The soldiers around them were poised to strike. Kelix's hand lifted automatically, lightning simmering just above his palm. "Stay behind me," he murmured. But Idalia only grinned.

  "Behind you? Pfft." Her claws flexed, aura bristling gold and wild. "They look fun!"

  Before either side could move, a sharper presence sliced through the tension. A girl. The girl's presence was graceful; her voice cold and commanding.

  "Hold fire." The soldiers froze. From the far end of the deck, a pale light of petals and mana resolved itself into a figure stepping through the parting crowd. It was Vestella! To Idalia, she was exactly as remembered, yet impossibly different. Her silver hair was woven into a complex bun, jade pins glinting between strands. Robes of pale rose and white silk glittered like embroidered constellations; and a folded fan of shiny wood rested in her hand, catching light with each step.

  Even Kelix, whose composure was rarely shaken, murmured under his breath, "She's nobility… young at that with command attire. That's… old-world Wanderan design."

  To Idalia, though, all that translated differently to one thing. "Pretty! Flow-y! Fancy-smelling!" Her ears perked and claws retracted automatically. She bounced forward, yowling, "Vestella!"

  The girl's eyes softened as if the compliment was the first real thing spoken all day. As she passed, Vestella's soldiers bowed instantly. Her expression was calm, unreadable but her eyes, when they found Idalia, were warm with something like awe.

  "…You've grown," Vestella said quietly.

  Idalia's preened, almost proud. "Mhm! I eat lots!"

  Vestella's lips twitched in amusement, but her gaze lingered. "And your eyes…" She tilted her head, fanning herself once as if to think. "They've changed. The irises… rotational pattern, eightfold symmetry… How curious."

  Kelix raised a brow. "You mean her ocular resonance?"

  Vestella nodded. "Similar to the Oculus-Domaistral Scope, the astral gene the old texts describe. When she looks at me, it's as if the stars themselves turn."

  [Knowledge Core [D]: 21% → 25%]

  Idalia blinked, clearly missing the significance. "Is that bad?" she asked, wagging her tail. "They still see fine!"

  Vestella smiled faintly behind her fan. "It's beautiful."

  "Thank you! I didn't do anything though—oh! It's been so long!" Idalia bounced a step forward, steps clicking against the floor. "You still smell like flowers and food!"

  Gasps rippled through the guards. Weapons tilted up.

  Before Idalia could pounce Vestella, a figure stepped between them. A woman in Wanderan combat regalia, her hair tied in two massive puff-balls streaked with purple braids. Her eyes burned faintly with internal mana.

  She moved with perfect stillness, the way Kelix did when suppressing his power. Her presence hit like a sharp, heavy storm front… yet eerily familiar.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Idalia's mind flashed through her early memories. She hissed softly, "The hidden guard!" She froze, nostrils flaring, then her fur bristled. "You—!" she hissed, crouching low. "You smell like him, too!"

  The woman's brow arched. "Excuse me? I don't stink like that boy."

  Kelix tensed behind Idalia, lightning crawling up his silhouette. "She's not wrong."

  Idalia turned to him. "You recognize her?"

  "Not personally." He eyed the puff-braided woman with wary familiarity. "But I know what she is."

  The woman's lips curved in a restrained, knowing smile. Kelix continued. "An Apexial."

  Vestella's soldiers stiffened at the word, and even Idalia's ears perked in confusion. However, Vestella herself lowered her fan slightly. "Captain Rhaya. Stand down."

  The woman, Rhaya, didn't move, but her eyes lidded slightly in assessment. "Vestella, this one's readings match—"

  "I said stand down."

  Rhaya, as she was called, exhaled softly, hand resting on a long net-staff strapped across her back. Her eyes lingered on Idalia and Kelix, assessing, measuring, as if reading the battlefield in microseconds. She huffed admiringly. "Eh, this is unfair, Vestella. My blood boils before these two and you're killing my vibe."

  Kelix's tone was calm, but there was a sharp undertone beneath it. "That's because you're like me, aren't you? Apexial."

  Rhaya's eyes flicked toward him, unimpressed. "One of the failed ascendants?"

  Kelix's smile was dry. "Still breathing, so I'd say 'partial success.'"

  Idalia blinked between them, confused but interested. "Ape…xial?" she echoed, tilting her head. "You mean weird-lightning-souls?"

  The runes flashed, buzzing within her skull.

  [Knowledge Core [D]: 25% → 31%]

  "Close enough," Kelix muttered.

  While Vestella's gaze lingered on the two of them, Idalia noticed the faint arcs of power between Rhaya's aura and Kelix's, twin storms humming in quiet resonance. Then she heard Vestella snap her fan open with a soft whuff, her voice smooth and decisive.

  "Enough. None of you will harm them."

  Every guard bowed again, visors dipping. When they did, Vestella stepped forward, her robes fluttering off the floor like silk water. Once she reached Idalia, she smiled a small, genuine one, but one with the weight of something unspoken behind it.

  "I never thought we'd meet again like this, little Idalia."

  Idalia's ears flicked. "Not little! Bigger now!"

  "Indeed," Vestella murmured. "And far more radiant."

  Kelix folded his arms, eyeing the elite troops surrounding them. "So, you're just going to let us stroll through your flagship, then?"

  Vestella's smile curved at the edges. "Would you prefer another fight, Apexial?"

  He grunted, clenching his chest. "Not particularly."

  "Good." Vestella turned on her heel, robes swirling like blossoming flowers. "Then follow me. We have much to discuss… and far too many eyes listening here."

  Idalia tilted her head, glancing at Kelix. "See? She does like me."

  Kelix sighed, resigned. "That's what worries me."

  Vestella's lovely laugh carried through the corridor. "You may yet learn that what she calls 'liking' can be dangerous."

  But Idalia only grinned, ears high, bounding to keep pace beside her, oblivious to the wary glances and whispers that followed in their wake. But deep down inside, she noticed it now: her own heart thudding in excitement, a little self-aware.

  The soldiers trailed behind, wary and respectful. Yet their eyes were burning on her back, as if she were dangerous. Why?

  Ignoring the bothersome bunch, Idalia sniffed, sharp and alert, and felt the faintest thrill of adventure that only comes when the world suddenly feels bigger than it ever did before.

  She turned, Kelix followed, his eyes scanning for hidden dangers, calculating every probability.

  Rhaya walked behind them, silent and watchful, yet carrying a sense of experience and judgment that only someone shaped by different rules could possess.

  Idalia thought of the distant battles yet to come, of Forje and Soreine, and of everything she still did not understand about her own power. She would have to hunt them both. Not only for herself, but for the sake of her friend's goal. Surely, Kelix had not forgotten his objective. Meanwhile, Idalia had never lost track of finding her father.

  The others might think it would be foolish. She did not care.

  This was the world she wanted to run in, spark by spark, tail by tail, heartbeat by heartbeat. She followed Vestella without hesitation, yearning to unleash the many questions she wasn't sure she was ready to ask.