The heat began quietly.
At first Kael ignored it.
For someone used to working long hours outdoors, climbing cliffs, hauling stone, and flying across the valley winds, discomfort was nothing unusual.
But this was different.
It began as a dull warmth along his spine.
Not painful.
Just persistent.
Like sunlight trapped beneath his skin.
By the third day it had become impossible to forget.
—
That evening Charlisa noticed it before Kael said a word.
They were sitting outside their home where the breeze from the lower stream usually cooled the air. The sky above the valley had turned deep violet, and the first stars were beginning to appear.
Charlisa leaned back against the wooden bench, her feet resting lightly in the grass.
Kael sat beside her, unusually quiet.
Normally he would have been speaking — telling her about something Borren had said, or teasing her about beating Lyra again at Go.
Tonight he simply watched the darkening hills.
Charlisa tilted her head slightly.
"You're thinking too hard."
Kael exhaled softly.
"Am I?"
"Yes."
She studied him carefully.
His posture looked normal.
But something about the way his shoulders held tension felt… wrong.
Charlisa reached over and pressed two fingers gently against his arm.
"You're hiding something."
He glanced down at her hand.
"Not hiding."
"Then?"
"Observing."
"That's suspiciously similar to hiding."
Kael almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.
The movement pulled his wings forward just enough that Charlisa noticed something strange.
The muscles beneath them tightened sharply.
Kael inhaled slowly.
Charlisa's eyes narrowed.
"Kael."
"I'm fine."
"That wasn't a 'fine' movement."
"It was nothing."
She stood up.
Before he could react, she stepped behind him.
"Charlisa—"
"Be still."
Her hands moved to his shoulders.
The moment her palms touched his back she froze.
Heat.
His skin felt unnaturally warm beneath her fingers.
Not fever.
Something deeper.
Her voice softened immediately.
"Kael… you're burning."
He rubbed his face once.
"It started a few days ago."
"A few days?" she repeated in disbelief.
"And you didn't say anything?"
"It didn't seem important."
Her fingers moved carefully along the muscles of his upper back.
The heat grew stronger near the center of his spine.
Right where his wings connected.
"Does it hurt?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"Then what does it feel like?"
Kael searched for the right word.
"Pressure."
She pressed lightly against the area.
The muscles there tightened immediately.
Kael inhaled sharply.
Charlisa pulled her hand away.
"That's not nothing."
"It's manageable."
She stepped around him until she was standing in front of him.
"You couldn't fly properly yesterday."
His eyebrows lifted.
"You noticed."
"Yes."
Borren had noticed too.
"Kael," she said gently, "this isn't something you should ignore."
He leaned back against the bench again.
"I'm not ignoring it."
"You are."
"I'm monitoring it."
"That's still ignoring."
He sighed.
Charlisa crouched slightly so their eyes were level.
"Please tell me honestly."
He hesitated.
For the first time since she had met him, uncertainty flickered briefly in his storm-grey eyes.
"I don't know what it is," he admitted quietly.
The honesty surprised both of them.
Charlisa reached forward and took his hand.
That alone made his shoulders relax a little.
"Then we should ask someone who does."
"The matriarchs," he said.
"Yes."
Kael glanced toward the dark silhouette of the ancient tree at the center of the village.
The elders would notice immediately.
He knew that.
But something inside him resisted the idea.
"I don't want to cause unnecessary concern."
Charlisa squeezed his hand slightly.
"This isn't unnecessary."
The night breeze moved softly through the grass around them.
Kael finally looked back at her.
"You're worried."
"Of course I am."
Her voice softened further.
"You matter to me."
The simple statement carried more weight than she realized.
For a moment Kael said nothing.
Then he reached forward and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.
"I promise it's not dangerous."
"You don't know that."
"No."
She exhaled slowly.
"Then tomorrow we speak to Shyra."
Kael studied her expression.
There was no fear in it.
Just determination.
He knew arguing would be pointless.
So he nodded.
"Tomorrow."
Charlisa relaxed slightly.
But when Kael stood up a moment later, the muscles along his back tightened again, and the faint shimmer of heat seemed to move beneath his skin like something slowly waking.
Charlisa saw it.
And the quiet worry she felt earlier deepened into something stronger.
Because whatever was happening to Kael…
It had only just begun.