The garden slowly returned to silence.
Broken marble tiles lay scattered across the ground. Water from the fountain spilled across the pathway, reflecting the moonlight in trembling silver waves.
The soldiers of the Null Division stood rigidly where they were, weapons lowered but still glowing faintly.
No one moved.
Kael's eyes remained fixed on Aria.
He had seen battlefield magic before. Imperial mages could burn villages, freeze rivers, even summon lightning under the right conditions.
But what he had just witnessed was different.
This wasn't spellcasting.
It felt like the sky itself had obeyed her.
Selene broke the silence first.
"Well," she said lightly, stepping over a cracked stone slab, "that was an exciting evening."
Kael didn't look at her.
"Selene."
Her smile widened slightly.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"You knew."
Selene tilted her head innocently.
"Knew what?"
Kael finally turned toward her.
"You knew what she was capable of."
Selene considered the question for a moment.
"I suspected."
The prince exhaled slowly.
"That's not reassuring."
Aria, meanwhile, had stepped away from the center of the garden. The wind around her had faded completely now, leaving only the quiet rustling of damaged trees.
She looked almost… normal again.
Too normal.
Kael studied her carefully.
"You could have killed them."
Aria glanced at the soldiers briefly.
"They tried to capture me."
"That's their job."
"And staying alive is mine."
The two stared at each other for a moment.
Selene watched the exchange with growing amusement.
"Oh this is fascinating."
Kael ignored her.
"Who are you?"
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"That's a complicated question."
"Try the simple version."
She considered him for a moment.
Then said calmly,
"I'm someone your empire should stop provoking."
A few of the Null Division soldiers shifted slightly at that statement.
Kael noticed.
His jaw tightened.
"You're standing inside the imperial palace."
"Yes."
"And threatening the empire."
Aria tilted her head.
"No."
She gestured toward the soldiers.
"They threatened me first."
Selene clapped once again.
"Technically accurate."
Kael shot her an annoyed glance.
"You're not helping."
"I'm observing."
The prince looked back at Aria.
"You appeared inside the palace grounds without explanation."
"You sent assassins."
Kael frowned.
"What assassins?"
Selene leaned forward slightly, interested now.
"Oh?"
Aria gestured vaguely toward the far side of the garden.
"The ones who tried to kill me earlier tonight."
Kael's expression hardened.
"I didn't authorize any assassins."
Selene's eyes flickered with curiosity.
"Well now that is interesting."
The lead soldier of the Null Division spoke carefully.
"Your Highness, we were deployed after reports of extreme atmospheric disturbances."
Kael nodded.
"That order came from me."
He looked back at Aria.
"But not assassins."
Selene's smile faded slightly.
"If the prince didn't send them…"
Aria finished the thought quietly.
"Then someone else did."
The garden grew very still again.
Because that possibility was far more dangerous.
Kael turned toward the Null Division commander.
"How many units are currently active in the palace tonight?"
"Only ours."
"And the imperial guard?"
"Stationed at standard posts."
Selene sighed softly.
"Oh dear."
Kael looked at her sharply.
"What?"
She gestured toward the palace behind them.
"If assassins are wandering around tonight without the prince knowing…"
Her tone remained light.
"That suggests a very unpleasant political problem."
Kael's expression darkened.
Aria watched the conversation silently.
She had seen this pattern before in other kingdoms.
Power struggles.
Hidden factions.
Courts that smiled politely while plotting murder behind silk curtains.
Selene looked back at Aria.
"Congratulations."
"For what?"
"You walked directly into an imperial conspiracy."
Aria sighed quietly.
"Wonderful."
Kael sheathed his sword slowly.
"This changes things."
Selene nodded.
"Yes."
"It does."
The prince looked at the Null Division soldiers.
"Stand down completely."
They hesitated.
"Your Highness, the target—"
"She's not the immediate problem anymore."
The soldiers exchanged brief glances.
Then deactivated their weapons fully.
The blue glow faded.
Kael stepped closer to Aria now.
Close enough to study her properly.
"You controlled pressure systems across the palace."
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"Clearly not."
Selene raised a finger thoughtfully.
"Technically it's extremely improbable."
Kael ignored her again.
"Are there more like you?"
Aria shook her head.
"Not exactly."
"That's not reassuring either."
Selene laughed softly.
"You're asking the wrong question, Kael."
He looked at her.
"Then ask the right one."
Selene's gaze returned to Aria.
"The real question is…"
Her voice dropped slightly.
"What happens when the empire tries to control a storm that refuses to be contained?"
Aria met her gaze calmly.
"That depends."
"On what?"
She glanced toward the palace towers rising above the garden.
"On whether the empire tries to make me its enemy."
Silence followed.
Kael finally spoke.
"You're already a threat."
"Only if someone keeps attacking me."
Selene nodded approvingly.
"Reasonable."
Kael rubbed his temples briefly.
This night had started with strange weather reports.
Now he was standing in a destroyed garden negotiating with a woman who could apparently command the sky.
Politics had never prepared him for this.
Selene, however, looked delighted.
"This might be the most entertaining crisis the empire has had in years."
Kael gave her a flat look.
"You enjoy chaos too much."
She smiled sweetly.
"It keeps things interesting."
Aria turned slightly, looking toward the palace again.
"Something else is coming."
Kael frowned.
"What?"
She closed her eyes briefly.
Feeling the air again.
The palace atmosphere.
Movement.
Footsteps.
Metal.
"More soldiers."
The Null Division commander stiffened.
"That's impossible. No reinforcements were ordered."
Selene sighed dramatically.
"Well."
She glanced toward the palace entrance.
"Looks like the conspiracy just arrived."
Torches flickered along the palace pathway.
Dozens of armored figures appeared through the trees.
Not Null Division.
Not the royal guard.
Different armor.
Black.
Unmarked.
Kael's expression turned dangerously cold.
"I definitely didn't authorize that."
Selene whispered softly,
"Oh this night just keeps getting better."
Aria felt the wind shift again.
The storm wasn't over.
Not even close.
And this time…
It wasn't just the sky that was about to break.