CHAPTER FOUR

Beneath Three Moons

Four days after crossing the Veil, Eveline finally stopped expecting to wake up somewhere else.

Not because Vaeloria felt familiar.

It didn't.

Nothing about the kingdom felt familiar.

The skies were wrong.

The stars were wrong.

Even the silence felt different here.

Yet somehow, every morning when she opened her eyes and found herself staring through the cottage window toward floating mountains and silver seas, disappointment no longer followed.

Only wonder.

The cottage stood upon a cliff overlooking the Sea of Stars, hidden among ancient pines whose silver needles glowed softly beneath moonlight. During the day, the ocean shimmered like scattered diamonds. At night, the water became something else entirely.

Alive.

Silver currents moved beneath its surface like constellations drifting through darkness.

Sometimes Eveline sat for hours watching them.

Sometimes she forgot to breathe.

Tonight, however, even the sea could not compete with Aurelis.

The capital glittered beneath the horizon.

Thousands of floating lanterns drifted through the air.

Music echoed faintly across the water.

The city looked as though the stars themselves had descended to celebrate.

"The Festival of Moons," Elara explained as she fastened a silver clasp around her dark cloak.

Eveline glanced over her shoulder.

"You've mentioned that seven times."

"And yet you continue asking questions."

"That's because nobody tells me anything."

A sigh escaped Elara.

"Some things are difficult to explain."

"No," Eveline replied, standing from the window. "They're difficult for you to explain."

A brief smile touched Elara's lips.

Small.

Fleeting.

Gone before Eveline could decide whether she'd imagined it.

"Perhaps."

The roads leading into Aurelis overflowed with people.

Families.

Merchants.

Musicians.

Creatures Eveline still struggled to identify.

A pair of children with crystal antlers raced past them laughing.

Winged Aurori soared overhead, trailing ribbons of silver light behind them.

A merchant whose skin shimmered with faint blue scales called out to passing customers while arranging glowing pearls upon a velvet cloth.

Everywhere Eveline looked, magic existed.

Not as spectacle.

Not as performance.

As life.

As ordinary as breathing.

The realization fascinated her more than any spell.

On Earth, magic belonged to stories.

In Vaeloria, stories belonged to magic.

The city gates rose ahead.

Massive silver arches woven with living vines.

The moment Eveline stepped beneath them, music washed over her.

Aurelis had transformed.

Crystal bridges glowed beneath lantern light.

Fountains poured silver water upward into the air where it formed dancing shapes before returning to their basins.

The streets overflowed with color.

With laughter.

With life.

And for the first time since arriving, Eveline felt something she hadn't felt in years.

Happy.

The realization startled her.

Enough that she immediately ignored it.

"What are the Houses?"

The question escaped as they entered the central plaza.

Five enormous banners hung above the crowd.

Silver.

Black.

Green.

Blue.

Crimson.

Each stretched several stories high.

Each marked with symbols she did not recognize.

Elara followed her gaze.

For a moment she seemed to consider avoiding the question.

Then she sighed.

"The Five Great Houses built Vaeloria."

"Families?"

"More than families."

The answer immediately caught Eveline's attention.

"Then what?"

Elara's gaze lifted toward the banners.

"Power."

The word lingered.

Ancient.

Heavy.

Meaningful.

"For centuries, the Houses ruled different regions of the kingdom. Different peoples. Different magic."

"And now?"

"Now they rule together."

Eveline frowned.

"You make that sound temporary."

Elara looked away.

"Everything is temporary."

A sudden roar erupted from somewhere nearby.

The crowd parted.

Cheers followed.

Eveline rose onto her toes.

"What happened?"

A massive creature emerged from one of the side streets.

Her breath caught.

Dragon.

Not fully grown.

But unmistakably a dragon.

Its silver scales gleamed beneath moonlight.

Children ran alongside it laughing.

The enormous beast lowered its head patiently while flower crowns were placed between its horns.

Eveline stared.

"Nobody is concerned about that?"

Elara looked genuinely confused.

"About what?"

"The dragon."

"Oh."

A pause.

"That's only a juvenile."

"Only?"

Elara continued walking.

Eveline hurried after her.

"ONLY?"

The rulers arrived shortly after.

