From the Floating Market to the Celestine Gates
They didn't start at the border.
They started at the Floating Market, where direction was optional and reason came with a price.
Kai and Mina had spent forty-seven minutes trying to buy a map.
Instead, they ended up with:
a compass that only pointed at the last person who insulted you,
a bag of cursed flour that screamed if you tried to bake with it,
and a goat named Waffles.
"We're not keeping the goat," Kai muttered, hauling their pack down a wobbling rope bridge.
"His name is Waffles. He stays," Mina declared. "He has opinions. I respect that."
Waffles bleated.
It sounded judgmental.
They bartered with mapmakers who spoke in riddles, dodged toll collectors who demanded memories instead of coin, and crossed rivers where the water remembered their names before they spoke them.
At every border stone, carved with sigils older than the kingdom itself:
"Why do you seek Aurelis?"
"Who sent you?"
"Who gave you this map?"
Kai answered with carefully crafted lies.
Mina added flair: a wink, a sleight-of-hand coin trick, a completely invented prophecy involving mangoes.
Somehow, it worked.
Mostly.
By the time they reached the Celestine Spire, they were exhausted, dusty, and increasingly aware that everything about this place was too still.
No music.
No chatter.
No goats allowed past the gate (Mina was furious).
The palace did not glimmer.
It loomed a mass of pale stone veined with silver; towers carved with sigils so old they made your eyes ache.
It shimmered faintly, as if once touched by starlight... and still remembered.
Mina whistled.
"So... remind me how we're not getting arrested for this?"
Kai adjusted his coat and wiped a streak of mud from his jaw.
"We might."
At the gates, two guards crossed silver spears. Their helms gleamed, their armor etched with royal glyphs.
"State your names. Your purpose. Your seal."
Kai stepped forward, expression neutral but regal.
"Kai of House Velmire. We seek audience regarding the rising eastern magic."
There was a pause.
One guard stepped back through the gates, leaving the other to glare silently.
Mina leaned in and whispered, eyes still on the stoic guard.
"You sure that'll work?"
"No."
"But we're trying anyway?"
"Yes."
"Cool. Should I mention the goat?"
"Absolutely not."
"Waffles deserves justice."
Kai didn't smile.
But the corner of his mouth twitched.
Behind them, the wind stirred.
Magic thickened.
And inside the Celestine Palace
someone already knew they were coming.
The Celestine Palace was colder than Mina expected.
Not cruel just... watchful.
The kind of place that didn't speak, but listened too well.
Marble columns soared overhead like frozen waterfalls.
Tapestries breathed in the draft.
The floors gleamed so brightly that Mina saw her own mud-stained boots and regretted everything.
"Are they... real gold inlay?" she whispered.
Kai didn't answer. He was too busy brushing ash off his shoulder and trying to look like he hadn't slept in a stable two nights ago.
The guards led them into the Hall of Petitions, a long chamber lined with nobles, scholars, diplomats and one bard reciting a love poem to a magical spoon.
Mina fidgeted.
Kai stayed still, eyes locked on the staircase ahead.
"You think this will work?" Mina asked, low.
"No."
"Excellent. Then we're on brand."
Then: footsteps.
The whisper of royal slippers on marble.
And at the top of the grand staircase, she appeared.
Seraphina Valmont.
No crown. No jewels.
But regal, effortlessly.
She wore gray like it was silver. Her hair was pinned in sharp braids, and she moved like someone who had never asked permission in her life.
Mina gasped.
"That's her?"
Kai nodded, barely breathing.
Seraphina descended slowly, two attendants trailing like shadows.
Her eyes scanned them.
Kai first sizing, judging, cataloguing. She noticed the blade callus, the military posture, the scars hidden under silk.
Then Mina the crooked braid, the boot scuffs, the jam stain on her sleeve.
Her gaze didn't falter.
She simply said
"You've come far. And stirred whispers."
Kai bowed, just enough to be polite but not desperate.
"We seek truth."
Seraphina's gaze narrowed.
"And why," she said coolly, "should I trust cloaked strangers with no sigils, no banners, and no names on my court's registry?"
The room tensed.
Somewhere in the corner, a court scribe actually gasped.
Mina stepped forward.
