Two guards, clad in silver armor, walked beside me, with two more trailing behind and two leading the way. Despite the heavy reinforcement, my hands and feet remained unshackled. I didn't feel like a prisoner; rather, I felt like an honored guest.

A wide corridor stretched before us, its white walls flanked by large windows that offered a view of the entire kingdom of Velindor in all its glory. The morning sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a warm glow on my face.

Soon, we reached a giant wooden door, where a female fairy awaited with a dozen thick books in her arms, and a large pair of round glasses hiding most of her face.

"Ah, you have arrived! Excellent! The queen awaits just beyond these doors. Please proceed!" the girl bowed, gesturing for us to enter.

As we passed, I glanced down at her, her eyes meeting mine. At that moment, she flinched in fear, avoiding my gaze entirely as her body trembled.

Entering the courtroom, I was met with many stern gazes and silent whispers.

"Is he really the son of our savior, Cyrus?" one whisper asked.

"That's what I've heard. But how could the son of such a noble man end up a murderer?" another responded, posing another question.

The room was filled with whispers. Some spoke ill of me, while others sided with me solely because of who my father was; they believed it impossible for his son to be as despicable as I was painted to be by the crowd. Soon, the courtroom would resemble nothing more than a tavern where people gathered to spread wild rumors.

"Silence!" The queen's sharp voice pierced through the room, instantly quelling the whispers and gossip.

"We do not judge those who haven't been judged yet! For all you know, this boy is innocent, and I will prove it to you!" she declared, her authoritative tone resounding from her elevated seat at the end of the room.

A heavy silence hung in the air until the queen spoke again.

"Before I begin, I would like Valerian, the son of the great Cyrus, to stand up and tell his truth."

All eyes turned to me once more. Normally, I wouldn't have cared, having long grown accustomed to being looked down upon and judged unfairly. But now, with the chance to defend myself, I felt a tremor in my legs and a tightness in my throat, making it difficult to utter a single word.

"I am Valerian, known to you as the son of Cyrus, but also the son of my mother, Seraphina, a former avian," I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "I am a half-breed, the first of my kind, and I have been punished for it. In that punishment, I found solace—a family, something I wished for since the dawn of my existence. I lived in peace until the recent attack. When an avian is banished, they become mortal, stripped of their celestial nature. At first, the same fate befell me. I was small and frail, ignorant of the world. I thought it was what I wanted, but I yearned for a part of my old self, for I am a child of two worlds, neither avian nor human. I wished for my wings to return, and they did. One day, the world seemed to stand still, and I encountered a raven-haired boy with red eyes. He was hostile at first, until hatred consumed me and my wings returned, and new powers awakened."

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Whispers filled the room once more, some believing my story and others doubting its truth.

"That would make him the first fallen avian to reawaken his powers! If we make him an ally of the Fey, we will be unstoppable!" one voice whispered excitedly.

"Don't be foolish! He's lying through his teeth! He killed that boy in cold blood, and that's that!" another voice countered.

As the whispers grew louder, a sudden, aggressive strum of strings echoed through the room, followed by a high-pitched voice yelling, commanding attention.

"You fools! Do not speak of what you do not know!" Silas stood from the crowd, every eye now fixed on him.

"This boy saved countless lives that night! You have no right to doubt him, for I and all the others saw him high in the skies, with wings dark as the night sky, fighting for our sakes! You don't know because you weren't there; he saved us, not you. So show him some respect, as he was the one who fulfilled your duty!" Silas concluded, then sat down as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you, bard," the queen said with a smile, then continued.

"Please, Valerian, continue."

"The boy spoke in riddles, and it was hard to make sense of his words. He spoke of using me as a vessel for his return, and when the queen told me the story of my father and his deal with the boy, it all made sense. You all know what he asked of my father for your peace: a dark part of his soul and the most precious thing two years from then. That was me. I was promised as a vessel to the boy, and now looking back, I am sure those awakened powers are not mine, but his. When I fought the orcs, I started to lose control. Whispers filled my mind, and without my consent, the darkness spread across the ground, swallowing all enemies, and in the middle of it all stood an innocent boy. I watched him get swallowed by an endless pool of darkness; I could not save him. I know it wasn't me who unleashed that power, for I lost myself for just a moment, and in that moment, all was lost. I do not know what this means, but I can tell you one thing: this feeling inside me, is not innocence but guilt. In my mind, it was me who killed him, and I will live the rest of my life with that truth. Do what you wish with that."

As I finished talking, silence fell upon the room.

"Thank you, Valerian," the queen said softly.

"Now, that his part of the story is told, I will proceed with clearing his name once and for all! I have foreseen a future, or past to be more precise, of this young man, one of many."

"The queen had a prophecy? There haven't been any prophecies since the first queen predicted the demon breach!" the whispers erupted once more.

"It is the truth! It came to me some time ago. We, the Fey folk, were the first of mortals to exist, and we have been entrusted with the safekeeping of this world and my bloodline has been gifted with the gift of foretelling. I have foreseen a terrible future, and this trial will not only prove Valerian's innocence, but it will also change the course of time, saving us from doom. I will show you this future; you will see the world through Valerian's eyes and feel what he felt, although only upon awakening will you possess the knowledge of what happened. After that, you will be able to judge him as you please."

The queen stood and spoke something in the language of the Fey. The gemstone on her ring gleamed green, blinding me and transporting me to another world. I saw the Emberfield village from a hill. Suddenly, my vision blurred, and the village gradually faded from sight.