The shift in atmosphere happened immediately.

Not because trumpets announced them.

Not because guards cleared the streets.

Because power entered the plaza.

People felt it.

The crowd slowly parted as five groups emerged from different corners of the square.

The first wore silver.

House Vaelor.

At their center walked Lord Cassian Vaelor.

The Regent.

Even before Elara identified him, Eveline knew exactly who he was.

Authority seemed woven into every movement.

He carried himself like a man accustomed to being obeyed.

Beside him walked a woman so beautiful that conversations visibly faltered as she passed.

Dark hair.

Silver eyes.

Moonlight seemed to follow her.

Yet nothing about her beauty felt soft.

She looked like the sort of woman who could destroy kingdoms with a smile.

"Lady Seraphina Vaelor," Elara murmured.

The woman turned slightly.

For the briefest moment, her silver gaze swept across the crowd.

Eveline felt a strange chill.

Then the sensation vanished.

Seraphina continued walking.

As though nothing had happened.

The shadows moved.

Eveline blinked.

A woman suddenly stood beside the Vaelors.

One heartbeat earlier, the space had been empty.

The next, it wasn't.

Dark silk flowed around her like liquid night.

Silver eyes gleamed beneath lantern light.

The woman smiled.

Half the nearby nobles immediately looked nervous.

"Morwen Nythara," Elara said.

"What did she just do?"

"Walked."

"That wasn't walking."

"No."

Elara sounded strangely amused.

"It wasn't."

More rulers followed.

Lord Rowan Sylvaren towered above nearly everyone around him.

His enormous frame made him appear more warrior than lord.

Yet children immediately rushed toward him.

He laughed and lifted two onto his shoulders.

The crowd adored him.

Eveline could see why.

Nearby stood Lady Isolde Sylvaren.

Flowers bloomed along the sleeves of her gown as she walked.

Not embroidered flowers.

Actual flowers.

Growing.

Living.

Breathing.

Eveline nearly walked into a fountain trying to watch.

House Aurelis arrived draped in blue and silver.

Lady Celeste Aurelis looked every bit the diplomat Elara described.

Elegant.

Graceful.

Dangerous.

The sort of woman who probably won arguments before speaking.

And beside her walked a golden-haired young man laughing at something she'd said.

"That's Orion Aurelis."

Eveline noticed the smile hidden in Elara's voice.

"You like him."

"Everyone likes him."

Finally came House Draven.

Lord Thorne Draven looked as though someone had dragged him away from a battlefield against his will.

Scars crossed his face.

Fire flickered briefly along his fingertips before vanishing.

Beside him walked Lady Valeria Draven.

Former dragon rider.

Current nightmare of every enemy she'd ever made.

Even standing still, she looked dangerous.

Above the festival, in a private balcony overlooking the city, the rulers gathered.

Music drifted upward.

Lanterns floated toward the stars.

Below them, the kingdom celebrated.

Above them, the future of Vaeloria hung by a thread.

Cassian stood at the railing.

"The reports?"

Morwen appeared from the shadows beside him.

Not a sound announced her arrival.

Not a footstep.

Nothing.

One moment alone.

The next, he wasn't.

"The descriptions remain consistent."

Cassian's jaw tightened.

Morwen noticed.

Of course she noticed.

She noticed everything.

"Eighteen years," she murmured softly. "And suddenly the kingdom begins seeing ghosts."

Across the balcony, Seraphina remained silent.

Her silver eyes watched the crowd below.

Listening.

Feeling.

Thousands of emotions drifted around her.

Excitement.

Love.

Jealousy.

Fear.

Then—

Something.

A flicker.

Gone before she could grasp it.

Ancient.

Familiar.

Royal.

Her breath caught.

The sensation vanished immediately.

Yet ice settled in her veins.

Because she had felt it before.

Eighteen years ago.

The night the king and queen died.

"The girl is here."

The words escaped before she could stop them.

Every ruler turned.

Silence fell.

Far below, hidden among thousands of lanterns and smiling strangers, Eveline laughed at the man with a jiggly nose in the square.

Completely unaware that the most powerful people in Vaeloria had begun searching for her.

And that with every passing day, the Crown drew closer to awakening.