The sky bled violet above the kingdom of Velmora.
From the highest spire of the Celestial Palace, seventeen-year-old Prince Kael Draeven stood alone, watching the heavens twist into unnatural hues. The three moons of Vaelareth had risen early, forming a triangle in the dusk sky. And above them, just barely visible, the cursed Black Star flickered.
Kael's silver eyes locked onto it. A chill passed through his bones.
That star was his.
The one he was born under.
The one the seers feared.
---
Below the tower, the kingdom roared with music and light. Lanterns floated through the sky, glowing with starfire and blessings. Laughter echoed through the marble streets of Velmora. Tonight was the Festival of Stars, celebrating the birth of the royal bloodline those touched by the constellations and chosen to rule.
But Kael wasn't allowed to join.
Not anymore.
He gripped the railing tightly, knuckles white, the cold metal biting into his palms. Beneath his silk robes, the rune scars on his chest had begun to burn faint black lines, etched in spirals and ancient glyphs, glowing like embers under his skin.
The curse was stirring.
---
Behind him, the doors creaked open.
He didn't turn. He already knew who it was.
"Kael," his mother's voice echoed softly. Queen Serenya, regal even in her worry. She stepped forward, her silver hair flowing behind her like starlight. "The Seers are... unsettled."
Kael said nothing.
"They say the Black Star is moving," she continued. "That its light bends fate."
"And they think I'll break it," Kael replied, his voice hollow. "Like a storm breaks a tree."
"They fear what they don't understand," she said gently. "But I don't."
He turned to look at her, eyes narrowed.
"You're the only one who doesn't."
---
As night fell, the palace was flooded with guests, nobles, and music. Kael descended into the shadows of the corridor, avoiding the grand hall, avoiding the stares. Servants parted like frightened mice, their eyes dropping quickly.
He passed by a mirror and paused.
In the reflection, his face looked older than it should. Haunted. Pale. His silver eyes gleamed with a light that wasn't candle-born.
The rune marks on his chest pulsed under his robes.
He pressed a hand to them.
They pulsed back.
---
The moment came just after midnight.
The music cut out like a breath sucked from a room. Every flame in the palace lantern, candle, fire pit snuffed out in an instant.
Gasps. Shouts. Clattering of dishes.
And then… silence.
From the center of the hall, smoke curled upward, twisting unnaturally. A woman stepped from the void, cloaked in violet shadows, her face hidden by a silver veil that shimmered like moonlight on water.
The Sorceress of the Hollow Vale.
---
Queen Serenya stood in a heartbeat. "This is sacred ground!"
The sorceress raised a hand.
Black flame surged from her palm, spiraling toward the throne.
Kael lunged without thinking.
He threw himself in front of his mother as the fire struck him square in the chest.
---
Agony.
Pain like burning stars filled his body. His scream tore through the silent palace.
The runes on his body ignited, glowing black-gold, wrapping across his neck, chest, arms like living chains. The floor beneath him cracked as thorned vines erupted upward twisting from the stone, wrapping around his limbs, lifting him off the ground.
People screamed.
Some ran. Others fell to their knees in horror.
Kael hovered above the feast table, eyes wide, blood running from his mouth.
The Sorceress smiled beneath her veil.
---
> "I claim what is mine," she said, her voice echoing like wind over graves.
"You were born beneath the Black Star, Kael Draeven.
Not as a prince.
But as a weapon."
Kael thrashed, but the thorns tightened. His vision swam.
---
> "Your throne dies tonight," the sorceress whispered.
"Sleep beneath the stars you were born to defy."
She snapped her fingers.
A pulse of darkness rippled outward a void swallowing all sound, all light.
When the palace lights flickered back
Kael was gone.
---
No one knew where he went.
Some said he was dead. Others said cursed forever.
The Seers sealed the prophecy scrolls.
The Queen vanished in mourning.
The throne of Velmora fell into silence.
---
But the truth?
Kael Draeven woke two days later beneath a shattered sky, the curse burning beneath his skin.
And the stars… were watching.