Kael: The Battlefront
Kael stood at the edge of the battlefield, his sword slick with blood, his jaw set with fury.
They weren't rebels.
They were soldiers—trained, armed, and too well-informed about Aetheria's tactics.
> "This isn't a rebellion."
It was an ambush.
And he had walked straight into it.
By nightfall, a third of his men were dead. The rest were wounded or surrounded.
His second-in-command, Riven, cursed under his breath as they ducked behind ruined stone.
"This was planned, Kael. They knew you'd come. Knew when. Knew you."
Kael's grip tightened. "This is no rebellion. This is treason."
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Elara: The Royal Library
Elara couldn't sleep.
Not with Kael gone. Not with Auren distant. And not with the whispers in the halls growing louder each day.
She wandered through the palace until she found herself in the royal library.
She passed familiar scrolls… until she found the sealed alcove.
Shadow-magic shimmered across the stone—Kael's magic. She recognized it.
He had shown her once, in secret, beneath the garden stars.
> "You need to know how to protect yourself," Kael had told her, months ago, pressing her fingers around a sigil.
"You're not weak. You're his queen. And one day, you'll be mine to protect—whether I'm near or not."
She had learned simple shields. Energy deflection. Wards for their child.
Elara pressed her palm to the sigil. Her whisper was barely audible.
"I want to protect my son."
The magic recognized her.
The wall shimmered—and opened.
Inside: scrolls. Dark maps. A cursed crystal pulsing like a heart. And Varyx's orders in his own hand:
> "Kael at the border—Stage I.
Next: isolate the Prince.
Final move: remove the heir."
Elara staggered back, rage and terror crashing through her.
> "He planned this. All of it."
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Auren: The Warning
That same night, Auren stood on the palace walls, watching the wind tangle the flags of the kingdom.
A scout from the Northern Border arrived—bloody, dying.
He collapsed into Auren's arms, gasping.
"Your brother… betrayed… surrounded…"
"Who did this?" Auren's voice shook.
"…Varyx," the man rasped—and died.
---
The Queen's Resolve
Elara stood in her chambers, her hands protectively over her stomach.
Kael had taught her enough to survive.
> "Use light to guard your child. Use darkness only if they force your hand," he had told her.
And now, she would.
For her child.
For Kael.
For the kingdom that was bleeding from within.
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