His admission catches me off guard. For a moment, I see him not as a Shadowweave or a potential enemy, but as a brother desperate to save his family. My chest tightens. I know that kind oflonging—the ache of wanting to protect what little you have left. But I can’t let sympathy cloud my judgment. The slums are full of soft stories and bleeding hearts. And every one of them ends in betrayal. I’ve learned the hard way—compassion doesn’t keep you alive.
“Very altruistic,” I say, forcing my voice to remain sharp. “But we don’t need your help.”
Kael’s lips twitch as if suppressing a smile. “And how, exactly, will you navigate the forest? Or The Shadow Wastes? How will you slip past borders, outmaneuver guards, and survive the beasts waiting to devour you?”
His tone is infuriatingly calm, but Stars help me, he’s right.
“We’ll manage,” I protest, though the words feel hollow even to me. I can practically feel Ronyn’s incredulous gaze burning into the side of my head. He knows I’m fighting a losing battle, and worse, so does Kael.
So do I.
Kael steps closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “Elyssara, we both know you won’t make it without us,” he croons, almost teasing.
Surprise ripples through my body—he knows my name.My true name.
He notices my astonishment and that infuriating smirk kicks up his lips, “You really can’t be that surprised we know who you are, Lightborne—the world has been looking for Elyssara, the Lightborne who escaped conscription, for twenty years.”
I scowl in his direction, “No one knew my name—no one... until last night.”
“We put two and two together, Elyssara. As soon as your magic flared, I knew who you were—just wanted to see if you’d admit it. Now, lay down your sword, so to speak, and accept some genuine help. A fair deal—for both of us.”
“El,” Ronyn pleads, his tone uncharacteristically serious. “He’s right.”
I glance at Ronyn, then at Seren, whose wide eyes are filled with worry but also quiet resolve. My heart clenches. For them—for theprophecy—I can’t afford to let pride or mistrust get in the way. I take a steadying breath, my gaze locking with Kael’s.
“What guarantees do I have that you won’t betray me?”
Kael’s expression softens with relief as if he’s won—as if he can feel that I’m about to agree. “The same guarantees I have that you won’t betray me. None.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As the lightof day strengthens and the summer sun begins to blaze down, we clear a space on the outpost floor. The cracked stone beneath us becomes our makeshift table, where we spread out maps and the prophecy, preparing for the journey ahead. The dynamics of our newfound “team” are impossible to ignore—Ronyn seems far too pleased to have some other men on his side, Seren looks as though she might bolt at the slightest sound, Kael exudes infuriating smugness, and Therion... well, Therion seems pissed off.Some team we make.
“I’ve always assumed we’d just start from the first paragraph,” I say, running my fingers over the delicate lines of my mother’s handwriting. Her words feel alive under my touch, each stroke of ink a reminder of everything that’s brought me to this moment. I clear my throat and recite:
“In the twenty-fifth summer beneath Lireal’s Eye,
The Lightborne shall rise where the Stars deny.
Bound to the Sky, yet free from the flame,
She carries the light—and an unspoken name.”
I glance around the group. “It was my Starday three days ago. So, I guess I’m officially in my twenty-fifth summer.” I take a breath, willing confidence into my voice. “And I’ve reclaimed my name. Elyssara.” My name on my lips feels like a rebellion against my past. I say it not in secret, not in defiance, but aloud, in the daylight, with them all watching.
I pause, glancing down at the parchment. “The next paragraph?”
Kael’s eyes are already on me, steady and unyielding. “Bless the Stars for your birth, Elyssara,” he says, his tone low but carrying the weight of sincerity. My name on his lips does something traitorous to my chest, heat blooming in my cheeks.
It’s an ancient phrase—spoken only on a child’s naming day among the Starborn. I blink.Why does it feel like a vow?
His hand lifts, brushing gently against my upper arm as he speaks.
Then, light flares.
It’s not subtle. It crackles beneath his fingertips, sparking in the air around us in a golden burst that seems to ripple outward.
Kael jerks his hand back, inhaling sharply at the magic sparking under his touch. He tries to keep his features neutral, but I see the way his eyes flare almost imperceptibly. He’s just as shocked as I am.
