Alina studied Kael carefully, the weight of his words lingering in the air between them. The fire in his eyes, the tension in his stance—this was not a man who spoke in riddles for amusement. He genuinely feared the star she had discovered.
But why?
"You act like this is some kind of omen," she said, turning her gaze back to the telescope. "It's just a celestial body, light traveling across the universe. Stars appear and disappear all the time."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Not this one."
Alina crossed her arms. "Then what makes this star so special?"
For a moment, Kael seemed to battle with himself. His fingers twitched at his sides, as if resisting the urge to reach for his weapon again. Finally, he exhaled sharply and stepped closer.
"You said you just discovered it," he said, his voice measured. "That means it wasn't there before tonight?"
She nodded. "At least, not in any of my records."
Kael's gaze flickered toward the night sky. "Then it's already begun."
A chill passed through Alina, though she refused to let it show. "What's begun?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned away and crouched beside one of the fallen bandits, searching through the man's belongings. He pulled out a small parchment, unrolling it carefully. His expression darkened.
Alina stepped closer. "What is that?"
Kael hesitated, then handed it to her. "See for yourself."
The parchment was worn, edges singed as if it had barely survived a fire. Alina squinted at the markings—a crude drawing of a constellation, similar to the one she had just seen through her telescope. But beneath the star pattern was something else: a symbol.
A serpent devouring its own tail.
Alina's breath hitched. She had seen this before. In ancient texts, in myths whispered by scholars who dismissed them as superstition. The *Ouroboros*. The symbol of eternity, of cycles repeating endlessly. But in some darker interpretations, it was also a sign of a curse.
"Where did they get this?" she asked, glancing at the unconscious bandit.
Kael's expression remained unreadable. "Someone sent them here. They weren't just thieves looking for easy prey."
Alina's mind raced. She had thought herself alone out here, just a woman stargazing in solitude. But what if she had been watched all along?
She looked at Kael again, realizing with a start that he had known more than he let on from the moment he arrived.
"You knew they were coming, didn't you?" she asked.
Kael met her gaze, and this time, he didn't deny it.
"I had a feeling," he admitted. "I didn't think they'd make a move so soon."
Alina gripped the parchment tightly. "Why would they come after me?"
Kael's lips pressed into a thin line. "Not just you." He pointed at the star pattern. "This."
Alina's heart pounded.
The star.
The one she had just discovered.
Somehow, someone else already knew about it. And they were willing to kill to keep it a secret.
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