267 AC
Sunspear, at Dusk
The setting sun painted Sunspear in shades of blood and fire. The towers glowed in the dying light, and the shadows of the palm trees stretched over the walls like dark, reaching fingers. It was the hour between day and night, when Dorne seemed to breathe.
Mars sat on one of the low walls, his legs dangling over the stone ledge. The sand below still radiated the day's heat, the sky cloudless and deepening into indigo. Beside him, Elia scooted closer, her hair gleaming in the light, a small, knowing smile on her lips.
"You've changed," she said softly.
Mars blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You used to just run wild with Oberyn. Now you sit alone, and… talk to yourself."
He smirked. "Maybe I'm growing up."
Elia laughed under her breath. "You? Never."
For a moment, neither of them spoke, listening to the hush of the wind.
"You know…" Mars began carefully, "if I tell you a secret… would you keep it?"
Elia fixed him with a serious look. "If you promise never to climb rooftops without me."
"Deal."
He took a deep breath. "I can do things. Things others can't. I don't know why… but sometimes… water moves when I want it to."
Elia frowned. But instead of mocking him or calling him mad, she only nodded.
"Show me."
Mars lifted his hand, letting his fingers trail across a waterskin nearby. A single droplet rose, hovering between them, shimmering in the fading light.
Elia held her breath.
"By the Seven Hells…"
"I'm scared, Elia," he admitted quietly. "I don't know what's happening to me."
She placed a hand on his arm. "Whatever you are, you'll always be my brother. And I… I'll never betray you."
Mars swallowed. "Swear it."
"I swear it by the sun over Dorne."
In that moment, between the last rays of day and the creeping dark, the two sealed a vow that would endure a lifetime