Mind Over Magic

The ship glided through the clouds like a blade through silk, moving fast and low, engines humming in steady rhythm. Alaric stood near the front observation panel with both hands braced on the frame, staring at the horizon with eyes that didn’t blink much anymore. Seraphine sat on a bench across the room with her leg propped on her other knee, rolling a dagger between her fingers without looking up. Kaelion had taken over the pilot’s auxiliary rune in the center console, not because he needed to, but because keeping his hands busy helped him not punch holes in walls. Astra sat quietly in the corner with her knees drawn up, not speaking, not humming, just... thinking.

No one had spoken in nearly twenty minutes.

Then finally, Kaelion broke the silence. "So. Who exactly are we flying toward this time? You said the next Crown already made contact with the Church. How sure are you?"

Alaric didn’t turn around. "I didn’t say they contacted the Church. I said they joined them."

Seraphine raised an eyebrow. "And that’s different how?"

"Contact is neutral," Alaric said. "It means exchange. Diplomacy. But if a Crown joins the Church willingly—especially one with full memory—then it’s not contact. It’s strategy. It’s betrayal."

Kaelion stopped spinning the rune. "So you’re sure they did it willingly?"

Alaric finally turned to face them. "When the Divine Lock hit us, it didn’t just erase. It traced."

Astra nodded, her voice soft but clear. "One of the other Crowns piggybacked on the trace. That’s how they found us so fast."

Seraphine leaned forward. "So what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means someone like me," Alaric said, "someone made from the same Crown protocol line, saw us, and instead of helping, they gave the Church our location."