The sound of footsteps light and graceful announced her before the door opened.
Kaelith didn't need to look up. She already knew.
Her mother, the other one, had arrived.
The tall crystal doors opened, and light pooled into the dining room, framing Elysia in a soft golden halo as she stepped in. Sunlight caught in her silver hair, cascading down her back like woven starlight.
Her violet eyes scanned the room quickly and landed on the seat next to Malvoria. She wore a long robe the color of lilacs and flame elegant, flowing, with subtle embroidery that shimmered as she moved.
Kaelith watched as Malvoria, the ever-feared Demon Queen, the war-forged commander whose name still made mortals flinch, softened instantly.
It was subtle the way her hand relaxed from the mug, the edge of her shoulders dropped, the tightness around her eyes faded but Kaelith caught it all.
She rolled her eyes with a small grin.
"Late again, my love," Malvoria murmured as Elysia glided to her side.
"And yet still beautiful," Elysia replied smoothly, pressing a kiss to her wife's temple before sitting down. "How tragic for time."
"Tragic for breakfast," muttered Ulrich through a mouthful of toast.
"Tragic for the toast," Ulricha added.
Hestia nodded solemnly as if declaring a royal decree.
Kaelith leaned back in her chair, her grin stretching. "Ugh. Could you two not flirt before I've had something to eat? Some of us are emotionally fragile in the mornings."
Elysia chuckled, pouring herself a glass of golden citrus nectar. "Good morning to you too, little storm."
Kaelith raised a brow. "I'm twenty-three."
Elysia raised hers right back. "You'll always be my little storm."
Malvoria smirked faintly at that, then leaned closer to her wife, dropping her voice low. "She was up early. Voluntarily."
Elysia's eyes widened in theatrical surprise. "Should I alert the stars?"
"She was watching that enchanted university projection again," Malvoria added in a mutter.
Elysia turned to Kaelith, eyes twinkling. "Ah. So today's the day you bring it up officially."
Kaelith narrowed her eyes. "How do you always know?"
"You're my daughter," Elysia replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I've known since you were three and tried to rewire the palace library's magical filing system so the 'boring books' would burn themselves."
Kaelith flushed slightly. "That system was inefficient."
"It caught fire, darling."
"You don't have proof."
Malvoria snorted into her tea. "It was glowing purple and had your signature."
Elysia reached across the table and gently squeezed Kaelith's hand. "So? You're ready now?"
Kaelith nodded, the fire returning behind her eyes. "I want to apply. I've read all the regulations. I know the process, I've memorized the testing requirements. I want to go."
Elysia didn't answer immediately. She looked her daughter over carefully. She took in the calm confidence in her posture, the stubborn pride in her eyes, the controlled stillness in her magic.
The last remnants of that little girl who once set the palace nursery on fire now lingered only in memory.
"I support you," Elysia said softly.
Malvoria sighed, long and slow.
Kaelith did not smirk, but gods, she wanted to.
Elysia turned to her wife. "Mal, she's not a child. She's more disciplined than half your captains."
"She's also my daughter," Malvoria replied pointedly. "Which makes her a target the second she steps into a classroom filled with enemies disguised as scholars."
"She already is a target," Elysia said. "Sheltering her doesn't erase that. It just gives the illusion of safety."
Kaelith tried not to bask in the way her mother spoke. But it was hard not to glow when Elysia said things like that. With so much belief. With fire and elegance.
Malvoria looked between them. "This is a trap. You're both ganging up on me."
"Technically," Kaelith offered, "it's only ganging up if we outnumber you and you're defenseless."
"I'm never defenseless."
Kaelith grinned. "Then it's a diplomatic negotiation."
Malvoria groaned and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Of course it is."
"Think of it this way," Elysia said, her voice calm but firm. "She's already fought in three realm skirmishes. She knows how to control her magic, she's fluent in three languages, she can dismantle an illusion in less than five seconds—"
"Three," Kaelith corrected, lifting her glass.
"See?" Elysia smiled. "She's ready."
Malvoria drummed her fingers on the table in thought.
Kaelith waited. The room had gone quiet again, the twins watching intently now, as if the fate of breakfast hung in the balance.
Then Malvoria spoke, low and reluctant.
"Okay."
Kaelith blinked.
Malvoria continued, "But only if you get a bodyguard."