The path to the Solstice Gate was not marked on any map.
It had been buried long ago, hidden beneath layers of rewritten history and crumbling myth. But Maelin felt it—like an ache in her bones, a soft pulling beneath her skin. The Whisper was leading her again.
She and Caelum left Silverwood under the cover of the eclipse, riding swiftly into the dying forestlands. The trees, once rich with starbloom and moonmoss, now stood grey and brittle. As they moved deeper, the world became quieter. No birds. No wind. Just silence that pressed against their ears like deep water.
"Do you remember what Elara said?" Caelum asked, his hand never leaving the hilt of his blade. "That the Solstice Gate was sealed for a reason?"
Maelin nodded. "They feared what was on the other side. But I fear what happens if we don't open it now."
They reached the Vale of Hollow Roots at dusk. The sky had not brightened since morning—the red eclipse lingered unnaturally, casting everything in a permanent twilight.
At the heart of the vale, covered in vines and half-swallowed by the earth, stood the Solstice Gate.
It wasn't a door. Not exactly.
It was a monolith, taller than any tower in Silverwood, formed of starlight-forged obsidian. At its center, a crack, shaped like a constellation Maelin recognized all too well—the Whisper's pattern.
She approached slowly, the Celestial Locket glowing with urgency.
But as she reached to touch the stone, a voice echoed from behind:
> "You shouldn't be here."
Maelin spun.
A figure stood at the edge of the clearing. A girl, not older than seventeen, dressed in robes stitched with silver thread and Choir markings.
Her eyes glowed faintly gold. Not human. Not Choir.
Something in-between.
"Who are you?" Maelin asked.
"I am called Eira," the girl replied. "I am the last Guardian of the Gate. And if you open it… he will step through completely."
Maelin stepped closer. "He already has. He's rewriting the stars."
Eira's expression darkened. "Then you're already too late."
Suddenly, the Gate pulsed. Lines of light spread across the obsidian like veins. The crack in its center widened with a sound like a thousand hushed voices.
Caelum raised his sword. "Maelin, something's coming."
The light turned from white… to violet.
Then, a single voice whispered from within the Gate:
> "Come closer, Maelin. The truth you seek… is not what you think."