Chapter 1
Elaria’s POV
The morning sun filtered through the cracked shutters of the Veyra cottage, painting the wooden floor in stripes of gold. I balanced a basket of apples on my hip, humming to myself as I moved about the kitchen. I had always been graceful, though I never thought much of it; my adoptive mother used to say I moved like “water poured from silver.”
The town of Brindlebrook was quiet, tucked at the edge of the mortal world where nothing remarkable ever happened. Or so everyone believed. I had always felt like something didn’t quite fit — the way strangers sometimes stared at me too long, or how I could silence an argument with just a smile. People whispered that I had luck in my blood, though I laughed it off.
It wasn’t luck. Deep down, I knew it.
As I leaned over to light the stove, a sound outside broke the morning calm — the faint thump of something landing at the door. Frowning, I wiped my hands and opened the door.
A letter lay on the threshold. No messenger in sight. No horse tracks. Just the envelope, sealed with black wax stamped in the shape of a crown entwined with thorns.
My name was written across the front in sweeping violet ink:
Elaria Veyra.
My breath caught. Nobody ever wrote my full name like that.
I bent down and picked it up. The parchment hummed faintly, almost alive beneath my fingertips. I turned it over, tracing the seal before breaking it. The wax dissolved into glittering dust, scattering into the air like starlight.
Inside was a letter written in the same violet ink:
To Elaria Veyra,
You have been selected to attend theAcademy of Aeternum, where only those of high bloodlines and exceptional promise may tread. Your presence has been noted, your potential undeniable. Report to the gates at dusk on the seventh day. Bring nothing but your courage.
— By decree of the Council of Crowns
I blinked, rereading it.
Aeternum? I had heard whispers of such a place, but only in tavern tales — a school for princes and princesses, heirs and legends. Not for a girl who lived in a drafty cottage, whose parents were farmers.
I laughed aloud, as if someone were playing a cruel prank. “Right. Me, with the royals. I’d fit in like a sheep at a wolf hunt.”
But the parchment pulsed softly in my hand, as if disagreeing.
Behind me, the hearth fire sputtered. A flame leapt higher than it should have, twisting into a flickering shape of wings before dying back down. My eyes widened.
Not the first time my emotions had made strange things happen — a flower blooming in my palm, whispers in the wind that answered my thoughts, lights dancing in the night sky when I was upset. I had always hidden it, fearing people would call me cursed.
Now, the letter seemed to be calling me out.
My adoptive father entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. “Ellie? What’s that you’ve got?”
I shoved the letter behind my back too quickly. “Nothing. Just… a flyer.”
But my heart raced. I knew this wasn’t just a flyer. It was a summons. An invitation to a world I was never meant to know — or maybe one I was always destined for.
For the rest of the day, I tried to ignore it. Tried to tell myself I didn’t care. But when night fell, I found myself staring at the letter again, the violet ink glowing faintly in the moonlight.
And though my parents’ voices echoed in my head — the warnings to stay safe, to live quietly — my fingers itched to reach for destiny.
On the seventh day, I would.
I didn’t sleep that night. The letter from the Academy of Aeternum burned like a brand beneath my pillow, every word etched into my mind. When dawn finally painted the cottage in gold, I sat at the dining table, waiting, twisting my necklace anxiously then letting it fall cool against my skin.
My parents shuffled in, yawning, expecting their usual cheerful daughter. Instead, they found me pale, tense, and holding the violet-sealed parchment.
“Ellie?” my mother asked softly, brushing stray strands of golden-brown hair from my face. “What’s wrong?”
I placed the letter on the table. The parchment shimmered faintly, even in the weak morning light. “I got this yesterday.”
My father picked it up, squinting. His expression froze.
“You know what it is,” I whispered. It wasn’t a question. “Don’t you?”
My parents exchanged a look — the kind that carried years of unspoken truth. Then my mother sat down heavily, folding her hands as if in prayer.
“Elaria,” she began, her voice trembling. “We always knew this day might come. You were never ours to keep, not really.”
My stomach twisted. “What do you mean, not yours?”
My father rubbed his brow, sighing deeply. “We found you, Ellie. The night a storm tore through Brindlebrook. We heard crying by the old oak grove. And there you were, wrapped in a blanket finer than anything this village has ever seen. A necklace around your neck. A letter tucked beside you.”
I blinked, my throat dry. “You… never told me.”
My mother’s eyes filled with tears. “We wanted to protect you. The letter said it was dangerous to let anyone know who you really were.” She rose, crossing the room to a small carved chest. From within, she drew out a piece of fabric — midnight blue silk, embroidered with silver threads in patterns that seemed to shift like starlight.
I touched it reverently. I’d never seen anything so exquisite.
My father placed another object on the table — a folded letter, yellowed with age, the edges worn soft from careful handling.
My hands shook as I opened it. The handwriting was elegant, flowing like music.
My dearest daughter,
If you are reading this, then fate has stolen me from you too soon. You are born of the Moonfire Court, last daughter of our line. You must live hidden, for there are those who would see our blood extinguished forever.
The necklace we place upon you is no trinket. It carries glamour woven in love and sacrifice. While it rests against your skin, your true nature will be cloaked. To mortal eyes, you are human. To fae, you are muted — your power dampened, your bloodline veiled. It is the only way to keep you safe until you are ready.
Remember this, little star: beauty and power will tempt you, but kindness and courage will define you. The world may one day need you to rise. And when that time comes… trust the light in your heart. It will guide you home.
With eternal love,Your Mother, Queen Seraphyne of Moonfire
The words blurred as my tears spilled onto the page. I clutched the necklace at my throat, the one I’d always thought was just a simple silver chain with a moonstone pendant. Now, it seemed to pulse against my palm, as if acknowledging the truth.
“I… I’m not just—” My voice cracked. “I’m not who I thought I was.”
My father placed a hand on mine, calloused and steady. “You’ll always be our daughter, Ellie. Nothing changes that.”
My mother wiped her eyes and smiled faintly. “But now you know why the Academy calls for you. They see what’s beneath the glamour. They know your bloodline.”
I swallowed hard, the weight of destiny pressing down on my shoulders. For years, I’d wondered why I felt different. Why my laughter charmed strangers into trust. Why flowers bloomed where I walked.
Now I knew.
I wasn’t just different.I was dangerous.I was royalty.
And the Academy of Aeternum wanted me.
