“Before I disappear…” He broke away. “Let’s find someone to take care of you.”

His cold and icy lips rounded, and he whistled a tune—a very familiar song. As I recovered from the discomfort that came from his kiss, I was once again thrown into a stupor upon hearing familiar music.

The song. One of the stars.

It was cut short when he burst out coughing. Half of his jaw, at this point, had already gone. Leaning back, he rounded his lips once more and forced himself to continue whistling. The tune came back at full force, but I was much more prepared and remained clear-headed this time.

It wasn’t long before a woman came around the corner. She looked around in confusion and recoiled when she saw Amber—what was left of him, at least.

“What took you so long?” he asked. “Here.” He held me out to the woman expectantly. “Take good care of her,” he said.

I squirmed in discomfort while the woman only flinched back, eyeing me dubiously.

“Did you not wish for a child? I’m giving one to you,” he said. “Hurry. I don’t have time.”

The woman gathered her wits and approached warily, taking me into her arms.

“Evyionne,” Amber said firmly.

And the last of him vanished.

“O-oh my goodness,” she whispered.

I was startled. It might be an illusion—but the woman spoke in words I recognized.

“What am I to tell Lamia?” she asked, voice quiet and filled with uncertainty.

So, it wasn’t an illusion. The woman did speak a language I understood.

But how? I had been blindly grasping at the sentences of my parents just now. Could this be the “gift” that Amber had imparted to me?

The woman peered into my swaddle, parting the golden blanket and meeting my teary amaranthine eyes. I was holding myself back from bursting into tears. The stress was getting to me. She began rocking on her feet as she left the alleyway, slipping back into the streets.

She carried me through the busy city, shielding me from the noise and clutter. With only a small space to breathe, I had limited vision of my surroundings. Still, I saw it—a perfect blend of culture, nature, and modernity. Buildings towered and roads were well-paved. Infrastructures had tasteful variety in shape and design. I caught sight of tall gates and twin fortresses with thick-granite walls overlooking the whole city like a sentry. There were also sky-scraping glass towers somewhere towards the center, glittering in majesty and elegance under the sun.

I looked around in awe, shying back when a large object flew by above. At first, it seemed to be a plane, but seeing it beat its wings like a bird made me gasp.

“Are you amazed?” the woman asked.

Though I could not properly voice out my agreement, I still cooed in response.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you behind,” she said. “We will figure this out together.”

After some walking, we finally went through a tall, gated wall. We came upon a beautiful courtyard adorned with a tiered fountain. It had an intricate statue, but I did not get to see it properly since we sped through in a hurry.

“Hellenia!” a voice reverberated across the yard.

The woman holding me stilled, and she cradled me tighter, turning away from the direction of the voice. “Really. The last person I expected…” Hellenia muttered under her breath.

“Where have you been? I know we are not in agreement at the moment, but this does not mean you can just storm off whenever you wish! The others worry for you!” I heard footsteps. The voice drew nearer as the woman spoke. “What do you have in your arms?”

Hellenia, speechless, turned me over to face the owner of the voice. The other woman had the most piercing arctic blues with hair as white as snow. Colorful beads crowned her hair and dipped delicately between her brows. Her beautiful and symmetrical face was stormed with fury as she found what I was.

“This…! Are you really testing my patience?”

“No. I found her by chance,” Hellenia said, swallowing heavily. “I’m sorry, Lamia. I—”

“Hellen, this is no place to raise a child,” Lamia sharply intoned. “If you wish to raise it, you will have to leave Oblivion. The House will no longer have any place for you.”

Lamia had given her an ultimatum. Hellenia recoiled, green eyes meeting the arctic blues. She did not seem to be expecting the straightforwardness of the other party. Even I was startled. I had just been separated from my birth parents, but it seemed it hadn’t been the end to my misfortune.

I was glad, however, that I could now understand their conversations properly. This gift did not come for free, even so. The bill that he talked of unsettled me. What in the world did that man mean when he said ‘curtain’ and ‘veil’? This clearly wasn’t a class on interior designing. It simply made no sense!

Hellenia gazed down at me and took a deep breath. She pursed her lips, eyes clearly conflicted. After exchanging stares with me, she lifted her face and met Lamia’s gaze.

“I understand…” Hellenia said. “Please allow me a few weeks to prepare. I know no other means, so it will take me some time to get settled. I will also have to delegate my tasks to the others. It would be rude of me to leave abruptly.”

Lamia could not hold back her shock from showing on her face. “You’re really willing to leave?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Now…if you would allow me, mistress. I shall go tend to my duties.” Hellenia bowed at Lamia and carried me away.