The figure stood perfectly still in the center of the doorway, holding the newborn star as though it weighed nothing.Emily could not look away.Something was deeply wrong with the figure, but not because it looked monstrous. It was almost painfully ordinary. It had two arms, two legs, a face, eyes, a mouth. Its hair was dark, falling loosely around its shoulders, and its expression was almost gentle.That was what frightened Emily.After everything she had seen—creatures without bodies, eyes larger than worlds, ancient beings who remembered the beginning of existence, things that existed before time itself—she had learned that the most dangerous things did not always look frightening.Sometimes they looked like someone you could trust.Kael moved slightly in front of Emily.The figure smiled."Still doing that."Kael's eyes narrowed."Doing what?""Standing between her and anything you think might hurt her."The figure's gaze shifted toward Emily."You always did."Kael's face tighte
Last Updated : 2026-10-06 Read more