The moment Seraphina touched the sigil on the page, a low pulse echoed in her ears—soft at first, then louder, like the steady beat of a distant war drum.
"Cam…" she tried to say, but her voice caught in her throat.
The sigil shimmered under her fingers, glowing faintly. Then everything around her—the lamp, the books, even Cam—blurred into a haze of silver light.
The library disappeared.
She stood in a dreamscape of swirling mist and stardust, as if the world had been painted in moonlight.
A woman stepped forward.
She was regal, radiant—long silver hair flowing down her back, the same crescent moon marking on her wrist. Her violet eyes shimmered with ancient wisdom and deep sorrow.
"Mother…" Seraphina breathed, her heart thudding.
The woman smiled softly, reaching to touch her daughter's face. "You are everything I hoped you'd become, Seraphina. I carried power not meant for this realm. That power is now yours."
Flashes of memory surrounded them: her mother standing on the steps of a crystal palace… fire in the skies… a baby wrapped in glowing cloth… a desperate escape through a collapsing portal…
And then—him.
A shadowed figure stood beside her mother. Tall, powerful, his face hidden in half-light. She couldn't see him clearly, but his presence was undeniable. He didn't feel human. He felt... otherworldly. Ancient. Dangerous. Sacred.
Her parents' hands touched.
And Seraphina saw herself, a child glowing with dual energy—light and shadow, moon and flame.
"You were born of two worlds," her mother's voice echoed. "My royal blood gave you vision, but his gave you something rarer—unbound potential. That union made you whole."
Tears streamed down Seraphina's cheeks. "But who is he?"
"You'll know when the time is right," her mother whispered, beginning to fade. "But remember, you are not lost. You are destined."
A gust of wind—then silence.
Seraphina gasped and snapped awake, nearly falling out of her chair in the library. Cam gripped her shoulder in panic.
"Seraphina? Are you okay?"
Seraphina blinked, disoriented.
Cam froze. "Your eyes… they're… violet."
Seraphina reached for her reflection in the brass lamp's shine. Her once dark brown hair now shimmered silver, like woven moonlight. Her violet eyes glowed faintly.
The confusion that had once clouded her mind was gone.
She knew now—who she was, what she carried, and the blood that ran through her veins.
"I saw her," she whispered. "My mother. And… someone else. I'm not ordinary, Cam."
Her voice didn't shake anymore.
She stood slowly, and the way she moved was different—graceful, centered, confident.
Cam looked stunned. "You look like a warrior princess out of a myth."
Seraphina turned toward the ancient book.