The sun never looked the same here.
It hung lower, almost within reach, painted with streaks of rose-gold and silver. Shane, Luna, Rio, and Xin stood at the top of a marble staircase that spiraled into a vast field of floating crystal lotuses.
They'd been found by a cloaked figure at the edge of the forest two nights ago.
Led—without a word—to a sprawling city of towers and glowing runes.
Now, they stood before a place called Archanis Royal Academy.
They were told this:
"Guests from a lost star are to be given shelter... and watched closely."
Shane crossed her arms. "They're treating us like… cursed artifacts."
Rio chuckled beside her. "Cursed or not, this place has the best healing herbs I've ever seen."
Luna twirled slowly on the glowing floor, entranced by the magic threads in the air. "I can hear people's minds even when they're whispering across the halls…"
Xin leaned against a crystal pillar. "We're not blending in. And they know it."
They were given new uniforms—robes that shimmered with light threads, engraved with sigils they couldn't read.
Magic.
It surrounded everything.
But so did curiosity.
As they walked the academy halls, eyes followed them. Some were intrigued. Others, wary.
In the garden training grounds, Shane met stares from sword-wielding nobles who whispered things like,
"She looks like a fighter."
"She doesn't belong."
"Yet she walks like a queen."
She smirked. "Let them watch."
That night, Luna sat alone under a tree with silver leaves. She felt it—a heartbeat in the sky. Soft, calming, familiar. A voice hummed through the wind, not in words, but in feeling.
A presence.
Warm. Gentle. Distant.
Someone… watching her.
Meanwhile, Rio poured over a scroll in the academy library.
"Hey," Shane called, dropping beside him. "Still studying this place?"
"I think I found something," Rio whispered, pointing to a faded sketch on the page. "A prophecy. About stars falling and waking the realm of seven kingdoms."
Xin stepped in, his voice low. "And about four who arrive not knowing they carry royal blood."
The three stared at each other.
Shane's expression darkened.
"We're not just lost, are we?"
Xin's gaze was sharp. "No. We were brought here. For a reason."
To be continued...