Chapter Seven
Beware the girl who craves acclaim
The hungry heart still bleeds the same
Seren knew the group would fracture.
She knew there was no way to keep everyone together without the cost being the future of the realms.
So she prepared. Because being unprepared has never been a luxury she could afford. Just as she always does. While everyone else has their gaze fixed on maps, relics, or the Stars, Seren casts hers to information. The next move. The clever strategy. It’s where she has always found her footing.
“I’m the only one who can Gateway us around. I need to know if you need me. We can’t rely on safe passage on ships, and we can’t risk the time it would take to sail to each other, anyway,” Seren announces, proud and sure and unwavering.
She reaches for her satchel, rummaging through it, until a pile of leather straps emerge, clutched in her fist.
“I bound these,” she begins, opening her palm to reveal a small stone dangling from the end of the leather strap.
She passes them around the table. “Each amulet has been bound by a spell that connects them all. As long as you are wearing it, we will be connected. If you need something, simply hold the stone in your palm, and send your message through your thoughts. Be sure to direct it toward someone. If you don’t—it could go anywhere. ”
Seren finishes, lifting her honey-gold gaze to the room, and sees countless eyes lingering on her, gobsmacked, mouths agape.
Finally.
“What?” she asks, tucking a stray curl behind her ear awkwardly.
No one fills the silence.
Elyssara loops the leather strap over her neck.
Then Teddy.
Kael.
And one by one, seven stone amulets hang from the necks of the Fallen.
Elyssara breaks the silence with barely more than a breath. “How?”
Seren’s chest blooms with warmth. Not just pride—relief. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned to love, it’s being underestimated and coming out victorious.
A smug smile grows on her face.
“If Nymeris can create advanced messenger systems that work instantly, I knew I could figure out how. Turns out, the witches already knew.” She taps her satchel where the Lunar Codex lives.
“A binding spell and a stone to tie it to, and we have our very own messenger system that can’t be broken by magic. ” She imbues the words with conviction.
They’ll never underestimate her again. Never mistake her for something smaller than she is.
“My word,” Elandor murmurs, shocked and awed.
But she ignores him. Save the fanfare, Seren wants impact—applause fades, power doesn’t. Or maybe, just once, she wants to be the one they fear.
“Try it,” she urges.
Ronyn slaps his palm on the table. “I’ll go first!”
He closes his eyes, wrapping the stone in his palm. Silence fills the room for one heart.
Two.
“Holy fucking Stars, Ronyn!” Jax snaps, shoving him in the shoulder. “Enough about the fucking tail!”
Seren giggles at Ronyn’s insufferable and endless jokes.
It worked. It fucking worked.
And for one single heartbeat, it feels like enough.
Teddy presses a kiss to her head. “You are brilliant.”
She internalizes the pride, because softness has never protected her—it kept her fragile, idealistic, locked away from reality. For once, she needs them to see something else.
Not a little girl doing something brilliant.
Not a rare moment of growth.
Not a helpful contribution.
She needs them to see her power. Needs them to remember it.
Her gaze drags across the room, and for the first time, no one interrupts her, no one doubts her. And the realization settles somewhere deep in her chest.
“You cannot take them off. If they’re not on your body, they will not work. If you need me to Gateway you, ask, and I will come,” she says, but this time, her voice pitches low and ominous. Serious. “I will always come.”
Kael stands from his seat, brow furrowed and severe. He trains his gaze on Seren, his ocean-lightning eyes pinning her in place. She fights the urge to look away. To cower. Instead, she sits up straight, tilts her chin up ever so slightly.
“Seren, thank you. This is… extraordinary.” Kael’s words are clipped, strained. It feels… wrong. Like he means it, but it costs him.
But he doesn’t linger, just spins on his heel, pushes through the doors, and disappears down the hallways of Elarion Castle.
Seren watches him disappear down the hall, and for the first time, she wonders if Kael is becoming something none of them know how to save.