The silence in the shattered observatory stretched, thick with crystal dust and the lingering echo of Silas's departure. Liora Starbinder stood frozen, her starlight robes seeming dimmer against the backdrop of the violently fluctuating celestial charts. Her gaze remained fixed on the gaping doorway, where the Storm Sovereign had stood moments before – a tempest contained in black and gold. The sheer, terrifying *authority* he radiated was a stark reminder of the power only whispered about.
Kael, however, let out a low, breathless sound. Wonder. A slow, incredulous smile spread across his face, crinkling the scar on his cheek. He stared at the wreckage, then at Liora, his eyes bright with memory.
"Gods below," he breathed, shaking his head. "He actually did it. Walked right back in like he'd just stepped out for a smoke." The smile widened. "Still throws a door like nobody's business."
Liora blinked, finally tearing her gaze from the void. "Kael? What… what just happened? Who *was* that? Truly?" Her voice was tight, shaken.
Kael's smile softened. "That," he said, stepping closer, taking her trembling hand, "was Silas Ward. Not Si the grumpy barkeep. Not even just the Storm Sovereign." He squeezed her hand. "That was the man who held the Shattered Expanse against the Umbra Horde for three days with a broken glaive and fury. The man who named a world-eating stormdragon 'Fluffy'." He squeezed her hand. "Come with me."
He led her to their private chambers, stopping before a seemingly blank section of crystalline wall carved with constellations. Liora had scanned it endlessly; it registered as solid. Kael placed his palm flat against Cassiopeia, concentrating. Not with Celestria's light, but with a focused pulse of storm energy woven with… something else. A faint, complex pattern flared – gold and violet. A section of the wall slid back with a soft *hiss*.
Liora gasped. "A void-pocket? But… my magic detected *nothing*! How?"
Kael reached into the recess. "It wasn't keyed to Celestria's magic, Liora," he said softly, pulling out a long bundle wrapped in dark silk. "It was keyed to *hers*."
He laid the bundle on a divan and unfolded it. Revealed were garments identical to Silas's: black storm-leather, gold vambraces and greaves, a long midnight coat lined with deep gold. The storm dragon emblem blazed on the left breast.
"Hers?" Liora whispered, tracing the powerful lines.
"**Emma** Moonshadow," Kael said, his voice thick. He touched the emblem. "Vice-Commander of the Skybreaker Legion. Silas's right hand. His strategist. His heart." He met Liora's stunned gaze. "The woman who designed and wove every thread of these uniforms. Infused them with protection... and a touch of her own unique magic. Magic that could hide things from even the most perceptive Luminary."
"Where is she?" Liora asked, sorrow touching her heart.
Kael's expression clouded. "Vanished. During the final push towards the Void Spire. One moment she was there, covering Silas's flank, the next… gone. No body. No trace." He ran a hand over the leather. "We searched. Silas tore the wasteland apart. Nothing. Presumed dead." He looked up, profound sadness in his eyes. "Taking a piece of Silas with her."
Liora brushed the gold-lined edge of **Emma**'s coat. It hummed faintly. "She made these? For all of you?"
Kael nodded. "A squad, bound tighter than blood. These were our skins in the fire." He began stripping off his envoy robes. "Help me with the greaves?" As Liora fastened the gold plates, he continued. "She was brilliant. Fierce. Could balance light and shadow like no one else. Saw angles Silas and I missed. Kept him… human." He pulled on the black tunic, then the coat. The diplomat vanished, replaced by a warrior. He picked up **Emma**'s bundle. "We need to move. He won't wait."
He turned to Liora, the second-in-command fully present. "Get Zephyr. Bring him. Silas said the café. Now."
* * *
Back at The Rusted Lantern, Silas stood in the garden's pre-dawn gloom. He reached *inwards*, to the chained storm. He focused on the squad's bond frequency – a silent alarm imprinted on their souls like **Emma**'s stitches. He released a single, powerful pulse radiating outwards.
* * *
**Veyra Kaelis** jerked awake. A vibration in her *bones*, in her firestorm blood. "Silas," she breathed. "Get up," she snapped at Corrin. "Get the girls. *Now*. Skybreaker call."
