The morning was quiet, filled with soft wind and the sound of pages turning somewhere far away.
Lyena sat on the edge of the bed with her knees pulled close, staring out the open window.
The children had already eaten and gone outside.
She had stayed behind.
Not because she was tired - but because something inside her still hadn't settled.
The man who had watched over her stood in the hallway, holding a wooden tray with warm bread, soup, and a slice of fruit.
He walked slowly, careful not to spill anything, his footsteps quiet on the stone floor.
He reached the door and lifted his hand to knock.
Then-
A voice behind him called out.
"Yo, Elder Solarin."
He stopped.
So did the wind.
Lyena looked up.
She had never heard that name before.
The man - now Solarin - turned his head slowly.
A tall figure in white and gold stood at the far end of the hallway, wings folded behind his back like shadows made of light.
His smile was casual.
But his eyes were not.
"I came to tell you something," the Angel King said, walking forward without pause.
"She's gone. My sister."
Solarin blinked once, then stepped back to let him enter.
"I didn't know you had a sister," Solarin said.
"I'm sure I told you."
"No. You didn't."
Lyena watched from the bed, silent.
The tray was still in Solarin's hands.
The Angel King walked over to the window, as if searching the sky for the words he didn't want to say.
Then he looked at Solarin again and said,
"Her name was Elira."
Something shifted.
Not in the room - but in Lyena.
She didn't understand why.
But her chest ached.
Her throat tightened.
And before she could stop it, a single tear slipped down her cheek.
Lyena watched from the bed, silent.
The tray was still in Solarin's hands.
One of the younger children peeked into the room.
"Why are you crying?" they asked softly.
Lyena turned to them, surprised.
She wiped her face and smiled gently.
"I don't know," she said.
"Maybe I'm not crying."
The child smiled back and ran off, chasing laughter down the hallway.
Solarin finally stepped forward and placed the tray on a small table beside the bed.
He didn't say anything.
Neither did the Angel King.
But both of them looked at Lyena for a moment too long.
And in the golden silence that followed, no one said Elira's name again.
End of Chapter 14 - The Name in the Light