The palace was never truly asleep, but at midnight, it breathed with a different rhythm. The torches flickered low, and the guards' footsteps were heavy and predictable.
A sharp, rhythmic knock sounded against Vaelora's chamber door.
When she pulled it open, she found Azeal leaning against the stone archway. He wasn't wearing his royal robes, but his dark leather riding gear. His eyes held a glint of the boy she used to climb trees with—restless and hungry for the horizon.
"Luminars," Azeal whispered, a mischievous tilt to his lips. "The moon is full, and the fields are calling. Let's go, Vae. It's been too long."
Vaelora didn't answer with a smile. Instead, she grabbed his collar and yanked him inside her room, closing the door with a soft click.
"Are you insane?" she hissed, her smoke-colored eyes narrowing. "We aren't children anymore, Azeal. We can't just disappear into the night without the King's scouts following us."
"That's the point of the Luminars," Azeal replied, his voice dropping an octave. "They are fast. Faster than any scout's horse. I want to see what's beyond the silver hills. I want to feel the wind without a crown weighing me down."
Vaelora looked at him, her warrior's instinct clashing with her sense of duty. "Those steeds can take us across the border in minutes. If we cross the line into the Neutral Lands... or worse, toward the North..."
"Then we'll be the first to see the world as it really is," Azeal countered. "Are you afraid, Vaelora? The girl who put a sword to my throat is suddenly worried about a little midnight run?"
The challenge hit its mark. Vaelora was a creature of fire and steel; she lived for the thrill of the unknown. A slow, dangerous smile spread across her face.
"Fine," she whispered, reaching for her cloak. "But if we get caught, I'm telling your father it was your idea."
"Naturally," Azeal grinned.
They slipped through the secret servant passages, their shadows blending with the ancient stone. In the stables, the Luminars were waiting, their manes glowing with a soft, pulsing violet light. There was no need for saddles or reins—the bond was in the blood.
As they cleared the palace gates and hit the open meadows, the world became a blur of silver and shadow. The Luminars didn't run; they surged, their hooves barely touching the grass.
"Further!" Azeal shouted over the roar of the wind.
Vaelora didn't argue. She leaned low over her mare's neck, her heart racing in sync with the beast. They were leaving the safety of the Starbloom gardens behind. For the first time in ten years, the Prince and the Warrior were heading toward the edge of the map—where the light of Solthera began to fade into the grey mist of the unknown.