Morning painted golden streaks over the hills, the sll of dew mixing with the faint scent of smoke from the village ruins. The newly nad Lost Stars were gathering again, training under the sun, magic glimring around their fingertips, swords clashing and laughter echoing despite the trauma.
Azrael Jr. was mid-spar with a boy—lithe, fast, clever-eyed—when he slipped and landed flat on his back.
"Y-you good?" the boy asked, offering a hand.
Azrael took it, stunned silent. Not by the fall. But by the dimpled grin of his long-ti crush—Niko—a blacksmith's son who'd joined the training that morning.
"You fight like a prince," Niko teased. "Fancy, but not enough to beat ."
Azrael cleared his throat, trying not to blush. "I'll let my fire magic do the talking next ti."
"Oh, I can't wait," Niko winked.
A few feet away, Caelan was already regretting letting his own crush join. Lyra, a feisty girl who had once stolen his shoes mid-class just to prove she could, was now out-performing him in every area of training.
"You keep glaring at like that and I might think you're in love," she teased as she disard him—again.
"I'm not glaring. I'm strategizing," Caelan muttered.
"Strategize this," Lyra said, poking him in the chest with the wooden blade.
From the sidelines, Rina shouted, "Ooooh! Soone's in looooove!" Then tripped over her own shoelaces and faceplanted. "I ant to do that," she grumbled, dirt in her teeth.
Azariah—sitting cross-legged on a rock nearby—sighed. "You all act like you're in a romantic cody. We're training for war, not flirting practice."
Cain chuckled from the ridge, arms crossed. "They can do both. It's hereditary."
Selene leaned on his shoulder, watching their sons spar and stumble through feelings with amusent. "Do you think they're ready for this?"
"They were born ready."
Suddenly, a scout from the forest erged, breathless. "There's movent in the Blackridge Caves. The enemy is stirring again."
The twins stood, side by side.
"We move at night," Azrael said.
"We finish what they started," Caelan added.
Rina lit a flower on fire with a flick of her finger. "They're not ready for us."
"Lost Stars, assemble!" Lyra shouted dramatically, striking a superhero pose.
Everyone paused.
"You've been waiting to say that, haven't you?" Niko laughed.
"I regret nothing," Lyra smirked.
And so, with smirks, spells, and young hearts fluttering, the Lost Stars readied themselves—for love, for laughter, and for the next battle.
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