The stars wept fire.
Lyra Veyne stood atop the crumbling watchtower, her breath caught in her throat as the sky split open. A streak of golden light burned across the heavens, illuminating the darkened valley below. The air hummed with an unnatural energy, a force so immense it made the very fabric of the world tremble.
She had read the prophecies. When a star falls, so too shall the old world.
But she never thought she would live to see it happen.
The celestial inferno plummeted toward the earth, tearing through the clouds, and Lyra clenched her fists. If the stories were true, then what fell from the sky wasn't just fire and ruin—it was power. Starshards. Pieces of a dying star, filled with magic beyond human comprehension. The kind of power that could save a dying kingdom… or doom it forever.
And she wasn't the only one who knew it.
A low horn sounded in the distance. The moment the sound reached her ears, her stomach twisted. They were coming.
From her vantage point, she could see movement across the valley—figures on horseback, banners unfurling under the wind. Warlords, knights, mercenaries. Every faction that had been waiting for the fall of the star was now moving toward it.
Her time was running out.
Lyra turned sharply, gripping the edge of her cloak as she ran down the stone steps of the watchtower. The wind howled, carrying the scent of smoke and rain. Below, her companion waited—Kael Draven, a man as battered as the world they lived in.
"Tell me you saw it," Kael said, his voice low and edged with urgency.
"It's real," Lyra confirmed. "The star has fallen."
Kael exhaled, running a hand through his dark hair. "Then we need to move. Fast."
Lyra nodded. "Every warlord and king within a hundred leagues will be after it."
Kael's jaw tightened. "And if they get to it first, they'll tear this world apart."
He didn't need to say more. They both knew what was at stake. The last time a star had fallen, an empire had risen—and another had been reduced to dust.
Lyra pulled her cloak tighter, glancing toward the distant glow on the horizon. She didn't believe in fate. But standing here, beneath a sky still streaked with celestial fire, she felt something deep in her bones.
This was just the beginning.
And the war for the heavens had already begun.