Chapter 6: Sigil Of Stars

The night air in Vareth had grown strange.

It pulsed—alive with something unseen.

Aeris sat alone in the garden behind Maela's cottage, knees hugged to her chest. The grass, dry and silvered by starlight, brushed her ankles like something stirring awake.

Then it began.

A low, burning heat ignited in her palm.

She gasped as it bloomed—sharp, bright. Pain flared—searing, not like a wound, but a brand. A claiming.

Her heart stammered. Her fingers trembled.

The world around her fell silent, as if even the trees held their breath.

She held her hand up to the moonlight—and froze.

A sigil. Five sharp points, radiant and alive, glowing beneath her skin. It pulsed like a heartbeat, golden light spiraling outward in slow, steady waves.

But something else came with it.

A whisper not her own.

A scent—smoke and metal.

A flickering flash of a man's silhouette, tall, dark-haired, eyes burning gold.

Not a memory. Not a dream.

She didn't know him. But the mark pulsed harder when he appeared.

Aeris gasped aloud.

"Mira!"

Footsteps pounded. Mira ran from the doorway, braid swaying, eyes wide. "What—?"

She stopped cold. "By the stars..."

The light curled around Aeris's fingers. The wind shifted. Fireflies rose from the brush like sparks, drawn to the glow. The garden bowed around her.

Then Maela stepped outside.

And for the first time in years, Aeris saw fear on her face.

"No," Maela breathed. "Not yet. Not now."

"What is it?" Aeris asked, voice hoarse. "What's happening to me?"

Maela dropped to her knees, took Aeris's hand gently. Her fingers trembled.

"It's the sign," she said. "The one they said would never appear again."

Aeris stared at the mark. "The prophecy?"

Maela nodded. "The flame reborn. The sigil of stars."

The trees rustled though there was no wind. The fireflies did not scatter.

Mira whispered, "Even the garden knows you."

Aeris felt it—something ancient unfurling inside her, rising to meet the light. It terrified her.

"Why me?" she whispered.

Maela looked past her, toward the eastern sky. "Because I've seen this before. On another girl's hand. She was brave. Too brave."

Her voice turned brittle.

"She didn't live long enough to become what she was meant to be."

"What happened to her?" Aeris asked, barely breathing.

Maela's jaw clenched. "She was hunted. By those who feared her. And by those who once claimed to love her."

Mira moved closer, gently wrapping a shawl around Aeris's shoulders—but her hand brushed Aeris's arm.

For a moment, Mira flinched. Her fingertips shimmered faintly. The mark on Aeris's palm flickered in response.

Aeris stared. "You felt that?"

Mira looked away too fast. "It's nothing. Just heat."

Maela's eyes narrowed slightly. "Mira—"

But Mira stood. "We should get inside. Before the others feel it."

Aeris didn't move. The sigil glowed steady in her palm.

"Someone's coming," she whispered.

---

That night, the village elders gathered within the old stone circle by the cliffs—where ancient laws were once spoken beneath the moonlight.

They believed they were alone.

They weren't.

Aeris crouched behind the mossy garden wall, Mira beside her. The stone chilled her fingers, but the sigil on her palm glowed faintly—a quiet protest, a whisper of light that refused to fade.

Above them, perched silently in the shadows of the trees, a black-winged hawk watched.

Its eyes glinted—too intelligent. Too still.

Inside the circle, voices rose:

"I felt it," Elder Tavir said. "The magic. She bears it."

"It's the mark," another snapped. "Starborn. Just like the stories."

"So Seraphina's child lives."

Aeris's breath caught. The name cracked something in her chest.

The mark on her hand flared—sharp, golden, too bright. Mira clutched her wrist, dragging her farther into shadow.

"You have to dim it," Mira whispered.

"I can't."

"She's dangerous," an elder muttered. "If Talien finds her—"

"He already knows," came a new voice—steely and cold.

Maela.

She stepped into the ring, cloak trailing behind her like smoke.

"You were meant to protect her," Tavir snapped.

"I have." Her gaze didn't waver. "But the flame doesn't ask permission before it burns."

"She could doom us," another barked.

"She could save us," Maela replied. "If she's given a chance."

"To do what?" spat a voice. "Burn Vareth down in her sleep?"

"She's not her mother."

"Isn't she?"

Maela's voice dropped. "You already made that mistake once. You feared Seraphina. And you let that fear decide her fate."

A long silence followed.

Mira's eyes glittered. She leaned toward Aeris and whispered, "The temple they took me from… it had girls like you."

Aeris blinked. "You said you just wandered here."

"I did," Mira said. "But not before I ran."

Far from Vareth, in a cave choked with dust and firelight, Riven stirred.

Pain lanced down his side like a jagged blade.

Kael crouched nearby, sharpening a long dagger. "You're awake."

Syrina sat by the entrance, back to the fire, her eyes shadowed.

"You nearly bled out," she said, tone flat.

Riven pushed himself upright with a grunt. "There was… someone."

Kael frowned. "What?"

"A girl. She touched me. She healed me."

"You were unconscious," Syrina said, finally turning.

"I saw her," Riven said. "Not in a dream. I felt her. Her voice. Her hand."

He pulled open his tunic.

There—etched above his heart—was the sigil. Five faint, glowing points. Flickering like embers. Not stable. Not fading.

Kael swore. "What is that?"

"She did it. She left it in me."

Syrina stood slowly. "You think she's Starborn?"

"I think she's real."

He exhaled sharply.

"She's pulling me east."

Syrina's eyes narrowed. "So we follow a whisper now? A stranger's mark?"

"You don't have to believe it," Riven said. "I do."

The sigil suddenly flared—only when he spoke her name aloud.

"Aeris," he murmured.

The light shimmered, brightening.

Kael stepped back slightly.

Syrina's mouth tightened. "You saw her once. And now she owns you?"

"She doesn't own me," Riven snapped. "But something ties us."

Kael looked between them. "So what do we do?"

"We find her," Riven said. "Before someone else does."

He didn't know why—but the pull wouldn't let him go.

Syrina looked away. But Kael caught the flicker of hurt in her eyes.

And he said nothing.

Back in Vareth, beneath the hush of stars, Aeris sat on the cottage steps.

The sigil had dimmed—but not died.

It beat softly in her palm, answering something far away.

The night smelled of lavender and smoke. Her mind replayed the flash—the man with golden eyes. The echo of his pain.

"Do you see me now, Mother?" she whispered. "Am I what you feared… or what you hoped I'd be?"

The wind curled around her like a whisper.

Mira stepped out, carrying a blanket.

"You should rest."

"I don't think I can."

Mira sat beside her. "You're not alone."

Aeris looked at her.

"Did you know her?" she asked. "My mother."

Mira hesitated. "I… knew of her. And the fire she carried. The fear it caused."

"She wasn't a monster."

"No," Mira said. "She was light. And like all light, they wanted to control her… or snuff it out."

Aeris looked up at the stars. "They'll come for me."

"Yes," Mira said softly. "But this time… maybe they'll find something waiting."

---

Far across the dunes, on a cliff above the desert, Riven stood shirtless under the stars.

The mark on his chest pulsed strong now—surer. Brighter. Answering.

His fingers brushed it.

He didn't know what she was. Or what they were.

But he knew this: she had changed something in him.

He closed his eyes.

"I'm coming," he said.

In a fortress of pale stone, high above a desert ravine, Talien sat before a fire.

A raven landed on the windowsill.

Its eyes glowed faintly.

Talien rose, took the scroll from its leg, and broke the seal.

A single line.

The flame has stirred. In Vareth.

He smiled—slow and

sharp.

"At last."