The noon light filtered through the canopy of ethereal trees of the Elven District. It scattered light in fragments of color that could hardly be named. Lyssara walked through the elven streets with the confidence of a tour guide. Her steps were silent on the polished white stone. Her attire was practical, fitted leathers dyed in muted forest tones. At her side, Princess Seraphine moved with a lighter rhythm, her curiosity shining with the intensity of the sun.

  They had spent several days in the Hallows already. Long enough for awe to fade, but it still gripped them.

  Seraphine stopped to watch a pair of elven children tending a glowing orchard tree. The fruits pulsed softly with light, ripening in seconds rather than months. The child reached up, plucked one.

  The Princess smiled. “The agriculture here is astounding. Entire ecosystems are growing in harmony. Completely self-sustaining. If the Empire could replicate even a fraction of this—” she paused, wonder coloring her voice—“it would change everything. Our poorest provinces could feed themselves for generations.”

  Lyssara’s expression softened, though her thoughts drifted elsewhere. “They built their roots in blood and barter, not charity,” she said quietly. “But yes, it is… remarkable.”

  Seraphine turned to her, a teasing lilt in her tone. “Oh, don’t look so grim. You sound like Cassian when he’s cornered in the council chamber.” She resumed walking, boots clicking softly against the smooth stone. “Besides, I hear the Dwarven District is just as impressive. The technology there… the gears and machinery—they practically hum with life! I’d wager my brother Kaelith will have to be dragged away kicking and screaming.” She ughed. “He looked like a child in a toy shop.”

  Lyssara couldn’t help but smile. “Prince Kaelith always did have an appetite for destruction,” she said. “Now he can indulge it productively.”

  Seraphine managed to pry her gaze from her surroundings and looked towards her companion. She saw the faint smile on the edge of her lips. “You’ve gotten stronger. I can feel it. But you've only been here a few months.”

  Lyssara nodded and spread her hands out.

  “There’s something in the air here,” she said. “I can’t quite expin it." As she spoke, raw Vaylora began to wrap itself around her fingers. Its aquamarine light flowed like water around her hand. And with a simple motion of her hand, it faded away.

  "The Vaylora here is thicker, more moldable. Yet freer. I reach out, and it’s there; I call for it, and it answers without hesitation. And the libraries…” Her eyes brightened with a childlike gleam. “They’re endless. I lose hours in their tomes. It takes everything in my might to pull myself away from them.”

  “I’m gd to see that you finally seem happy.” Seraphine smiled warmly.

  Lyssara's smile faded, and the corner of her lips struggled to find it again. “I won’t truly be happy until the Caelthorne name is restored.”

  The words hung in the air like a festering wound. Seraphine’s smile faltered. “You just need to be patient.“

  Seraphine looked off into the distance toward the Clock Face Tower and said, "Once Cassian takes the throne, your family will be pced back where it belongs again.”

  “Then why not now? Everyone can see the injustice of what happened to the Caelthornes. The Emperor can reinstate us with a word. So why must we wait?” Lyssara asked softly.

  The Princess stopped walking. For a moment, the warmth she had in her eyes for Lyssara vanished entirely. The air around Seraphine grew heavy. Lyssara could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand. She focused a swallow as she was locked in on by Seraphine's gre.

  “I care for you deeply, Lyssara, you know this,” she said.

  “But you will not doubt my father’s decisions in my presence.”

  Lyssara bowed quickly, head low. “My apologies, Your Highness.”

  Seraphine’s gaze lingered, assessing, before softening slightly.

  “What happened to your family was abominable,” she scoffed, “especially after their service to the Ashen Throne." Seraphine pced her hand on Lyssara's shoulder,

  "You've been my most trusted ally for years. You have seen how the Empire works. You know the ways of us who are born from ash.”

  Lyssara raised her eyes just enough to meet hers. “Yes. Strength is all that matters.”

  “Correct.” The Princess’s tone was firm.

  “And though your family was exceptionally powerful, for a time. They cked a fundamental and crucial strength. They could not navigate the times. That failure was weakness, and The Ashen Throne does not reward weakness.”

  Lyssara said nothing. The words stung, but they were true. Her silence spoke volumes; her eyes lowered, not in submission but in restraint.

  Seraphine sighed, the tension easing slightly. She reached out and touched Lyssara’s cheek, lifting her chin gently. “That’s why you must do everything in your power to prove your strength. Cassian and Selene seem to have great use for you. So make yourself indispensable.”

  Lyssara forced a smile. “Of course, my Princess.”

  Seraphine’s expression softened again. She smiled and pced her hands on her hips, and chuckled awkwardly. “Good. I’m sorry. It seems I've soured the mood.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Lyssara said, recovering her tone with practiced grace. She looked up at the noon sun peering through the canopy.

  "The sun is high, and the day is just going to get hotter. This is a perfect time for a swim to lift our moods.

  The Princess blinked. “A swim?”

  Lyssara grabbed Seraphine's hand with a smile and began to run, “You’ll see.”

  Seraphine, after being guided by Lyssara, quickly found herself in the 7-8 District. The Leviathan District was unlike anything Seraphine had ever seen. Shops sold coral jewelry and pearls, like snacks at a vendor. There was strange but alluring seafood being eaten.

  The center of the District opens up like a giant basin. There were several rge pools, surrounded by cliffs and structures carved from coral. Large limestone slides, slick with magic, water, and ughter. All manner of people, humans, elves, dwarves, scaled and finned beings, they all spshed, shouted, and ughed together.

