Having Gabe and Steele together last night had blown my expectations out of the water, and I could only fantasize over what it would be like to let them all take turns with me in the same room. My cheeks flamed with heat but I composed myself as we crossed the threshold, offering brief nods to the soldiers lined along the hall–a mix of angels and wyvern alike.
It was time to focus on important matters. Everything else could wait. Duty came first.
The corridor stretched wide and bright, branching toward the library, the archives, and the old portal chamber. Our destination lay at the far end, inside the council chamber. My pulse quickened with every step. Today wasn’t just about rebuilding—it was about facing the very city that had condemned me and deciding what came next.
Ahead, the low rumble of conversation drifted through the corridor, spilling from the open doors of the council chamber. When we stepped inside, bodies turned toward us and silence followed. Marble gleamed beneath our boots, polished to a reflective sheen. Sunlight streamed through stained glass, scattering blues and purples across the floor.
As we moved deeper, the scale of the chamber unfolded around me. At the front, near the podium platform, stood the wyvern king and queen, Conan and Nora, off to the side. Behind them, their commanders lined the walls. I was unsure if they refused to sit amongst the angels in the middle of the room, but whatever made them feel the most comfortable was fine with me.
I knew that old wounds would be hard to mend.
The main section we walked down the middle of was split into two groupings. To our left sat the allied Archangels with Astor at the front. I quickly noted that their robes were stripped of the Alfemir insignia in what felt like a quiet declaration of a new allegiance. I didn’t recognize many faces—the ones who’d been my father’s friends had clearly refused to stand with Astor, or she’d sent them to the prison herself.
To our right waited Mithrie and Selene sat at the front of their grouping, and they both inclined their heads when our gazes met. I was unsure of what affinity angels stood behind them, but it didn’t matter. All were welcomed if they were here to support us.
Just behind the podium waiting for us on the platform was Noah. His eyes found mine, and when his expression softened, something in my chest eased. The nod he gave felt like it was full of pride–quiet and certain as his gaze steadied me. At some point in this journey, he’d become important to me like a family member would. It was impossible to ignore how much he and Amelia had quickly become a part of my heart in my time in the rebel camp.
Quickly we ascended the few steps to the platform, my men forming a steady line of support with Noah at my back. My hands shook as I approached the front and center. For a moment, I just stood there, palms damp, heart pounding hard enough that I swore they could all hear it. But as my eyes caught on Niz’s mother, the strength reflecting back at me took me by surprise. Ever-so-slightly her head inclined, and it felt like she was telling me I could do this.
Our relationship had been complicated since we’d met, but feeling her support here and now was a balm to my unease on where we stood. I wanted her support and respect, especially given that I was the reason Niz refused to follow through with his arranged engagement. A part of me needed to prove to her thatI was worthy of him and of having a hand in shaping Alfemir’s future.
Nerves had no place here. Now was the time to prove that those gathered here weren’t wrong for giving me the time and place to speak to them. This was my moment to step into my purpose as I prepared us all for the coming prophecy.
When I finally spoke, my voice was strong and certain. “The last time you saw me, my father had placed me on a platform for execution—only to slit my throat himself once I began to unveil the horrors the Archangels were hiding.”
There were some grimaces throughout the crowd, but I refused to shy away from the grim details.
“To be honest, I’m not sure where exactly we go from here,” I said. “I don’t know if all of you believe me now after everything I told you, despite my father’s accusations against me during that trial.”
No one spoke and the heavy silence pressed down on me. I met Gabe’s mom’s eyes shining back at me before meeting Mithrie’s and Selene’s. All three radiated the same quiet belief that the wyvern queen had. I knew their silence wasn’t disrespect or a sign of any lack of support as I stared back. It became clear as the crowd began to quietly speak amongst themselves that they were allowing those gathered here to come to their own conclusions. I understood that. Now was the time to give a voice back to the citizens, instead of taking the choice away from them in how to move forward.
That was a way of the past, and I wouldn’t ask anyone to blindly follow me because the leaders thatwerestill respected demanded it.
So I stood tall with my shoulders back and chin high as I gazed out at the crowd. “If you place your trust in me and what I’ve told you, I will consider it a high honor, but I will not make myself the figurehead of Alfemir. All I wish to do is unite ourforces for what is coming our way, still, as we work to rebuild a future together.”
There were some faces I recognized from the crowd that had watched my execution in Alfemir. A few turned away from me as my eyes passed over them, mostly the Archangels among them, guilt shadowing familiar features.
It urged me on, lending strength and volume to my voice as it rose. “I do not wish for any of you here to feel guilt in not knowing what was happening. We were all kept in the dark on purpose–to control us and use us in their schemes. All of us are victims of their tyranny. We can all stand together now, knowing that.”
My eyes fell over each group as I continued. “The wyverns. The fallen. The remaining angels in Alfemir. We can be united once more.”
From somewhere near the back of the Elementalist side, a voice rose. “We will stand with you.”
That one voice was all it took to become a steady, slow build of those standing and joining in with their agreement, until it was a cacophony of support. My chest tightened, breath catching as I realized they weren’t turning away this time. They saw me. They believed me.
“You may be wondering why we decided to return now to the very place that drove us out,” I began as the crowd settled down. “Some may even be wondering who I am to stand before you now and offer myself as a voice as we forge a path forward. Some did not hear my words during my trial, so I will say it once more and expand for all to hear.”
The crowd was silent once more, enraptured and hanging on to each word.
“When I fled Alfemir, I was running from a society that decided I had no worth because I failed my placement test again and again. That I deserved to have my wings ripped frommy body and to no longer call myself an angel. What I found in the Rebellion was a truth that changed everything and gave myself and all the others in my position our worth back. We weren’t powerless or less than. We just had powers that Alfemir sought to kill, now known as dead affinities since theyno longer existed–which was due to the Archangel's diligence in ensuring that stayed true.”
A few gasps rang out and my lips thinned. I was sure that my words had spread throughout Alfemir by now, but hearing it firsthand was likely a lot to take in. Rumors were one thing; having life-altering truths confirmed from my own lips was another.
“A prophecy was revealed to me when I found out that I’m a Star Keeper,” I said, drawing a deep breath before continuing. “It spoke of an end for the world as we know it, when all the stars in our sky fall. My father and all of those that knew of the dead affinities sought to kill me, without knowing or caring that I am the one fated to try to save us all from that same prophecy.”
I steadied myself. “They were so blinded by my father’s bruised ego that couldn’t stand having a daughter who freely chose to escape him and this society, that they almost condemned us all with my death. That is the world we will break away from. We will rebuild a new one in which all of our well-being matters, equally.”
A ripple of voices spread through the chamber.
