Killian sat on the throne, trying to look serious as five strangers marched into the throne room. They stood tall, each bearing a familiar mark on their chest—the same cursed mark that burned on his own skin.
These were the ones Saphira had met in the forest. The ones she tried to help.
Now, they stood before him, looking like they had just lost a fight with a tree—and the tree won.
"You hurt her," one of them said, glaring at Killian.
Killian raised an eyebrow. "She lied. She betrayed me."
"She was trying to save you!" another snapped.
"And you thought storming the castle would help?" Killian asked, unimpressed.
"Well... it seemed like a good idea at the time," the first one muttered.
Killian sighed. "Guards, take them to the dungeon."
As the guards led them away, one of the marked ones shouted, "You're making a mistake!"
Killian didn't respond. He had enough on his mind.
The dungeon was dark and damp. Saphira sat in her cell, She looked up as five familiar faces were thrown into the cells across from hers.
She burst into laughter.
"You guys? Seriously? What were you thinking?"
"We thought we could help," one of them said, rubbing his wrists.
Saphira chuckled. "Well, now we're all in here together. Great plan."
"At least we tried," another muttered.
Saphira leaned back against the wall, smirking. "Well, welcome to the dumbest rescue mission of the year."
"Brave, but not the brightest," she added cheerfully. "Ten out of ten for effort. Minus several million for strategy."
That night, as the castle fell into silence and the moon hung heavy in the sky, Killian drifted into a strange, restless sleep.
In his dream, he stood in a dim, dust-covered chamber he didn't recognize. The air was thick, almost buzzing with secrets. In the center of the room sat a lone chest—old, carved with unfamiliar markings, and bathed in a faint, golden light.
His footsteps echoed as he walked toward it. He knelt, reached out, and touched the lid.
Before he could open it, the dream dissolved.
His eyes flew open.
The morning sun was beginning to bleed through the curtains, painting pale gold across the stone floor. Killian sat up, heart pounding. He didn't know why the dream unsettled him—it had been simple, almost silent—but it felt real. Too real.
He got dressed and made his way through the castle halls, his feet moving with instinct rather than reason. Down the narrow staircase. Past the old armory. Toward a hallway, he rarely paid attention to.
At the end of it was a door—thick, wooden, and locked with a rusted iron bolt.
He had never entered this room before. He didn't even know it existed.
But something told him to try.
The lock clicked open with a bit of force, and the heavy door groaned as it swung inward. Dust swirled in the sunlight that spilled through a single high window.
His breath caught.
It was the room from his dream.
And in the center… the same chest.
No glowing runes this time. Just aged wood and tarnished hinges. Still, his hands trembled as he knelt beside it.
He opened the lid slowly.
Inside were a few old weapons, dull from time, and beneath them—a sealed letter.
The wax was marked with the crest of his family.
He broke the seal.
To my son, Killian—
If you're reading this, then I'm no longer by your side.
There is so much I wanted to tell you, but time never gave me the chance. So now, I leave you with the truth.
Years ago, a terrible plan was born in this kingdom. Saphira's parents led it — they created the Mark of Fate, not to protect the people, but to control them… to rule the world through fear and power.
Your father and I discovered what they were doing. We tried to stop it. We fought to expose them.
But before we could, they silenced your father. And I knew I would be next.
I had no way to stop what was coming, so I wrote this letter — hoping one day you'd find it, and understand.
You need to know this about Saphira:
She was only a child when it happened — far younger than you. She had no part in her parents' plan. She didn't know anything. She wasn't a villain.
Even back then, I saw something in her. She was curious, brave, and kind.
She wasn't like them.
But now she carries their blood. And because of that, the priest who was also a part of the people who created the Mark will try to use her.
The priest and the council will twist her thoughts, fill her head with lies, and try to turn her into a weapon.
You can't let that happen.
Saphira is the only one who can break the Mark of Fate, because she has her parents' blood, who created it. That's why they want her. That's why you must protect her.
Not because she's weak — she isn't. But because she's powerful. And if that power falls into the wrong hands, the world will suffer.
So I'm asking you this, Killian if you want a better future
Protect her.
Guide her.
Trust her, even when it's hard.
She may not know the truth yet, but one day she will. And when that day comes, she'll need you by her side — not to save her, but to remind her who she really is.
Because if they get to her first…
If they poison her heart…
She will become what they always feared — and the world will burn.
But if she breaks free…
She could save us all.
—With all my love,
Ur Mother