
Seraphina reached out. As soon as her fingers touched it, warmth surged through her veins—not magic, but something older. Something deep.
She turned toward the beast. "Hey!" she shouted.
The creature twisted its head toward her—and charged.
Cassian raised his sword again—but Seraphina stepped forward, raising the scepter with both hands. Light burst from the crystal, blinding and pure.
The beast let out a strangled cry—and disintegrated into dust.
The shadow-wolves vanished like smoke.
Silence followed.
Cassian stared at her, wide-eyed.
Seraphina looked down at the scepter in her hands. "I think I just found my mother's secret."
---
Later that night, in the safety of the palace walls, Cassian helped her sit by the fire in her room.
"You disobeyed me," he said quietly.
"I saved us," she replied.
A pause. Then a soft smile touched his lips. "I know."
She looked at the scepter lying across her lap. "I don't know how I did it."
"Maybe it's not about knowing yet. Maybe it's about feeling. Trusting."
He stood to leave, but before he could reach the door, she said, "Cassian?"
He turned.
"When you said earlier that I was brave... Did you mean it?"
His expression softened. "Every word."
And then, for the first time, Seraphina blushed.
---