**Thalia Raine** froze, her hand on a blighted moon-vine. The vibration resonated through the earth. She dropped her shears. "Jarek! Wake the children! Pack essentials! *Move!*"
**Nyx Voss** halted her whetstone mid-stroke. The shadows *shivered*. Smudge growled from the rafters. A predatory smile touched Nyx's lips. "Finally. Time to earn your keep, Smudge. Round up the strays."
**Rurik Gorunn** dropped his hammer as the pulse resonated through the anvil. Elara Frostwind looked up sharply. Rurik met her eyes. "He calls. The Storm rises." He grabbed a sack. "Get them to the Lantern. Fast."
* * *
Within thirty minutes, Starlit Veil Alley buzzed with hushed urgency. Figures emerged: Veyra marching with Ember and Marina; Thalia pushing through her doorway with Jarek, Sylvan, and Terra clutching her flower; Rurik appearing with Elara Frostwind, Freyja, and Magnus; Nyx melting from shadows near the tavern, Smudge at her heels. They converged on the café's back garden. Silas stood waiting, Fluffy a watchful shadow. He nodded towards the door. "Kids. Inside. Now."
No arguments. The spouses herded the sleepy children inside. Silas led them to the new, sturdy door off the kitchen hallway. He opened it, revealing the safe room: rugs, blankets, toys, a shuttered window. Silas's sanctuary.
"All of you," Silas commanded, ushering Ember, Marina, Terra, Sylvan, Magnus, Freyja, and Stella inside. "Sleep. Stay here." He looked down at Stella clinging to him. "You too, stardust. Go on."
Stella looked at Fluffy. "Fluffy stays?"
Silas met the dragon's violet gaze. "Fluffy. Guard. *All* of them. Nothing gets in." The command was absolute.
Fluffy chirped, a sound of understanding. She padded in, nudged Stella towards the blankets, and settled directly before the door, a living barrier. Her deep, resonant purr promised protection. The children burrowed into blankets, Stella curling near Fluffy's side.
Silas closed the door, sliding the heavy bolt. He turned to the spouses. "Kitchen. Stay quiet. Watch the alley." They nodded, retreating.
Silas walked back out. The squad was waiting: Veyra, Thalia, Nyx, Rurik, Kael – now clad in black and gold – and Liora with a wide-awake Zephyr. They stood near the firepit. Veyra simmered. Thalia hummed with earth connection. Nyx was liquid shadow. Rurik stood like granite. Kael held **Emma**'s bundled uniform. Liora radiated apprehension. Zephyr tried to mimic Kael's stance.
Silas walked to the front near the cold firepit. He stopped, looking up at the violently flickering Twin Moons. The weight of the black and gold, the storm dragon emblem, the **E.M.** beneath it, felt immense. He took a deep breath of crackling air.
Then he turned. His storm-gray eyes swept over them: the fear, the readiness, the resolve, the loyalty, the untested courage in Zephyr's eyes. He saw the gear **Emma** had made, the emblem binding them.
Finally, he lowered himself onto the wide, flat stone bordering the firepit. He sat heavily, the black coat settling like folded wings. He rested his forearms on his knees, hands dangling. He looked like a weary king returned to a crumbling throne. Fractured moonlight played over the gold on his vambraces and the dragon on his chest.
He raised his eyes to his squad. His family.
"Alright," Silas said, his voice a low, weighty rumble. He paused, his gaze sharpening as it landed on Zephyr. "**Zephyr. Kids' room. Now.** Go on." His tone brooked no argument, a clear dismissal of the young man from the coming council of war.
Zephyr opened his mouth, perhaps to protest, but one look at Silas's face – the Storm Sovereign's face, not Uncle Si's – closed it. He flushed slightly, nodded mutely, and turned, disappearing quickly through the café's back door towards the safe room.
Silas watched him go, then turned his full attention back to the circle of weathered warriors and the anxious Luminary. The air seemed to grow heavier, charged with impending revelation.
"**I will tell you all what's happening,**" Silas stated, the words dropping into the tense silence like stones into a dark pool. His storm-gray eyes held theirs, ancient and grim. "But first..." He gestured towards the now-empty space Zephyr had occupied, the unspoken 'he doesn't need to hear this yet' hanging clear. He leaned forward slightly, the gold lining of his coat catching the mad moonlight. "The Moons aren't just unstable. They're under attack."