"Because if you don't," she said, grinning, "your palace might collapse while you're still deciding what color ribbon to wear for it."
Kai winced. A noble snorted in disbelief. One of Seraphina's attendants dropped his stylus.
Seraphina blinked.
Then, very slowly...
She smiled.
"You're bold."
"She's hungry," Kai muttered. "Bold comes with snacks."
Mina elbowed him.
Seraphina stared at them a moment longer.
Then nodded once.
"Come. Walk with me."
They followed her through the palace.
Past enchanted gardens that bloomed only at night.
Past whispering corridors carved with celestial names.
Past portraits that watched as you walked by.
Mina glanced sideways.
"Are they... staring at us?"
"Yes," Seraphina said without turning. "They're enchanted to recognize intruders. You haven't triggered any yet."
"Comforting," Mina whispered.
A young page rushed up, eyes wide.
"Your Highness the archivists are asking about the eastern lights again. Should I redirect"
"Tell them to file it under 'Still Glowing' and try again tomorrow."
The page blinked. Bowed. Ran.
Seraphina finally stopped in a moonlit hall, away from the noise.
She turned to Kai and Mina.
"You said you seek truth. Then start with this"
Her voice was quiet now.
But clear.
"Who are you really looking for?"
Kai and Mina exchanged a glance.
Mina opened her mouth
But something flickered in Seraphina's eyes.
"It's her, isn't it?" she whispered.
"You're looking for my sister."
The silence stretched.
Kai nodded once.
"We think she's alive."
Seraphina exhaled. Not relief.
Something deeper. Sadder. Sharper.
"So do I."
The Celestine Spire was a maze of glittering halls and hushed secrets.
Mina couldn't help but touch everything brushing her fingers over velvet curtains, peeking at intricate statues, marveling at the stained-glass casting rainbow patches on the stone floors.
Kai trailed behind her, his posture stiff, his mind racing.
"We shouldn't act like tourists," he murmured under his breath.
"Relax, stoic boy," Mina teased softly. "You're wound tighter than a clockwork mouse."
Kai allowed himself the smallest of smirks.
"And you're a walking disaster."
"You love it."
"Not even close."
But their laughter, soft as it was, lightened something heavy between them the tension of the unknown, the weight of what they were chasing.
As Seraphina led them through the palace, she paused by a window overlooking the outer courtyards.
"You're not the only ones looking for her," she murmured.
"The world is stirring. The old powers are watching. And the name Elsysia Valmont is no longer just a whisper."
Mina and Kai exchanged a glance one part fear, one part determination.
The journey was no longer just about magic.
It was about fate.
And theirs was now tangled in a star long forgotten.
One evening, as Kai and Mina were exploring the upper towers, a shadowy figure passed them in the hallway. A quick flicker of movement a cloak swishing past the grand windows then vanished into the stone walls.
"Did you see that?" Kai whispered, his eyes narrowing. "Who was that?"
Mina nodded, clutching his sleeve. "That was definitely not one of the staff."
Seraphina overheard their conversation and smiled knowingly. "Ah, the old guardian. No one has seen him for years. It's said that he watches over the castle, keeping it safe... but he's not been seen in ages. A legend, if you will."
Kai and Mina exchanged a look. The figure's presence stirred something inside them an uneasy feeling that would haunt them in the chapters to come.
The grand hall of the Celestine Spire echoed with quiet power.
Marble arches soared overhead, banners of gold and silver draped like rivers from the ceiling.
Courtiers lined the edges of the chamber, their jeweled eyes watching every move.
At the far end sat King Alaric.
He was not draped in heavy robes or jeweled crowns.
He wore a dark tunic lined with silver thread, his hair streaked with iron, his gaze sharp as the blade resting on the arm of his throne.
Mina swallowed hard.
"Kai... this was a terrible idea."
Kai stood stiff beside her, his coat freshly cleaned, his noble crest barely visible at his throat.
"We have no choice."
Seraphina moved ahead of them, graceful and composed, but her green eyes flicked back just once, warning.
Be careful.
The king's voice, when it came, was deceptively soft.
"So. You are the ones who crossed the Sky-Gate."
Kai stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, we come seeking knowledge about the magic that stirs, the prophecies unfolding"
"Enough."
