The grand halls of the Celestial Palace echoed with the rhythmic click of Seraphina’s heels as she strode toward the Council Chamber. The summons had been expected, yet the weight of it pressed upon her like an invisible chain. Behind her, Cassian lingered in the shadows, his presence a ghost of the night they had shared—one filled with whispered names, tangled sheets, and the kind of desire that left the soul burning long after the flames had died.
The Elders were waiting.
The chamber doors swung open with an eerie silence, revealing a circular room bathed in golden light. At the center stood the Elder Council, seven figures draped in robes woven from stardust and magic, their eyes gleaming like celestial orbs. The air hummed with power, ancient and unwavering.
Seraphina inclined her head in reverence but did not bow. She was their High Enchantress, the ruler of Eldoria. She owed them obedience—but not submission.
“You summoned me.” Her voice was calm, unwavering.
Elder Sareth, the eldest of them, leaned forward. His silver beard brushed against his embroidered robes, his eyes piercing through her as if unraveling the very fabric of her soul. “Strange things have been set into motion, child.”
The others murmured in agreement.
“The Forbidden Isles stir once more.” Elder Liora’s voice was barely a whisper, but it carried enough weight to send a shiver down Seraphina’s spine.
The Forbidden Isles. The very lands Cassian had fled. A place of darkness and exile, where those cast out from the realm of light gathered—plotting, waiting.
Seraphina’s fingers curled at her sides. Had his past finally come to claim him?
“There are whispers of an uprising,” Sareth continued, his gaze unwavering. “Magic is shifting. And at the heart of this storm… is you.”
A tense silence settled over the chamber. Seraphina remained still, her mind racing. The Elders were powerful, but they were not omniscient. They suspected something, but they did not know.
And she intended to keep it that way.
“I serve Eldoria with unwavering loyalty,” she said carefully. “If a storm is coming, I will face it.”
Sareth’s gaze hardened. “Then prove it.”
The chamber doors burst open.
Two guards stepped inside, dragging a man between them. His face was bloodied, his clothes torn, but Seraphina recognized him instantly.
Kael.
A thief. A messenger. And one of Cassian’s only remaining allies.
Her heart pounded. This was a trap.
“Caught trespassing at the eastern gates,” a guard announced. “He claims to have a message for the High Enchantress.”
Seraphina met Kael’s swollen gaze. He said nothing, but his eyes spoke volumes.
Something had happened.
Something far worse than the Elders realized.
“Speak,” she commanded, her voice betraying nothing.
Kael’s lips cracked into a bloody smile. “The Dark King has returned.”
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Seraphina felt the world tilt beneath her feet.
The Dark King. The one who had been sealed away centuries ago. The one prophesied to return only when the realms were at their weakest.
And if he was back…
Then Cassian was in far greater danger than she had ever imagined.
She had to warn him.
But as she turned to leave, Elder Sareth’s voice cut through the noise like a blade.
“You are forbidden from leaving the palace, High Enchantress.”
Seraphina’s breath caught. They were trapping her.
The Elders were not just suspicious. They were watching her.
She forced a smile, though her heart was racing. “Of course.”
But as she walked away, her mind was already working.
She would not abandon Cassian.
She would find a way out.
Even if it meant betraying everything she had ever sworn to protect.
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