POV: Kaelira
The dress was soft. White as starlight, simple in its cut but threaded with faint silver that shimmered when I moved. I twirled once in front of the mirror—barefoot, of course. I wanted to feel everything. The floor was cool and smooth under my toes, humming faintly with magic.
Even this place had a heartbeat.
Lyra had given it to me, grinning as she handed it over.
"It's the only one in your size," she'd said. "And honestly, I'm jealous. You're going to look like a moonlit wish."
I turned, the hem of the dress swirling like fog. "Do I look like one now?"
I normally spent my time sleeping under the stars, so spending the night in an enclosed place—though it was spacious and the mattress was soft—it still felt different.
A little too still.
A little too quiet.
Lyra leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me with a soft smile. "You look like you just stepped out of a poem."
I tilted my head. "Is that a good thing?"
"It's the best thing," she said. "Most people show up to council summons looking like they're about to go to war. You? You look like you're about to bless a garden."
"Absolutely gorgeous, Kae," Damian said through the link.
I laughed, hugging myself for a second.
I was going to meet some powerful celestials—ones who might decide whether I could help Ren. Whether I had a place here. If not… I'd have to go back to Bloom, find a different path to understanding what Elira meant, who I truly was, and how to explore the worlds I longed for.
A soft knock at the door.
Ren entered, armoured and composed. "You look beautiful, Kaelira."
"Thank you." I did a little twirl for him.
I waved at Lyra, gave her a quick hug, and followed Ren out into the hallway.
"Don't worry, Kaelira," he said as we walked. "If anything makes you uncomfortable, you can tell me. Otherwise that damned wolf will have my head."
"At least he knows," Damian muttered.
"I'll let you know," I replied aloud, smiling faintly.
We passed through soaring halls of glass and stone, where stained-glass windows towered over us, each depicting a moment in celestial history. Gods sealing rifts. Stars being born from spilled light. Battles waged with music and flame.
I wanted to stop at every single one. Ask questions. Touch the frames. But Ren kept walking with purpose.
At the end of the hall, a door glowed faintly at its seams. It opened before we reached it.
The chamber beyond was circular, vast, and quiet. Arched windows bathed the space in shifting light from the twilight sky.
Magic hung in the air like dust motes caught in moonlight. At the far end, a crescent-shaped dais held a ring of seated celestials—of different builds, genders, and colours. Each radiated power in their own way.
They were not the High Order. But they mattered.
I stood at the centre, the pendant at my chest still warm with Damian's silent presence.
They stared.
I stared back.
A woman with pale amber skin and a crown of braided gold leaned forward. "You are Kaelira. The creation of Elira?"
"Yes," I said softly. "Did you know her?"
A woman with long slowing silver hair answered "We do not know enough to be sure. But what we do know that she left over a millennia ago. No one has heard from her since. We will have to ask the High order"
I nodded.
Then the questions began.
Where had I come from? What did I remember of Elira? How long had I had my powers?
I answered everything I could—earnestly, honestly.
They listened. Most with interest. A few with concern.
Many expressed their doubt not knowing how I could be of help.
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Ren stood beside me, still and calm. "She defeated me," he said. "Without training. She beat me clean."
That drew silence. And disbelief.
"You expect us to believe a child untrained in the old ways bested you?" A voice sliced through the chamber. He wasn't physically present, but his image glowed within a scrying orb above the dais.
"Kaelira," Ren said gently, glancing at me, "can you show them?"
"Oh! Sure."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
The hum within me rose—familiar now. Like Bloom was calling from across a great distance. I opened my eyes.
They flared red.
My skin shimmered faintly, light tracing the lines of my body like rivers of power. My wings bloomed, black as obsidian.
Just for a moment, I let it out.
A pulse of energy surged from my skin. Not violent. Not threatening. Just… alive. A whisper of potential.
Then I reined it all back in. Wings folding. Light dimming.
Silence.
No one moved. Not even the wind stirred through the stained glass.
After a long pause, someone finally spoke.
"If that power is real… and it's stable… she may be exactly what we need."
That's when I heard D's voice 'Tell Ren I say he can speak' Confused I told Ren what he said.
Ren looked down at the necklace surprise flickered in his eyes.
