The Whispers of Waves and Fire
The night should have been steeped in darkness, but instead, the heavens blazed.
A second sun rose over the Kingdom of Eldoria, bathing the land in ethereal gold. Flowers bloomed in an instant, their petals unfurling as if reaching for an unseen deity. The animals of the Whispering Woods stirred, their cries rising in eerie harmony. It was a sign. A rare omen. A child of the elements had been born.
But not one child—two.
Inside the Dravenhart estate, hidden deep within the forest, screams shattered the unnatural stillness. Lady Althea Dravenhart clung to the sweat-drenched sheets, her body wracked with the agony of bringing life into the world. The midwife gasped as the first child was placed in her arms. A strong boy, his tiny hand clenched into a fist. And there it was—the mark of the elements, inked onto his shoulder like a birthright.
An earth elemental.
Lord Cassius Dravenhart, Commander of Eldoria’s armies, allowed himself a breath of relief. His son would live. His son would be accepted.
But then came the second cry, softer, yet undeniable. Another babe, smaller, delicate. The midwife hesitated as she turned the child over, her breath hitching as her eyes landed on the impossible. The mark. The same symbol of power, only this time, glowing like liquid silver against baby-soft skin.
A girl.
Terror seized Cassius’s chest. His hands, calloused from years of war, clenched into fists. Female elementals were forbidden—killed on sight. It was a decree, a law upheld for centuries. He should take his sword, end it before anyone found out.
But the moment his gaze fell upon the child’s face, his heart twisted violently. Those eyes, still barely open, were his wife’s. The softness of her cheeks, the delicate fingers—she was his blood, his daughter.
The midwife’s lips parted, horror dawning in her gaze. “It cannot be—”
Steel sliced through the air.
Blood splattered the wooden floors as the midwife’s body crumpled. Cassius stood over her, sword still gripped in his shaking hand. The only sound in the room was Althea’s sobs, muffled against the newborn cradled to her chest.
His daughter.
A forbidden child.
Cassius turned, his voice rough with command. “We tell no one. She died at birth.”
Althea’s watery gaze met his. “And when they come looking?”
“They won’t.”
With blood staining his hands, Cassius lifted the child and held her close. He would not let the world take her. Not the kingdom. Not the king. Not the laws written by men who knew nothing of what it meant to love a child beyond all reason.
Selene Dravenhart was born in secret, beneath a second sun. And no one—no one—would ever know.
But fate is a cruel mistress.
And secrets have a way of unraveling.
