Pov: Kaelira
The Lake shimmered, its surface glassy. It reflected the sky above.
I stood at the edge of the lake, wings folded, my toes curling into the moss. My heart felt like it had grown wings of its own—fluttering and full of too much joy to contain.
I was going to leave Bloom.
I was going to see another world.
I shook, bouncing on my feet just barely resisting the urge to spin.
"Do you think they have floating cities? Or ice that sings? Or animals with four heads?" I turned to Ren, my voice bubbling like the lake's edge. "Wait—do humans live there too? Are there stars you can touch?"
Ren, seated cross-legged by the water, raised an eyebrow. "Kaelira."
I grinned, eyes wide. "Yes?"
He exhaled, slow and patient. "Portal travel first. Cosmic butterflies later."
I dropped down next to him, "Don't ruin my moment." I let out a dramatic sigh.
Ren smirked. A faint glow circled his fingers as he drew a line in the air.
"Normally," he began, "celestials can only open portals for themselves. It's tied to our core—our essence. But if we want to bring someone else along, especially into a protected realm like mine, we need a conduit."
"A conduit?" I tilted my head, watching the ribbon twist into a circle before evaporating in a soft spark.
"A special object," Damian replied from behind us, his voice low but clear.
Ren nodded. "Exactly. Or… an invitation. A celestial has to willingly tether someone to their portal. Like an access key."
"Oh!" I clapped my hands. "Like when D lets me ride him in wolf form?"
Damian snorted from the shadows. "You're going to have to watch what you say, Kae."
I giggled. "Why? What did I say this time?"
"Doesn't matter," he muttered. "Just—don't say stuff like that around humans."
Ren gave me a look that was half amusement, half resignation.
"Anyway," he continued, "I've already contacted someone—a friend who has clearance to open a tethered portal. If they respond, we'll be able to step through safely."
I leaned back staring at the sky. "So… soon?"
He nodded. "Maybe tomorrow."
I gasped. "Tomorrow?!"
Damian moved closer, arms crossed, brows drawn. "Before you start packing glitter mushrooms and naming stars we haven't seen yet, remember why we're doing this."
I blinked, still caught in the swirl of excitement. "What do you mean?"
"You want answers," he said simply. "That's the point of all this. Your origin. The book. The warning Elira left. Ren wants to get back into his world. I'm here to make sure you don't end up in pieces. Or worse."
Ren tilted his head, lips twitching. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Damian shrugged. "I don't trust many things that fall from the sky, golden boy. But I trust her."
My chest ached a little, but in the good way.
I got up again letting the breeze toy with my dress.
The excitement in my chest softened—still warm, but steadier now. Less a flutter, more a hum.
Behind me, I felt them—Ren, calm and collected like the steady beat of time. Damian, watchful and coiled, like shadow given purpose.
I wasn't just stepping into another world.
I was stepping toward whatever came next.
And I could barely wait.
"But" Damian said behind me, making me look over my shoulder, "you obviously gotta experience the things you've read about, hopefully you get those answers you keep bothering me about."
A smile broke out on my face. I ran straight into his arms and gave him a hug.
"I'm excited, D."
"I know."
I stood there just drowning in his warmth.
Ren stood. "Okay. I'll see you two in a bit. I'm going to go arrange a portal." In a quick shimmer of light his tunic turned into his armour.
I turned fully toward him and noticed Damian watching him transform, expression unreadable.
"It's rude to stare, wolf," Ren said, smirking.
D scoffed, but didn't look away. "I'm just trying to figure out how someone that smug manages to make even armour look arrogant."
Ren chuckled. "It's my specialty."
Running toward him I jumped into his arms giving him a hug. He paused for a moment but hugged me back. He let go taking a step back.
Before leaving he turned to D.
"I'll see you wolf, don't miss me too much."
D responded with an eye roll.
With a smile he shot into the sky, leaving a gust of wind.
I watched until he disappeared among the stars. The shimmer of Ren's departure hadn't even faded before I found myself walking toward the water again, my bare feet leaving shallow dents in the moss.
I glanced over my shoulder. Damian hadn't moved. He was standing with his arms folded, eyes on the sky, where Ren had vanished.
"Hmm? Not gonna say something sarcastic?" I tilted my head. "No comment about dramatic exits?"
He blinked, as if pulling himself back to the ground. "No need. He's already full of himself without my help."
I giggled.
Bloom was always beautiful but tonight it felt…different.
"Do you think Bloom will miss me D?" I whispered. "I've never left before. What if it notices? What if it… misses me?"
Damian stepped closer, his footsteps soft on the moss. "It's not a person, Kae."
"But it's alive," I murmured, watching silver fish dart beneath the lake's surface. "It hums under my skin. It sings when I sleep. Maybe it knows I'm going. Maybe it's sad."
A long silence followed. I almost thought he wasn't going to answer. Then, softly, "It'll wait for you."
I brushed the moss off my hands.
"Are you nervous?" I asked.
"Of what?"
"Leaving. The other world. The people there."
He hesitated. "Nope. I'm… prepared."
I laughed. Skipping past him I moved toward a bunch of flowers. Their petals were all unique.
"I want to bring something from Bloom with me" I plucked one and tucked it behind my ear. "Just one thing. A reminder."
Damian followed, his arms finally unfolding. "You already have something from here. You are from here."
I turned to him again. "Then… maybe I want to bring a part of me with me. Something that proves I didn't imagine it. That this place wasn't a dream."
His expression shifted—just a little. Something softer beneath the usual storm clouds.
"I could give you a rock," he offered.
I gasped. "A Bloom rock? Truly? How romantic."
He rolled his eyes. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you."
"Then maybe I'm learning from the best." I bumped my shoulder lightly into his.
We stood there together, watching the stars.
"Do you think Earth's moon talks?" I asked suddenly.
Damian tilted his head. "What?"
"Well," I said, kneeling to inspect the way the starflowers' roots glowed underground, "ours hums. When it's full, I can hear it whispering to the trees."
He didn't respond right away. When I glanced up, he was just watching me. Not judging. Not annoyed. Just… watching.
"I don't know," he said eventually. "But if it doesn't, you'll probably make it start."
I giggled again. "You always say things that sound like insults but feel like compliments."
"Good. That means it's working."
We sat on the mossy slope as the night deepened. I asked a dozen more questions, and Damian answered about half. The rest he deflected with one-word responses or a snort that meant "you're being ridiculous."
Eventually, I lay back in the grass, arms spread wide, eyes drinking in the sky.
I wasn't scared, not really. Maybe I should've been. But all I could feel was this enormous pull. Like something was waiting for me just beyond the veil of sky.
"What if…" I whispered, "what if this changes everything?"
"It will," he said. "That's the point."
I sat up and looked at him. His eyes were tired but there was a softness.
The same softness he showed when he bandaged my hands—or stood guard outside my dreams.
He was the first person I'd ever loved. Even if I didn't fully understand what that meant yet.
"D?"
"Hmm?"
"I think I'm going to miss this night."
"Then remember it."
And I did.
I memorized the way the moss felt beneath me. The shape of the moon. The sound of his breathing. The way the starflower still glowed faintly behind my ear.
I pressed a hand to my chest, where the hum of Bloom still lived.
Tomorrow, we would leave.
But tonight… tonight belonged to us.