*****************
The morning light spilled lazily through the tall windows of the mansion, casting soft gold on the pale wood floors. Kai lay beneath the silk sheets, his breathing even, though his brow furrowed with sleep.
He was dreaming again. But not in the usual way.
The dream felt heavy, thick like honey. He moved through it slowly, as though dragging his feet underwater. A corridor stretched ahead, one he'd never walked before—long and narrow, flanked by whispering walls. Runes shimmered faintly beneath the wallpaper. A door pulsed gently at the end, calling him forward with no sound, only feeling. When he reached for the doorknob, the vision shattered.
Kai's eyes snapped open.
The ceiling above him came into focus, too white, too still. The warmth of the bed didn't comfort him. Something in the air felt… off. Not dangerous, but undeniably altered. Like magic had woven its way through the night while they slept, and left fingerprints behind. Beside him, the blankets rustled.
"...Another one?" came Lucien's soft voice. Kai turned his head. Lucien was propped up on one elbow, his hair wild from sleep, concern painting his sharp features. Kai nodded slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It felt like… a memory. But not mine. I didn't see anyone, but I could feel someone on the other side of that door."
Lucien gently reached over, fingers brushing against Kai's. "Same door from before?" "Yeah," Kai whispered. "Only this time, it felt closer." There was a quiet pause between them. Lucien shifted to press a kiss to Kai's temple. "We'll figure it out." Kai tried to smile. "I know. But…"
Just then, the bedroom door creaked open.
Caelan stood there, barefoot, with a puzzled expression and a steaming mug in his hand. "The house is humming," he said quietly. Lucien and Kai both looked at him. "Humming?" Lucien repeated. Caelan stepped inside, eyes scanning the room. "Downstairs too. It's like… the walls are breathing. I woke up and thought I was still dreaming, but when I touched the staircase banister, it lit up." He looked at Kai directly. "It's centered around you."
Kai felt his stomach tighten. Caelan, dressed in a loose shirt and grey sweatpants, looked calm—but his fingers clenched the mug tighter than usual. He wasn't afraid. He just… didn't understand. And that bothered him. Lucien rose from the bed, already alert. "Let's check it out. Something's changing again." Kai followed, tugging on a robe, Caelan stepping beside him quietly.
As they moved down the hall, the change became more obvious. Soft glows traced the molding on the walls. A mirror near the stairwell rippled faintly, not as a reflection—but like a curtain hiding something. The air was warm but charged. It felt like the mansion itself was waking up.
Downstairs, Rhydian was already waiting, leaning against the archway with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
"Did you feel it too?" Kai asked. Rhydian nodded once. "It's in the foundation. Old magic—one I don't recognize. It's not hostile, but it's alive." Caelan walked past them all, pressing a hand to the wooden paneling near the hearth. His expression was unreadable. "This place is remembering something," he said softly.
All three turned to him.
Kai stepped closer. "What do you mean?" Caelan turned to them slowly. "When I touched the wall, I saw something. Briefly. A figure—cloaked in red, standing in the woods. I think… I think it was watching the house." Lucien muttered under his breath. "A Watcher?" "No," Caelan said, shaking his head. "Not like before. This felt… older. Bound to this land."
Rhydian pushed away from the wall. "If this mansion is reacting, then we need to find the source. Something triggered this. The house doesn't just wake up on its own." They all stood in silence. Then, Caelan stepped back, eyes distant.
"Kai," he said. "I think this place knows you." Kai blinked. "What?"
"The magic. The warmth. It isn't warning us—it's welcoming you. Like it's been waiting."
✦ Later that Day
Caelan sat at the edge of the inner courtyard, his gaze fixed on the stone fountain that murmured with soft, magical streams. It was quiet here, away from the conversations and old books being pored over inside. He liked the house. It was different than the academy or the forests he'd wandered through. It breathed, but softly. It didn't try to impress him. It simply existed. But ever since the magic had awakened, Caelan felt something shift inside himself, too.
Kai had always felt special to him. Not in a possessive way, not like Lucien or Rhydian. But like a light he didn't want to lose. A part of Caelan whispered that he would always follow Kai—not for love in the romantic sense, but for something even older. Loyalty. Spirit. Heart. He sighed, watching the way the water rippled with faint green light.
"I don't think it's just the mansion," he said aloud to no one. "I think something's coming." Behind him, the door slid open. Kai appeared, barefoot and in a soft linen shirt, his eyes sleepy but warm. "Needed a break?" Caelan nodded. Kai walked over, sitting beside him on the low stone wall. There was a pause, soft and gentle.
Caelan broke it with a question that had been stirring in his heart. "Do you ever feel like you've lived something before?" Kai tilted his head. "Sometimes. But lately, more often." Caelan looked down at his hands. "When I touched that wall earlier… it wasn't just an image. It was like I was there. Like I belonged in that moment."
Kai turned to look at him, really look.
"Do you think we're part of something repeating?" Caelan asked. "Like some old magic trying to play again?" Kai's gaze didn't waver. "Yes. And I think the house is trying to help us remember." They sat in silence again, only the sound of the fountain filling the air.
Caelan smiled faintly. "You know, you're the first person who never made me feel like I had to earn my place." Kai blinked. "Caelan…"
"I'm not in love with you," Caelan added quickly, though his voice cracked with emotion. "Not like Lucien. Not like Rhydian. But you feel like home. And I want to protect that."
Kai felt his throat tighten. "You're family to me." Caelan smiled—relieved, real. Then something shifted. The air grew colder, just for a second. Both of them looked up.
