"Your Majesty... The children are disappearing. What do we do?"
I took a slow breath, but even that felt heavy. I didn't know what to do. I was just a Lumifey, gentle by nature, good only for healing and casting shields. None of my gifts could fix this, and overusing them only drained me faster. I was queen, yet I felt completely useless.
I forced a smile in front of Ansel, the head of the guards. "I'll do my best to fix this," I said quietly. I hesitated, then added, "Can you call Caelyx for me?"
He gave a sharp nod and bowed before leaving the throne room. And just like that, I was alone again.
In moments like this, Caelyx was the only one who stayed. He wasn't royal, just someone my father trusted enough to place by my side. No one knew how close we really were. I couldn't make it public. But through the endless training and pressure, he was the one person who made me feel at ease.
Sometimes, it felt like there was something different in how he looked at me... not in a bad way. Just warm. Quietly comforting.
I sat still on the throne as he walked in. His eyes were a striking blue, and his black-brown hair fell slightly over his forehead. He carried himself with quiet confidence, and the way his tunic clung to his frame only reminded me how annoyingly good he looked.
"Queen... You called for me?" he asked, voice low and formal.
I let out a small laugh. "Drop the act, Caelyx. No one's around." My smile faded. "I can't even laugh in peace anymore. Did you hear the news?"
His expression darkened. "Yeah, I heard. There's a rumor that it's an Abyssal Fey."
My brows pulled together. "Abyssal Fey?"
"Glowing darkness. Doesn't add up. A Noxian doesn't glow," he said.
"I thought they vanished," I muttered.
"They did. Or at least, that's what the elders claimed. But now they say she might be the last of her kind."
"She?" I echoed, confused.
He let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hate to say it, because you're still the most beautiful fey I've ever seen... but they say she's stunning."
I playfully rolled my eyes. "Enough with your nonsense. Help me find whoever is taking Lumifey children."
He stopped teasing and didn't argue further. We sent word to every Lightseeker to search for information. When word returned, it was confirmed. An Abyssal Fey had crossed the border.
I didn't want to believe it. We were taught that when one of the five laws set by the Feylord was broken, the Abyssal Fey was erased completely. Their disappearance made the borders grow thick and impassable.
But now... it meant something else. One of them survived. A powerful one. Maybe that's why the Noxians hadn't launched a full attack. They were waiting. I could feel it.
The elders believed their plan was to first ensure the fall of the Abyssals, then wipe out the Somnari nex... those strange, rumored fey no one's even sure exist. Then, finally, they'd come for us. The soft, 'harmless' Lumifey.
The Noxians didn't want balance. They wanted everything for themselves.
A few days later, I told Ansel to find someone who could take me to the Abyssalis portal. I made up my mind. I'd go alone.
As queen, it was my duty. I wouldn't let others risk their lives because of what I couldn't do.
"Lumielle... you can't go. It's not safe," Caelyx said, trying to change my mind.
"I have to go. It's my responsibility."
"Don't do this. I don't want you to get hurt."
I could tell he was scared, not of the Abyssal Fey, but of what might happen to me. But I couldn't let fear decide for me.
"I'm going, Caelyx."
"Please, Elle," he said gently.
"Why?" I asked, voice sharper than I meant. "Will you go and get the lost children if I don't?"
He looked away, caught off guard by my words. The stars reflected in his eyes as silence settled between us.
"I would... but I can't."
"Then don't stop me."
He kept staring up at the night sky, saying nothing. Then, finally, he turned back to me.
"I'll take you there. But I can't go inside."
I didn't ask how he knew where it was. I just smiled at him, and something in me settled.
He took my hand, pulled me into an embrace. I rested my head against his shoulder. He had always been there—when I was a child, when I became queen, when no one else stayed.
For a week, I prepared. When it was time, Caelyx led me straight to the border. He knew exactly where it was.
The place looked like it belonged in a dream... or a nightmare. Shadows curved around twisting trees with leaves like black glass, and everything shimmered in hues of violet and deep indigo. The glow that poured from the border wasn't warm. It flickered like magic that had never known peace.
Dark vines pulsed with purple light. Floating runes carved themselves into the air. The portal stood tall, like a curtain of light draped in stardust.
"Please take care, Lumielle," Caelyx said, voice barely above a whisper.
"I will," I said, forcing a smile.
He hesitated. "Once you step through... you won't be able to fly. Your wings will feel numb in a realm you're not used to."
It felt like ice water had been poured down my spine. The ground beneath me stayed solid, but something inside me swayed. I wouldn't be able to fly. My wings, my connection to home would be useless. My heart beat faster.
Still, I kept my face calm for him. "Okay. Thank you, Caelyx."
He gave me one last smile. I turned toward the portal. A surge of purple light pulsed like a heartbeat, welcoming or warning... I couldn't tell.
Just before stepping in, I looked back at him one last time. I didn't want this to be goodbye.
The portal's glow hit him, and I caught a glimpse of something strange. His wings didn't look the same. What used to be soft brown turned bright, almost radiant. Streaks of color shimmered through his hair, not pastel, but bold... like streaks of truth revealed only in magic.
I didn't get the chance to think. The light pulled me forward, and in a breath, everything went black.