"Mother."
The word echoed through the underground kingdom.
Aliena stopped breathing.
Sebastian was still kneeling on the ancient stone.
His wings were spread behind him.
His face was unchanged.
But his eyes…
They were silver.
Completely silver.
No gold.
No red.
No black.
Just silver.
And that voice.
It wasn't Sebastian's.
It belonged to a child.
A child who sounded impossibly tired.
A child who sounded like he had been waiting for her for thousands of years.
Aliena slowly lowered herself beside him.
"Sebastian?"
He tilted his head.
"That's not my name."
Her heart dropped.
"What?"
The child inside him smiled.
"You gave that name to him."
Aliena's hands began trembling.
"Who are you?"
He looked at her as though the question itself hurt him.
"You really don't remember?"
Aliena shook her head.
"No."
The child looked toward the broken thrones.
Then toward the ancient queen.
Then Elara.
Then the stranger.
Finally, his silver eyes returned to Aliena.
