Far beyond the palace walls, the capital city of Cindervale stirred.
Merchants lit their stalls. Guards rotated shifts. Priests chanted dawn prayers to the Elemental Gods — all unaware that their newborn princess, bearer of flame and fate, had been erased from the royal scrolls before her name was ever written.
Queen Seraphina stood at the window of her chamber, a heavy cloak drawn over her shoulders. April lay in a woven cradle beside her — golden lashes resting against soft cheeks, tiny fists curled like sparks waiting to ignite.
But the Queen's heart was heavy.
The lull of the storm had passed, yet the air remained charged. Change had come, and with it… danger.
Behind her, Amara fastened a wooden chest shut with iron locks. Inside lay swaddling cloths, protective sigils, and a forged birth record bearing another name entirely.
"This is the only way," the High Priestess said solemnly.
Seraphina nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where will she go?"
"To the Ember Outlands," Amara replied. "To the one man who still owes me a debt of blood and silence. He will raise her without question."
Seraphina turned to her daughter once more. A thousand things surged in her chest — love, fear, fury. But above all… resolve.
She knelt by the cradle and pressed her lips to April's brow.
"My little flame," she murmured. "Burn quietly, until the day comes to blaze."
She didn't cry. Queens did not cry. But fire welled in her eyes.
Amara wrapped the child in soft linen etched with protective runes. As she lifted the infant, April stirred in her sleep — her tiny lips forming the shape of a soundless breath… a whisper of flame.
Then they were gone.
Vanished into the labyrinth of tunnels below the palace.
🗡️ Meanwhile — In the Air Kingdom
High above the clouds, where white towers pierced the sky, a silver-haired woman stood barefoot on a glass balcony.
The Moon Seer.
The stars swirled unnaturally around her. The skies rippled like stirred water.
"She's been hidden," she said aloud, her voice laced with venom. "They think they can delay the prophecy by burying the flame."
Behind her, a tall figure stepped from the shadows — the Crown Prince of the Air Kingdom.
"Do you want her found?" he asked.
The Seer didn't look at him. Her fingers traced the constellation Ignis — the one that had been dormant for a hundred years.
"She will be found," she whispered. "When the time is right. The heavens are patient."
She turned slowly, eyes glowing silver. "But until then… let the world forget her name."
🌑 Sixteen Years Later…
The Ember Outlands. Wind. Ash. Silence.
On a jagged cliff, a girl stood with arms stretched like wings, a crimson cloak billowing around her.
Her name… was April.
She didn't know she was a queen's daughter.
Didn't know that her birth had sparked a storm in the stars.
But she could feel it.
In the wind.
In her veins.
In the fire that sometimes flickered beneath her skin when her anger rose.
And tonight… it stirred.
🌠 Quote Teaser for Chapter Four:
"When a spark is denied its flame, it becomes an explosion."