The Solis palace shone brighter than the morning sun.
From afar, it looked untouchable. Its white towers cut into the sky, its golden domes threw light across the entire capital, and its walls seemed too perfect to belong to the same world as ordinary people.
But I had grown up within those walls.
And I already knew there were places where light could lie.
My wooden sword cut through the air.
Then a second time.
Then a third.
I started the sequence again from the beginning without stopping. My feet slid slightly over the stone still wet with morning dew. Dawn had only just broken, and the smaller courtyard of the palace was almost empty.
Almost.
"You're still here?"
I didn't stop.
My next swing came faster.
Slow footsteps came down the stairs behind me.
Kian stepped into the courtyard with the easy confidence of someone who had never doubted his place. Even at that hour, his clothes were flawless. Not a single strand of hair out of place. Not a trace of fatigue on his face.
Everything about him said the same thing:
heir.
I, on the other hand, already had red palms from repeating the same movements since dawn.
Kian stopped a few steps away.
I felt his eyes move over my wooden sword, then my hands, then my face.
"You wake up before everyone else for this?"
I kept moving.
"You talk too early."
He let out a short laugh.
"And you don't talk enough."
Silence settled between us again.
In the distance, the palace was slowly waking up. Servants moved beneath the galleries. A bell rang somewhere in the palace. The sky above the white walls was getting brighter.
I raised my guard again.
Kian crossed his arms.
"You can do this every morning if you want. It won't change anything."
I didn't answer.
"You think Father will look at you the same way he looks at the others one day?"
My sword stopped.
Not for long.
Just long enough.
I turned my head slightly.
"I don't need him to look at me."
The lie came out too quickly.
Kian noticed it right away.
"Of course."
He stepped a little closer.
"You can live here. You can carry our name. You can eat at our table."
His voice dropped.
"But deep down, everyone knows what you are."
I looked at him at last.
He held my gaze without any trouble.
"A mistake."
The sound of lighter footsteps crossed the courtyard.
Kian turned his head slightly toward the entrance.
"Vael!"
Eira came running between the columns.
Her hair was badly tied up. One sleeve of her dress had nearly slipped off her shoulder. She was holding a crumpled piece of white cloth in her hands, like she had grabbed it in a hurry from somewhere.
She stopped in front of me and frowned at once.
"Your hands again."
I looked down.
My right palm was split open in two places. Not deep. Just enough to sting.
"It's nothing," I said.
Eira ignored me completely.
She grabbed my hand and started wrapping the cloth around my palm in the most awkward way possible.
Kian watched the scene in silence.
"You spoil him too much."
Eira looked up immediately.
"And you talk too much."
For a second, no one said anything.
Then I felt something close to a smile trying to appear.
Almost.
Kian saw it.
"You should be more careful with the things you care about," he said. "The world doesn't always leave them alone."
Then he turned away and walked back up the stairs without any hurry.
I waited until he was far enough away before looking at the badly wrapped bandage around my hand.
"I don't like him," Eira murmured.
"Neither do I."
She lifted her head, looking satisfied.
"See? I was right."
I let out a quiet breath through my nose. It wasn't really a laugh, but it was close.
Then Eira stepped back to look at the bandage she had just made.
It was crooked. Twisted. Honestly terrible.
"Perfect," she declared.
I looked down at my hand.
"It's ugly."
Eira shrugged.
"Maybe. But at least you're not bleeding anymore."
Before I could answer, another presence entered the courtyard.
No sound was needed. No announcement either.
Mother was already walking toward us.
Her pale dress brushed lightly against the stone. Her face was calm, too calm to reveal anything. But her eyes missed nothing.
They moved over me.
Then over my bandaged hand.
Then over Eira.
"You're awake too early," she said.
Eira straightened at once.
"I wanted to help."
"And did you?"
Eira thought for a second.
"A little."
Mother held out her hand.
Eira understood immediately and moved to stand beside her, almost against her dress.
Then Mother looked at me.
"Show me."
I held out my hand without arguing.
She gently removed the cloth, looked at the small cuts, then took a small bottle from her sleeve. White warmth slid over my skin.
The pain vanished almost at once.
I stayed silent.
She put the bottle away.
"You train too early."
"It's the only quiet hour."
"That is not an answer."
I lowered my eyes a little.
Whenever I stood in front of her, I always had the strange feeling that she could see through me more clearly than anyone else.
She studied me for a few seconds.
"You want to become stronger."
It wasn't a question.
I answered anyway.
"Yes."
"Why?"
This time, I took longer.
Morning light continued to spread across the white columns. It slipped over the stone floor, still damp from the night.
I looked at my hand.
Then I said quietly,
"So that one day, he'll look at me."
Eira lifted her head at once.
Mother, however, did not move.
As if she had always known that answer would come out sooner or later.
"Your father looks more than he shows," she said.
I didn't answer.
Because I only half believed it.
And because the other half hurt even more.
Mother then placed her hand on my head.
The gesture was brief.
But real.
"Never let the absence of someone's gaze decide your worth."
I slowly raised my eyes toward her.
For a second, something tightened in my chest.
Not the Black Heart.
Something else.
Something simple.
Something human.
Then a bell rang in the distance.
It was time for lessons.
Eira jumped.
"I forgot."
"Of course you did," Mother said.
Eira immediately grabbed my free hand.
"Come with me."
"You're only going to slow me down."
"Then slow down elegantly."
This time, I actually let a small smile appear.
Very slight.
Almost invisible.
We crossed the courtyard together, with Eira already tugging at my sleeve as if the whole palace belonged to her.
As we passed beneath the southern arch, I looked up.
On a gallery bathed in light, a figure stood motionless.
Aurek.
The king had one hand resting on the white railing. His gaze was turned toward the courtyard.
Toward us.
Toward me.
I stopped.
Eira kept pulling at my sleeve, not understanding.
Aurek's gaze lasted only a second. Maybe two.
Then he turned away.
Without a word.
Without a gesture.
Without leaving anything behind except that emptiness I had already grown used to.
Eira blinked.
"He saw you."
I kept looking at the now-empty gallery for a moment longer.
Then I started walking again.
"Yes," I said at last.
My voice was calm.
Too calm.
Eira held my hand a little tighter.
And for a reason I could not have explained, I suddenly felt that this day would be different.
Not bad yet.
Not broken yet.
But different.
As if something, somewhere behind the palace walls, had started to move.
As if silence itself were holding its breath.
I lifted my eyes to the sky one last time.
The clouds had already thickened above the white towers.
The sun was still shining.
But much less than it had an hour earlier.