A shimmer passed through the trees just beyond the courtyard. A silhouette—slender, cloaked, distant. Kai stood quickly. "Did you see that?" Caelan nodded, already rising. The figure didn't linger. It vanished between the trees, almost graceful in its silence. But it had looked right at them.
The figure had vanished into the trees, but its presence lingered like a breath caught in the chest of the house. Kai stood frozen at the edge of the courtyard, Caelan just beside him. For a moment, neither spoke. Then the front door opened behind them, footsteps crunching softly over stone.
Rhydian's voice came low and alert. "You saw it too?" Kai nodded, pulse still racing. "Not just saw. I felt it watching us." Lucien emerged seconds later, his hand resting on the hilt of the small dagger he now kept clipped beneath his shirt, more a habit than defense. "What did it look like?"
Caelan's brows drew together. "Tall. Hooded. Pale. Not like the other Watchers—it didn't feel violent. Just… expectant." Lucien moved to Kai's side. "What does that mean?" Kai didn't answer right away. His breath trembled in his chest. The hum from the mansion returned, low and subtle, like a voice beneath the surface of the world.
"I think it wants us to find something," Kai whispered. "It's not hiding anymore." Rhydian's gaze sharpened. "Then let's listen." The group returned inside, the shift in the house almost immediate. As Kai passed beneath the main staircase, something changed.
The air stilled.
The chandelier above them flickered.
Then, the wall beneath the stairs pulsed faintly—like the heartbeat of the house itself.
Kai reached out slowly. His fingers brushed the surface of the wood, and a soft click echoed. A seam appeared—horizontal, then vertical, then across. The wood shivered once, and then began to fold inward, revealing a hidden door. None of them spoke. Kai stepped forward first. The door opened into a spiral staircase, descending into a low-lit stone corridor that smelled faintly of cedar and old magic. The others followed in silence.
The space below was narrow and winding, but every wall bore the same sigils Kai had seen in his dreams—ancient, elegant, circular marks that shimmered faintly with celestial energy.
Caelan whispered, "These are the same as on that mirror in the forest…" Lucien ran a hand along the markings. "They're bloodline seals. This was meant to be found only by someone from Kai's family." At the bottom of the staircase, a circular chamber opened up—wider, colder, lit by soft blue flames held aloft in floating sconces.
At the center of the chamber stood a mirror—taller than any of them, encased in twisting silver metal, its surface perfectly still and black. Around it, ancient books floated gently, slowly rotating as though caught in a magical current. In the corners, crystal vials pulsed with faint colors, and on the far wall, a mural sprawled across the stone, partially obscured by time.
Kai stepped into the room, drawn to the mirror. It didn't reflect him. Instead, it showed stars. Thousands of them, shifting slowly in a celestial map. Lucien's voice came from behind him, hushed. "It's a prophecy vault. A celestial one." Rhydian frowned, stepping closer. "Not just that. This… this was made by someone who could read the sky and shape time with it."
Caelan stood near a floating book, his eyes wide. "It's all about Kai." He turned a page carefully. "'He who carries the echo of stars in his blood… shall awaken the bound house. Through his presence, the past shall live again. And through his bond, the watchers shall kneel.'" Kai blinked, the words seeping into his chest like heat.
Lucien moved beside him, touching his shoulder gently. "This house… was your ancestor's stronghold."
"And it's waking up because I came back," Kai said quietly. "It never forgot." Suddenly, the mirror changed. It pulsed once, and then a soft white glow illuminated the surface. A vision appeared. A cloaked figure—similar to the one in the courtyard—stood before the mirror in a different time. They turned slowly, revealing Kai's face. But not Kai as he was now. Older. Wiser. Crowned with white streaks in his hair, dressed in robes that shimmered with the stars themselves.
It was him—and not him.
Lucien reached for him instinctively, gripping Kai's hand. "You've lived before." Caelan whispered, "Or you will again." Kai swallowed. "Or I'm becoming him now." Rhydian stared at the mirror, his voice low. "There's something deeper still. That Watcher—he's not a stranger. He was yours. A guardian. A guide. He's trying to bring you back to this."
Lucien looked over. "Back to what?"
"The truth of what Kai is," Rhydian answered. "And what he's meant to become."
✦ Later that Night
After the vision faded, and the magic of the chamber dimmed, they all returned upstairs—quiet, thoughtful.
No one quite knew what to say. Kai sat alone in the garden, his robe wrapped tight, staring up at the stars. They looked different tonight—sharper, closer. Caelan joined him quietly, kneeling in the grass. Kai glanced over. "Do you think I'm losing myself in this?" Caelan shook his head. "No. You're becoming more of yourself. Just… in pieces."
Kai let out a breath. "What if I'm not ready?" Caelan smiled faintly. "You're never ready for the big moments. That's why they find you when they do." Kai looked down. "Why are you always the one who knows what to say?" Caelan shrugged. "Because I watch. And I care."
Kai reached over, resting his head gently against Caelan's shoulder. They sat like that for a long time, the silence between them kind, healing. Inside, Lucien stood at the window, watching them. Not with jealousy—but with awe. Rhydian approached from behind, placing a hand on Lucien's shoulder.
"They're alright," he said softly. Lucien nodded. "I know." Rhydian tilted his head. "And we are too." Lucien met his gaze. "Even if it's messy?" Rhydian chuckled. "Especially if it is."
As the night deepened, and the stars pulsed softly above them, the mansion exhaled—a quiet breath of magic and memory.
The Watcher stood once more in the woods, watching from the edge.
But this time, he bowed.
Not in threat.
In reverence.
And then vanished into mist.