"Kaelira has a friend, who has agreed to help." He paused looking up at them. "A shadow wolf."
A few gasped.
Their reaction just made me more confused.
They asked to speak with Ren privately.
I was escorted out.
"D," I whispered, walking slowly down the steps into the garden, "did I pass or fail?"
"We'll see, Kae," he said. "But you did well."
My chest fluttered.
Outside, the garden had darkened. Twilight wrapped the sky in deep violet, swallowing the last streaks of gold. The air had cooled, and the trees cast long shadows across the glowing path. It felt quieter than before. As if the whole garden was holding its breath.
I sat on a bench beneath an arch of flowering vines, folding my wings close. I wasn't sure what to feel.
A few minutes passed.
Then Ren appeared, his armour dim under the shifting light. He looked more tired than I'd ever seen him.
"What happened?" I asked, rising quickly.
"They're escalating your case to the High Order," he said. "They don't want to decide your fate alone."
"Is that… bad?"
"Not yet. But it means everything is moving faster now."
He exhaled and looked me in the eye. "They want us to go to Earth."
I blinked. "Earth? Really?"
"There may be another piece of Elira's legacy there. Something you're tied to."
Excitement bloomed in my chest like stardew.
"A new world!" I clapped my hands.
Damian groaned through the link. "I knew you'd be excited."
Ren chuckled, but his tone turned serious. "Earth isn't like here. Or Bloom. It's dense. Chaotic. Full of rules and limits."
"I want to see it," I said. "I want to learn. And I want to try opening the portal myself."
If I could open the portal there would be no limit to where I travel.
Ren hesitated. "Portal magic is delicate. And dangerous."
"I'll be careful."
He sighed. "Fine. We'll train in the grove."
The training was hard.
Not because the gestures were difficult, but because the magic inside me didn't always move the way I wanted. It wasn't disobedient—it was emotional.
Ren couldn't open traditional portals like most celestials. He traveled through light itself—vanishing in a flare and reappearing like a shooting star. But when it came to magic, his knowledge ran deep.
"Wait," I said, tilting my head, "humans don't have wings, right? Will I have to hide mine?"
"Yes," he replied. "And I'll teach you how to retract them. But first—we focus on opening portals. Safely."
"You can retract them?" I asked, wide-eyed.
He turned around. "Watch."
With a breath, his wings folded and shimmered, then sank into his back.
I wrinkled my nose. "That looked... gross."
Ren barked out a laugh. "It's not supposed to be pretty."
"I think I prefer mine out," I said, flexing my shoulders.
"You will definitely have to keep them hidden on Earth," he said, amused. "But we'll work on it."
He stepped closer, returning to the lesson.
"The kind of portal you'll use," he explained, "is similar to the tethered crystal I used before. But instead of relying on a conduit, you'll summon it from your own energy—your longing. Your intent."
"How did you feel when you opened the portal the first time?" he asked.
"I thought about Elira," I said softly. "I just… wanted to see her."
'Longing,' Damian said in my head.
"I felt longing," I repeated.
"And the second time?"
"I missed D. I just wanted to be with him."
"Of course you did," Ren muttered with a smirk.
He pulled out a book—full of Earth landscapes. Oceans. Trees. Forests. Lights. Cities. He showed them to me, one by one.
"Now imagine D and I are there," he said. "And you're not."
I closed my eyes and tried.
Nothing.
"You're stuck here. And you'll never see us again."
My breath caught.
"Don't you want to be with us?"
Something broke open in my chest.
The air shimmered.
A flicker.
A crack.
Then—rip.
The portal tore open. Not golden and stable like before—but jagged, wild. The light flickered like a faulty flame.
"Shit," Damian hissed.
"Wait!" Ren shouted.
Too late.
The tear yanked me forward.
The last thing I heard was Damian shouting my name—
I crashed.
Not on moss.
Dirt. Twigs. Mud. My arm burned.
The sky above was wrong. Too grey. Too silent.
The pain followed.
"D?" I croaked, grabbing the necklace.
Nothing.
I staggered, tried to stand. Two steps. Then I collapsed.
The last thing I saw was a patch of pale blue sky above the trees.
And then—
Nothing.