Astelion POV
The scent of melted butter, fresh berries, and porridge drifted into my senses long before I opened my eyes. I shifted under the heavy linen sheets, the soft morning light warming my face as a low, rumbling laugh vibrated next to my ear.
I blinked my eyes open to find Kiono sitting beside me, propped up against the pillows with a massive wooden tray balanced precariously on his lap. Behind him, through the cracked door of the washroom, the gentle hiss of rising steam and the fragrant scent of oils told me a hot bath had already been drawn.
"Good morning, my love," he murmured, his eyes soft and entirely consumed with just me.
We ate together right there in the center of the unmade bed, sharing pieces of fruit and laughing between bites like two ordinary people who didn't have the fate of a kingdom resting on their shoulders. For a few beautiful, fleeting minutes, the impending doom of the Choosing Festival was locked outside.
We talked about the future not the one written in blood and ash, but a quiet, dream nestled deep within these snow-covered peaks.
"A boy and a girl," Kiono said, his voice dropping into a warm, deeply affectionate tone as his hand slid over my hip beneath the sheets.
"A daughter with your stubbornness, and a son to help me look after you." He leaned in close, a wicked, low smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as his thumb traced a slow circle over my lower abdomen.
"You know, if we want to hit that goal, I could start filling you up right now."
"Absolutely not!" I gasped, a bright flush rising to my cheeks. I laughed, swatting his hand away before scrambling out from under the covers.
"We have places to be, Captain!"
I bolted into the steaming bathroom before he could catch me, his deep, echoing laughter trailing behind me.
Forty minutes later, the warmth had been tucked away beneath structured lines and military discipline. We were both dressed, and our masks firmly back in place.
Leaving the snowy mountain cabin behind, we didn't use the hidden trails. Kiono took my hand, and together we uncoiled our telekinetic currents, lifting seamlessly off the porch and launching into the crisp morning sky.
The wind whipped through my hair as we soared high above the peaks, the world below shrinking into a tapestry of white and green. Halfway to our destination, suspended in the weightless slipstream between the mountains and the valley, Kiono pulled me flush against his chest. We shared a sweet, lingering kiss in the open air a silent, desperate anchor before the storm.
I dropped down into the secluded palace courtyard first, smoothing down my uniform before hurrying through the rear doors into the kitchens.
Dozens of maids, cooks, and scullery boys were sprinting between the hearths, shouting over the roar of boiling copper pots and stacking silver trays. Everything was being prepared for the grand choosing ceremony tomorrow.
I moved toward a wooden counter to begin prepping a crate of root vegetables, my ears automatically tuning into the frantic gossip of the high-born maids working beside me.
"I heard the dress arriving from the capital is lined with actual pearl dust," one whispered, aggressively wiping down a silver platter.
"It doesn't matter what she wears," another retorted, rolling her eyes. "We all know who the king's eyes are on. Which of the council's daughters do you actually think stands a chance against *her*?"
A chorus of murmured agreements rippled through the line. "It's obvious. Everyone is saying it's going to be Eina."
The name hit my ears like a drop of freezing water, a strange, hollow echo vibrating in my chest. I paused, turning toward Lilly as she passed by with a stack of clean linens. "Lilly," I called out, keeping my voice low. "Who is Eina?"
Lilly stopped, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, and looked at me like I had lost my mind. "You don't know? Eina is the high lady of the Council's inner circle. She's Cion's daughter."
The wicker basket of food slid from my fingers. It hit the stone floor with a loud, echoing crash, scattering root vegetables across the damp masonry. The chaotic noise of the kitchen completely faded into a dead, ringing silence in my ears.
Cion!
My mind screamed, the name tearing through my brain like a rusted blade.
Hate, black and suffocating, rose in the back of my throat. It was instantly followed by a sickening wave of profound sadness, disgust, and absolute disbelief.
"A daughter."
In this timeline, Cion was a monster whose blood belonged on my hands a man whose legacy was built on the butchery of my future. The horrific reality that he had a child in the past, a daughter who was currently standing on the precipice of becoming Castel's queen, fractured my understanding of this world completely.
"Astelion? Astelion, breathe!"
Lilly's hands clamped onto my shoulders, shaking me. The blurred faces of the kitchen staff slowly snapped back into focus. I tore myself away from her grip, my stomach turning violently as the room began to spin.
Without throwing a single word of explanation over my shoulder, I bolted out of the kitchen and sprinted down the narrow service hallway, throwing open the door to the small servant washroom. I dropped to my knees before the porcelain basin, dry-heaving as bile and pure panic burned the back of my throat.
I have to kill him.
The thought clawed at the inside of my skull.
In order for anyone to have a happy ending... in order for Kiono and me to survive... I have to find a way to eliminate Cion in this timeline
A soft, rhythmic knock rattled against the wooden door. I forced myself up, wiping my mouth with the back of my trembling hand as the latch clicked open.
Miracle stood at the door. Without a word, she stepped inside and gently pressed a cool cup of water into my hands.
"Thank you," my voice hollow as I took a desperate sip, the cold liquid grounding the fire in my chest.
Miracle didn't step back. Instead, she tilted her head, her strange, knowing eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made the hair on my arms stand up.
Slowly, deliberately, she reached out and placed her palm flat against my stomach.
"You don't belong here," Miracle whispered, her voice carrying a chilling, melodic resonance that felt entirely detached from mortality. Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of my uniform.
"Your presence is dragging the wrong tide into this time. You must return to your own time, Astelion... don't have a child here, you must go back before it is too late."
A cold dread locked my joints in place. Before I could find my voice to demand how she knew I was not from this time and what child a soft, beautiful smile broke across
Miracle's face. She dropped her hand, turned on her heel, and walked out into the corridor, her quiet footsteps fading instantly into the chaotic hum of the palace, leaving me alone with the ticking countdown of a dying universe.