Part 1: A Seat Among Serpents
The Imperial Council Chamber was a theater of lies dressed in gold.
Thirty-six thrones encircled the obsidian floor like vultures around a battlefield, each seat held by a noble whose bloodline traced back to the Constellation Wars. They spoke in riddles. Smiled with blades behind their teeth. But even they fell silent when the doors slammed open without warning.
Kaelrith walked in alone.
Unarmed. Unmasked.
Changed.
His cloak swirled around his boots like a storm given human form. His silver eyes—newborn from the Rune's breaking—burned brighter than any spell.
"Prince Kaelrith," said High Chancellor Vaeron smoothly, not rising. "You return from the frontier earlier than expected."
Kaelrith said nothing. He walked to the center of the chamber and let his silence speak.
The air crackled.
Chancellor Vaeron's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Have you come to present your report on the rebellion? Or do you simply wish to enjoy our company?"
"I've come to reclaim my seat," Kaelrith said, voice like iron dragging across ancient stone.
A ripple of tension surged through the chamber.
"That seat belongs to your father," Vaeron said. "Until the Emperor names his heir—"
"He did."
Kaelrith raised a hand. A flicker of magic pulsed—and the air shimmered with memory.
A projection materialized above them: the Emperor, frail in bed, gripping Kaelrith's arm and whispering, "You are my will. My blade. My heir."
The council gasped.
One by one, the nobles leaned forward.
Only Vaeron smiled wider.
"Interesting," he said.
Part 2: The Chains Beneath the Throne
Seraphina stood hidden behind one of the ancient viewing curtains, her eyes locked on Kaelrith. He moved with the grace of someone who had finally stopped pretending to be weak.
She had feared this moment. Hoped for it. Prepared for it.
But there was a danger in power reclaimed too quickly.
Because Kaelrith was not just the Emperor's son.
He was the Starborn King reborn.
And the empire had chained the last one in a coffin made of night.
"He's pushing too fast," whispered Elya beside her. "Vaeron's not just going to step aside. He's been running this court since Kaelrith was a child."
"That's the point," Seraphina murmured. "Kaelrith's not playing the Chancellor's game."
"He's burning the board."
Part 3: A Council Divided
Vaeron rose at last, his robes slithering across the floor like a shadow come to life.
"You claim the throne by a dying man's whisper," he said. "But an empire does not run on sentiment. It runs on strength."
"Then test mine," Kaelrith said softly.
The Council flinched as the shadows in the room drew inward. Not darker—deeper. Like the air itself recognized him now. Responded to his will.
"I am not here to beg," Kaelrith continued. "I am here to lead. And the stars themselves will bear witness."
A young duke—nervous and too new for this war—rose to speak. "And if we accept you? What then?"
Kaelrith's silver eyes flared.
"Then we begin with fire," he said. "And the purging of traitors."
He looked directly at Vaeron.
Part 4: The Viper's Gambit
That night, Chancellor Vaeron stood before the Mirror of Aurelion, staring at his own reflection—one eye silver, the other black.
"Too fast," he murmured.
Kaelrith was supposed to be asleep beneath the Rune forever. A weapon wielded. Never awakened.
But something had broken the spell. Someone.
"Seraphina," he whispered.
The mirror rippled with her face, hidden in the observatory, starlight dancing in her hair as she traced ancient sigils into the stone.
"She remembered," Vaeron muttered. "And he remembered with her."
He touched the mirror gently.
"I'll rip her from his heart like a cancer."
Part 5: Beneath the Observatory
Seraphina awoke to find the observatory shaking.
Runes cracked. Sigils flickered. And in the sky above, the first of the Blood Comets had appeared.
Elya stumbled into the room. "They've begun calling Kaelrith the Starborn King already."
"Too soon," Seraphina said. "They don't understand what that title means."
"He doesn't either," Elya said grimly.
Because the last Starborn King had brought not peace—but destruction. Loved a woman he wasn't supposed to. Tore the heavens to find her soul when she died.
And the stars had never forgiven him.
Seraphina rose, her fingers curling.
"I have to remind him of the other half of his prophecy."
Elya paled. "That loving you will destroy him?"
Seraphina didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Part 6: Storm on the Balcony
Kaelrith stood alone on the palace balcony as the Blood Comet streaked across the heavens.
He should've felt triumphant.
Instead, he felt haunted.
The Rune was gone. His memories were back.
But so was the pain.
He remembered watching Seraphina dragged from his side, remembered her screams as the Chancellor erased their bond. He remembered the look in her eyes—defiance and devotion in equal measure.
And now, she was back.
But the stars were already warning him.
Love is not yours to keep.
Behind him, a voice spoke.
"You should've stayed broken, boy."
Kaelrith turned—and found himself face-to-face with the Warden of Chains.
Vaeron's assassin.
End of Chapter 6: "Council of Chains"