Chapter Two: The Ones Who Bury Fire
Part Two — "Echoes on the Wind"
The silence didn't last.
It never did in Celestis Veil. Not when the Doctrine sent their shadows out riding windsteel ships and golden-crowned guards cut through sky like scripture. The stillness was broken by the low pulse of engines—the kind that hummed without rhythm. Machines that didn't remember how to sing.
Kaelen and Yolti both turned their heads as the sky changed color.
The clouds parted around a sharp-winged carrier, its frame shaped like an arrowhead dipped in black fire. Gold banners lined the sides—emblazoned with the sun-and-harp sigil of the royal house. Below them, a smaller escort ship hovered near the cliff edge, its thrusters whining against the updraft as it descended.
The Pulse Guard stepped out first—dozens of them in formation. Not soldiers. Not Resonants. These were Doctrine agents dressed in the old colors: silver thread and pulse-black, eyes hidden behind reflective helms. Each moved like clockwork, like memory machines programmed to erase rather than ask.
Then came the King.
Not just any king—Vaelen Tiramis, ruler of Celestis Veil.
His robe trailed like smoke behind him, deep blue with woven stars that shifted subtly as he walked. On his right stood Thaelen Voss—his general, his sword, and Kaelen's father. And just behind them both, walking slower than the rest, was someone Kaelen hadn't seen in six long months.
Selka Veyel.
Hair tighter. Uniform sharper. Eyes colder.
She walked like someone who no longer bled for the people beside her.
Kaelen's throat locked.
Yolti straightened her posture as the agents fanned out and encircled the area, their boots forming perfect geometric patterns in the ash. One stepped forward and scanned the grave with a Pulse Eye lens. Another whispered into a resonance stone clipped to his jaw.
"You two," Thaelen barked. "What are you doing this far outside doctrine grounds?"
Kaelen didn't answer. His jaw was clenched. The scarf in his hand now felt like a blade he couldn't unsheathe.
Yolti stepped in quickly. "We—we came to bury someone," she said. "Our friend. Our guardian. She died here. Solara. And Zephryn… he—"
"Who?" the King interrupted, his voice unnervingly calm.
"Solara," Kaelen snapped, finally speaking. "And Zephryn. She raised him. We were with them just hours ago. Now they're—"
King Vaelen's gaze sharpened. His tone didn't shift, but his words became colder than the wind.
"There are no such names recorded under Lyceum residence. You were warned before not to trespass beyond the Caervale perimeter. This region is off-limits to trainees."
"We didn't trespass!" Kaelen shouted. "We lived here!"
Beside him, Yolti caught Selka's eyes.
The girl she'd once trained beside. Who had sat on that same hilltop with them laughing at Kaelen's bad jokes. Who had learned glyph balance from Solara herself.
Selka's face betrayed nothing.
Then—a slight tilt of her head. Almost imperceptible.
No.
Kaelen saw it too.
"…You knew," he whispered, his eyes locked on hers. "You saw what happened. You saw—"
"I said enough," Thaelen barked. He stepped forward, face stern and unreadable. "Tell us the truth. Why are you here?"
Yolti panicked. "They don't remember. Kaelen, they don't remember anything."
Kaelen's mouth opened, but the words didn't come. The truth coiled in his chest like a rising fire—but he couldn't light it. Not with Selka watching. Not with his father looking down on him like a stranger. Not with Doctrine drones overhead scanning every vibration of his voice.
So he lied.
"…We were training," Kaelen said hoarsely. "Out past the ridge. I thought… I thought Yolti should practice Veilmark stabilization in harsher conditions. We weren't supposed to be out this far. That's all."
"Training?" Thaelen echoed, narrowing his gaze.
"A dare," Kaelen added. "I dared her. She lost. That's all."
King Vaelen tilted his head. "You risked your lives over a dare?"
The words sat heavy in the air.
Kaelen nodded once. "Yes. Won't happen again."
Vaelen stared for a long moment. Then turned to the guard.
"Scan the area. Ensure there's no unauthorized Veilmark residue or signs of recent conflict."
One agent raised a device. "We're picking up mild post-activation resonance. Unstable. Possibly adolescent casting. Nothing else."
Thaelen's shoulders relaxed. "Dismissed."
King Vaelen looked at Kaelen one last time.
"You'll return with us. The Lyceum will address your violation formally."
Kaelen nodded stiffly.
Selka walked past them without a glance. She moved like a different person—no longer part of the vow they made beneath the cliff's edge. No longer someone who knelt with them when Solara wrapped the scarf around Zephryn's neck and said, This is why I love you.
Now, she was the girl who didn't speak.
Now, she was Doctrine.
As they walked back toward the airship, Yolti's narration hummed in her own mind like the wind that wouldn't leave her alone.
"That was the first lie we told.
And the last time Kaelen's father ever looked him in the eyes.
We went to bury fire.
But they made sure it stayed hidden."