  Seraphine’s jaw nearly dropped. “By the Ash… It’s enormous.”

  Lyssara chuckled. “These are public baths that the locals py in. The locals call this ‘Leviathan's Nest.’ Some of the water is drawn from the stream beneath the city, and some from the harbor. But most are created with magic.”

  Certainly, the water was a spectacle, but what surprised her even more was the people.

  Men and women, human and non-human alike, basked in the light. Bare skin gleamed in the sun, and the delicate shimmer of scales caught the eye like jewelry. A pair of Leviathans stretched along the pool’s edge, their bodies human aside from their blue and purple hue. They rippled with muscles no human could hope to have naturally.

  Seraphine blinked in disbelief, catching herself staring too long, her cheeks faintly pink. “My word… it certainly is a free city.”

  Lyssara’s ugh was light, teasing. “Please. You and I have had our fair share of freedom. How many times did we ‘inspect’ the royal kes at midnight?”

  “That's different. There were only our eyes there.” Seraphin protested.

  Lyssara only grinned and grabbed her hand. “Come on. You’ll need proper attire.”

  A short while ter, the two returned. For the first time, Princess Seraphine stood without the shackle of courtly garb. She wore a two-piece bathing suit that left precious little to the imagination. Her body was toned by years of training and battle. Small scars were painted across her abdomen and arms. She was not ashamed of these scars, no, she wore them like priceless accessories.

  Her hair, like all Valenfor children, was a deep bck color. Her dark waves hung loose around her shoulders. Her eyes were a gcial blue.

  Everywhere she passed, eyes followed. Humans and Monsters alike were captivated by her beauty and her commanding aura. Seraphine took in their stares like a monarch taking tribute. It wasn't a surprise; it was to be expected of those beneath her.

  Lyssara sighed, amused. “You’re enjoying this a little too much.”

  "I'm simply giving my all to partake in this cultural exchange." Seraphine smiled.

  With a sudden burst of energy, Seraphine seized Lyssara’s hand. “Come on! I will get my fill of you today before I lose you to the tomes again!”

  Lyssara ughed as she was pulled along in her modest one-piece swimsuit.

  They had forgotten themselves for a while. They pyed in the water until their bodies began to prune, flirted until they grew bored, and ughed until their bellies hurt.

  The sun began its slow descent. Lyssara and Seraphine sat beneath a white canopy, ptes of roasted fish, and the view of a setting sun on the distant harbor.

  The Princess leaned back. “I never imagined a pce like this could exist,” she said.

  Lyssara followed her gaze. “You haven't seen anything yet. And it seems the Ash has always known the truth.”

  Seraphine chuckled. “What do you mean?”

  "A pce like this can only exist because of the power that sleeps here," Lyssara said. Seraphine nodded her head in agreement, and her eyes began to drift toward a cliff. There was a group of children on that polished cliff. Most of them are very obvious, the numerous children of Emperor Rhydan. Others were non-humans. They spshed and tumbled into the pools below without care for their own safety. So clearly they were Rhydan's brood. Standing at the base of the cliff next to the Pools, Selene, in her own bathing suit, watched the children py. She seemed very rexed while watching them throw themselves from cliffs high enough to give an adult pause. But her sights never drifted away from them.

  Seraphine’s gaze lingered. “What do you make of her?”

  Lyssara turned her head in Seraphine's line of sight. “Selene?”

  “Yes. That little witch who seems to have my little brother wrapped around her finger.”

  Lyssara sat in silence for a moment,

  “I don’t quite know what to make of her yet. She’s… cautious. Cagey, even with me, and I’m supposed to work closely with her. But she’s determined, frightfully logical... And sensitive,” she answered carefully.

  “Sensitive?” Seraphine raised a brow. “You can’t mean her.”

  Lyssara smiled faintly. “Not that kind of sensitivity. It's... hmmmm." Lyssara tried to find the words to describe the feeling that Selene gave her.

  "She's... aware... too aware." Lyssara looked at Selene.

  "The people, their concerns, the tension between them. Their feeling of excitement, unease, and disappointment. She carries it all... the good, the bad. Even if she pretends she doesn't.”

  Seraphine made a thoughtful sound, half-doubt, half-intrigue. “I see. Sounds like a fine Empress. Especially for an Emperor as flipant as my brother.”

  Lyssara let out a small chuckle.

  The light had begun to fade, and with it came a ripple through the crowd. Two royal guards hurried down the steps toward their table, armor clinking softly.

  “Your Highness!” one called, breathless. “You must come at once.”

  Seraphine straightened immediately. “What’s happened?”

  “An altercation, my dy. In the Five-Four District.” The guard’s tone was tight, measured. “Priests from the Sanctum. There’s been… an incident. They’ve come into conflict with several citizens.”

  Seraphine’s expression hardened. “What in the hells are they thinking?”

  The guard hesitated. “An Archbishop has involved himself. We were told to retrieve you immediately.”

  Across the pools, Selene had a Lycan reporting the same situation to her. She turned her head, and even at this distance, her eyes met Seraphine’s. The look they shared was brief, a wordless understanding.

  Selene exhaled softly, rubbing her temple.

  Seraphine quickly stood. “Come on,” she said to Lyssara. “Cassian’s still in the Accord talks, and Kaelith’s buried under Dwarven toys. If anyone’s going to deal with this, it’s us.”

  Lyssara rose. They gnced toward Selene, who was already striding toward the District's exit, the lycan at her side.

  The city that had glimmered so bright only moments ago now felt colder, quieter. The ughter in the air had thinned to whispers.