The single word silenced the hall.
King Alaric rose slowly, descending the dais one measured step at a time.
His gaze fixed on Kai.
"I know your face," the king murmured.
"Velmire blood runs proud, does it not? You should be at your father's side, boy not chasing shadows and waking old ghosts."
Kai clenched his fists.
"With respect, sire... I believe the shadows are coming for all of us."
The king's eyes flicked to Mina.
"And this one? A commoner girl with untrained magic, trespassing in the heart of my realm. Why should I let you walk free from this hall?"
Mina's throat tightened.
"Because..." she whispered, then stronger,
"because you need us, whether you want to admit it or not."
A ripple of laughter soft, biting passed through the court.
But the king's face did not change.
"Brave words."
He turned, walking back toward his throne.
"You bring me no proof. No allies. No crowns. And you ask for answers, as if the weight of this kingdom owes itself to strangers."
Kai took a step forward, his voice rising.
"We saw the vision, sire. We saw the Sleeper. We know time is short."
The word hung in the air Sleeper.
The hall fell deathly silent.
King Alaric turned sharply.
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.
"What did you see?"
Mina stepped beside Kai, her hands trembling but her voice steady.
"A girl... pale hair, blue eyes... standing on a cliff as the storm broke behind her. We saw the world break. We saw the stars shift."
The king's jaw tightened.
"And you come here... why?"
Kai drew a slow breath.
"Because all paths point here, Your Majesty. To Aurelis. To you. And to the truth you've kept locked away for years."
For a long, heart-stopping moment, King Alaric said nothing.
Then he lifted one hand.
The court's guards stepped forward not to seize them, but to close the great doors, locking them inside.
"If you wish to know the truth," the king said softly,
"then prepare yourselves.
You may not survive it."
The doors closed with a heavy boom, shutting out the eyes and whispers of the court.
King Alaric stood with his back to them; hands clasped behind him.
"Elsysia Valmont," he murmured.
Kai and Mina froze.
Seraphina, just stepping inside, felt the name like a crack of thunder in her chest.
"What... what did you say?"
The king turned sharply.
"You were never meant to hear that, Seraphina."
Her green eyes blazed.
"Elsysia she's real? You told me she was lost to the sea!"
Mina's breath hitched.
"She's alive?"
The king's jaw tightened.
"We don't know. That is the point."
Kai stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, we believe the prophecy is waking. The Sleeper is stirring. If she's out there, the storm will find her whether you do or not."
Alaric's eyes darkened.
"And what would you have me do, boy? Send soldiers? Summon magic we buried for a reason?"
"No," Kai said quietly.
"Send us."
Seraphina's voice cut through the tension.
"Father, you can't trust them."
"And yet," Alaric murmured,
"they are here when no one else dared cross the gates."
He turned back to Kai and Mina, his face lined with grief, burden, and something colder.
"If I let you go... know this: you do not carry just your own fates. You carry the fate of Aurelis. And if you fail, this kingdom burns."
Mina's throat tightened.
"No pressure."
Meanwhile, in the bustling Celestine Spire, Mina poked at a flickering light that had been following her all day.
"Are you a pet or a spy?" she muttered.
The light flickered once then solidified into a tiny foxlike creature with glowing blue eyes and a tail that shimmered like stardust.
Kai crossed his arms, smirking.
"I think you just attracted a magical pest."
"I prefer companion," Mina shot back, scooping the tiny creature into her hands.
"I'm calling you... Noko."
The creature sneezed out a burst of glitter and promptly disappeared into thin air.
Kai laughed.
"Great. You've bonded with chaos."
Days after their tense audience with the king, Kai and Mina were brought under formal escort to Academy, the most prestigious institution in Aurelis, where the noble and magically gifted were trained to shape the future of the kingdom.
It was not a welcome.
It was a watch.
"Keep them close," King Alaric had murmured to Seraphina.
"If the prophecy is true... they'll reveal themselves soon enough."
Mina grumbled as they crossed the marble threshold.
"Servant status, huh? I should start charging you for this."
Kai smirked faintly but stayed alert, scanning the halls.
He knew they weren't here to relax.
They were here because the king didn't trust them and neither did the academy.