Page 348 of Elemental Becoming

I glance skyward, half begging the gods to let this story die.

Kieran nudges me. “Still, glad to see you holding your own.”

The path splits ahead, training fields to the left and Valen’s chambers to the right. Kieran stops. Sunlight catches in his hair, turning the gold brighter.

“Well, Spiritborn. This is where we part.” He sweeps a hand through the air. “You go be the brilliantly gifted wielder. I will go be devastatingly handsome.”

“Sounds exhausting,” I deadpan.

“For some, perhaps.”

Before turning away, he lifts a hand and circles his fingers. A soft breeze stirs around me, teasing loose strands of hair across my shoulders.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“Not when I’m around you.”

I cross my arms. “One day, your ego’s going to float off on the wind.”

“And what a sight that’ll be.”

He steps back with a wink and turns down his path, throwing a lazy wave over his shoulder.

I watch him go before turning toward Valen’s chambers, the smile still lingering on my lips. Not because of Kieran’s charm, but because I can feel the pieces beginning to align.

A short time later, I sit in Valen’s quarters, a cup of tea warming my hands.

The room is quiet. The scent of parchment and dried herbs hangs in the air, soft and earthy. Candlelight flickers along the stone walls, casting shadows that sway with every movement of the flame.

I’ve just told him everything about Kieran, the crest, and the name his family once carried: Vhael.

Valen leans back in his chair, fingers steepled, his expression unreadable as he absorbs it all. For several moments, neither of us speaks.

Finally, he exhales, eyes narrowing with thought. “If the ledger still exists, and his family was involved in hiding it . . . ”

“Then someone in his bloodline might still know the truth,” I finish.

Valen considers the information for a long moment before giving a single nod. “Then the next step is clear. We go to the Air Clan region, and we take Kieran with us.”

I set my cup down carefully. “If his family has protected this secret for generations, we need to understand why before we start revealing what we know.”

“Which is why we don’t.” Valen taps a finger against the desk. “We frame it as research. History. Let him think he’s helping us uncover something forgotten, not something deliberately buried. Right now we have a crest, a name, and a possibility. That’s not enough to place the weight of generations on someone’s shoulders.”

“And if his family still has it?”

Valen’s expression hardens.

“Then we need to understand what they know before wordspreads.”

“Why?”

“Because if the ledger says what we think it says, it doesn’t just change our understanding of the Shadow Wars.” He pauses. “It changes everything.”

The silence that follows feels different. Focused rather than heavy, with the quiet clarity that comes when a path forward finally reveals itself.

Valen rises and crosses to the window.

“For months we’ve been chasing fragments, rumors, and half-buried references.”