The night passed without rest.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the mark glowing faintly on my hand. No matter how tightly I wrapped it, the light kept slipping through a quiet reminder that I no longer belonged to the world I thought I knew.
Outside, the first hues of dawn bled into the horizon.
The Academy's bell had not yet rung; silence clung to every stone corridor.
A knock came at my door soft, deliberate.
When I opened it, Aster stood there, already dressed in dark traveling clothes, his royal insignia hidden beneath a plain cloak.
"Ready?" he asked.
I hesitated only a moment before nodding. "As I'll ever be."
He handed me a small satchel food, water, a few vials of mana potions. "Kael arranged a passage through the eastern forest. There's an old teleportation altar beyond the cliffs. It hasn't been used in years, but it should take us far from the capital."
"Where to?"
"North," he said. "To the borderlands. The Church's influence doesn't reach that far."
We slipped through the halls like shadows, careful to avoid the patrolling sentinels. Every step echoed too loudly in my ears. I couldn't shake the feeling that the Academy itself was watching us ancient runes in the walls humming softly, as though aware of my mark.
When we finally reached the outer courtyard, the sky had turned silver-pink.
The scent of dew mixed with the faint crackle of mana from Aster's concealed sword.
"You've done this before," I whispered.
He smirked, faint but real. "Escaping places that should've held me? More times than I can count."
I smiled despite the fear gnawing at my chest. Somehow, even now, he made the world feel less heavy.
We moved through the eastern gates, passing rows of whispering trees. The forest beyond shimmered with morning mist, pale light threading through the leaves like liquid glass. Every sound felt amplified the crunch of gravel, the flutter of birds, our own breathing.
Halfway down the trail, the air shifted.
"Stop," Aster said quietly.
I froze. The wind stilled, unnaturally calm.
Then came the faintest echo metal scraping against metal.
Aster's hand went to his sword in an instant. "They've found us."
From the shadows ahead, three figures emerged cloaked in the silver robes of the Celestial Church. Their faces were hidden behind porcelain masks shaped like serene angels. But their auras burned like fire.
"By decree of the Holy Seat," the lead priest intoned, "the bearer of the Astral Sigil is to be surrendered. Step aside, Your Highness."
My pulse spiked. "They know…"
"Of course they do," Aster muttered. "The stars must've betrayed our position."
He drew his sword. The faint blue light along its edge reflected the dawn. "You'll have to kill me first."
The priest tilted his head. "If that is your wish."
They attacked.
Light exploded around us holy glyphs forming in the air like blades of glass. Aster met the first strike head-on, his sword clashing with a burst of divine energy. Sparks danced across the clearing. I could barely follow their movements; each swing carried more than steel it carried will.
But one of the priests slipped past him, heading straight for me.
I reacted on instinct. The mark on my hand flared, and a sphere of silver light erupted between us. The priest was thrown back, crashing into the roots of a tree. My chest burned, but the energy didn't fade.
It wanted to be used.
"Erian!" Aster shouted. "Control it don't let it consume you!"
"I'm trying!"
The light surged higher, threads of starlight spiraling from my fingertips. It wasn't just magic it was memory, pain, and longing all at once.
Images flashed through my mind the Celestial Realm, the Keeper's voice, and the moment Aster reached for me through falling stars. The emotions poured into the magic like a flood.
When the light finally dimmed, the priests were gone or rather, reduced to motes of silver dust scattered by the wind.
Silence returned.
Aster sheathed his sword slowly, his chest heaving. "You're full of surprises."
I sank to my knees, breathing hard. "I didn't mean to"
He knelt beside me, his hand brushing my cheek steady, grounding. "Don't apologize. You saved us."
Our eyes met his silver, my human brown now flecked with faint light.
The distance between us dissolved into something wordless but deep.
Finally, he stood, extending a hand. "Come on. The altar isn't far. We move before the next patrol arrives."
I took his hand, letting him pull me to my feet. My legs trembled, but the warmth of his touch anchored me more than any spell could.
As we stepped deeper into the forest, the sun finally broke through the canopy.
For a brief, fleeting moment, the light caught on Aster's hair and I thought, maybe, this was what the stars had been trying to show me all along.
Not fate.
Not prophecy.
Just the path that leads back to him.