Chapter 4: Astrael Ravenastra
Aarav’s first day after getting reborn as a human baby was peaceful, far from boring.
It was... simple. Blissfully
Gone were the crushing pressures of expectation and the betrayal.
His universe had shrunk to three basic rules: suck, poop, and sleep.
’Please the parents by making some noise. Get the diaper changed. Repeat,’ Astrael mused, blinking milk-drowsy eyes at the intricate ceiling of his nursery.
’This... isn’t half bad.’ Compared to ten thousand deaths, it was paradise. A fragile, vulnerable paradise wrapped in swaddling clothes.
His life was like a dream.
Weeks turn into months.
He observed constantly. The stone walls of the manor. The rhythmic clang of a smithy somewhere distant. The smell of burning wood and the baking of bread drifted through open windows.
The way servants bowed, quick and low, when his parents passed. His father, Lord Kaelen Ravenastra, a broad-shouldered man with hair like spilled ink and eyes the piercing blue of a glacier, moved with an authority that silenced rooms.
His mother, Lady Laira, a beautiful noble woman with raven-black hair cascading over shoulders held straight, but her eyes... her eyes were molten silver, holding a warmth that seemed reserved solely for him.