The smoke clung to the night as the last echoes of the attack faded across the southern wall. The Starless Legion vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, withdrawing in silence, leaving the battlements cracked and the soldiers shaken. Bao Bao's Sunblade dimmed as he lowered it, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths.
Behind him, Naelith and Veylara halted several paces apart, both staring at him, both too tense to speak. The torchlight wavered between them, unable to decide whose face to illuminate.
Naelith broke the silence first. "Report."
Veylara stepped forward, her tone steady despite the wounds on her armor. "Their retreat was intentional. Measured. They were testing us—and they can extinguish Sunfire directly."
Naelith's eyes tightened. "That is impossible."
"No," Bao Bao said quietly. "It happened the moment I arrived."
Both women turned toward him. Bao Bao walked to the shattered edge of the wall, holding the Sunblade loosely.
"They weren't attacking the wall," he said. "They were circling me."
Naelith moved closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. The touch was not gentle, but grounding, the way she steadied soldiers in war council.
"You kept them from breaching Firelonia," she said. "That is what matters."
Veylara watched the gesture. Her jaw tightened slightly.
"Your Majesty," Veylara said, "the King cannot be sent unguarded again. He is their target. Their center."
Naelith's eyes sharpened immediately. "Mind your tone."
"I speak as his commander," Veylara answered, her voice low. "And as someone who—"
She stopped.
Bao Bao turned toward her, but Naelith finished the sentence for her.
"As someone who cares for him."
The space fell silent. Even the wind stopped moving.
Bao Bao gripped the wall. "We're not doing this here."
A messenger sprinted up the stairs, breathless. "Your Majesty—the Council demands an emergency meeting. Elder Sorell says we must initiate full lockdown."
Naelith exhaled sharply. "Of course he does. He's been waiting for a disaster big enough to justify a power grab."
She turned toward Bao Bao. "Stay with the wounded and stabilize the flames. Veylara—come with me."
Veylara blinked. "Me?"
"Sorell fears your presence," Naelith said. "Let him."
The two women left together, not speaking, their steps in perfect rhythm but their thoughts far from aligned. Bao Bao watched them disappear into the smoke.
When the wall was cleared, Bao Bao knelt and examined the scorch marks the Starless Legion left behind. There was no ash. No residue. Only a circular burn—too precise to be natural.
He lowered his palm and summoned a small spark of Sunfire. Under the glow, something faint appeared beneath the stone. A symbol. A broken star, cracked down the center. And beneath it, lines of ancient script he recognized from forbidden texts.
He traced the letters with his thumb.
Umbren.
The truth struck him immediately. The Legion was not an unknown enemy. It was tied to the forgotten bloodlines. To the prophecy he feared. To him.
Inside the War Hall, Naelith entered with Veylara beside her. The Council fell silent at once. Elder Sorell rose, leaning on his cane as if he had been waiting to pounce.
"Your Majesty," he said, "tonight proves Firelonia is unsafe under your rule."
Naelith lifted her chin. "Say what you intend."
"We demand a new structure," Sorell said. "Limits placed upon both the King and Queen."
Gasps echoed around the chamber.
Veylara stepped forward immediately. "You will not touch the Sun King's authority."
Naelith didn't silence her.
The room shook with tension. Every faction watched the two women standing together—one queen, one commander—each protecting Bao Bao in her own way.
At the far end of the chamber, Elder Yura remained still, her eyes reflecting the dim lights. She spoke only one quiet sentence, barely above a whisper.
"The prophecy has begun."
And beneath the southern wall, Bao Bao pressed his palm over the hidden sigil, realizing it was pulsing. And that it was pulsing in time with his heartbeat.