"Enough lets go to sleep we need to be awake early"

.

.

.

The next morning, Kaya woke before dawn as usual, slipping out of bed while Veer still slept. The heat in her chest had been worse overnight—pulsing, burning, making it hard to breathe. But she ignored it. She always ignored it.

The twenty warriors were already waiting when she reached the training ground, backs straight, faces determined. They’d come so far in just weeks. She was proud of them, even if she’d never say it out loud.

"Alright," Kaya said, picking up her wooden stick. "Today we’re working on evasion. Real combat isn’t about standing your ground—it’s about not getting hit in the first place."

She demonstrated the footwork, moving in fluid arcs, showing them how to redirect momentum instead of absorbing impact. The warriors followed, mimicking her movements.

Everything was normal.

Until it wasn’t.

The heat in Kaya’s chest suddenly flared—not gradually, but all at once, like someone had poured molten metal directly into her ribs. She stumbled mid-step, gasping, hand flying to her sternum.

"Instructor?" one of the warriors called out, concerned.

"I’m fine," Kaya forced out, but her voice sounded wrong even to her own ears.

She tried to take another step. Her vision blurred. The world tilted sideways, and she realized with horror that her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore.

She was floating.

Rising.

"Instructor!" Multiple voices shouted now, urgent and afraid.

Kaya tried to force herself down, tried to will her body to obey gravity like it should, but the heat was spreading—through her chest, down her arms, into her legs. It felt like her entire body was on fire from the inside out.

And she kept rising.

Five feet off the ground. Six. Seven.

The warriors stood frozen below her, eyes wide with shock and something close to terror. Some had their hands half-raised like they wanted to help but didn’t know how.

"Get Veer," one of them finally said. "Now!"

Two warriors broke formation and sprinted toward the house.

Kaya’s breathing came in short, painful gasps. She could feel something shifting inside her—bones, muscles, something deeper—and it hurt so badly she wanted to scream but couldn’t force the sound out.

Her vision darkened at the edges.

The last thing she heard before everything went black was Cutie’s voice, sharp with panic: "KAYA!"

***

She woke up on her bed, surrounded by faces.

Veer was on her left, gripping her hand so hard it hurt. Cutie was on her right, one hand pressed to her forehead, checking for fever. Sparrow stood at the foot of the bed, wings half-spread in agitation.

And behind them—Veer’s father, Raven, Talon, Kite, and several elders she recognized from the wedding.

Everyone had seen.

"How long?" Kaya croaked.

"Ten minutes," Veer said, voice tight. "You passed out mid-air. Cutie caught you before you hit the ground."

Kaya’s gaze shifted to Cutie, who looked pale but steady. "Thank you."

He just nodded.

Veer’s father stepped forward, expression unreadable. "The warriors saw you fly. Without wings. Without transformation. Without beast blood." His voice was measured, controlled. "They’re outside right now, talking. Word will spread."

Kaya closed her eyes. Of course it would.

"What are you?" one of the elders demanded, voice sharp with fear. "You have no marks. No beast form. No wings. Yet you fly like—"

"Enough," Veer snarled. "She’s my wife."

"A wife who defies nature itself," the elder shot back. "A wife who could be—"

"Awakening," Kite interrupted quietly.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Kite pushed off the wall, expression unusually serious. "She’s awakening. Becoming something more." He looked directly at Kaya. "You’ve been changing for weeks, haven’t you? The heat. The strength. The floating."

Kaya didn’t answer, but her silence was confirmation enough.

"Awakening to what?" Veer’s father asked sharply. "She has no beast blood to awaken."

"Not beast blood," Raven said slowly, realization dawning on his face. "Something else. I’ve heard stories—old ones—about females who came from... elsewhere. Who had no beast forms but developed powers anyway. Different powers." He looked at Kaya with something close to awe. "The elders called them Skyborn."

"Skyborn are legends," Veer’s father said flatly.

"So were vulture beastmen who could cross the great mountains," Kite countered. "Until our grandfather did it. Legends come from somewhere."

"And what do these legends say?" the elder demanded. "That these... Skyborn are safe? Controllable?"

"They say," Raven spoke carefully, "that Skyborn were some of the greatest warriors and protectors ever known. Fierce. Loyal. Powerful."

"Or," the elder hissed, "the greatest threats. We don’t know which she’ll become. She could lose control. Destroy the tribe. Bring enemies hunting us."

"She won’t," Veer said through gritted teeth.

"You don’t know that," the elder shot back.

"I do," Cutie said quietly, but with absolute certainty.

Everyone looked at him.

"How?" the elder demanded.

Cutie met Kaya’s eyes. "Because she’s spent her entire life in control. Surviving. Protecting others." He looked back at the elder. "That doesn’t change just because her power does."

Veer’s father was silent for a long moment, studying Kaya’s face. Finally, he spoke. "The council will want answers. They’ll want proof she’s not dangerous."

"Then they can come ask me themselves," Kaya said, pushing herself up despite the protests. Her body felt weak, wrung out, but functional. "I’m not hiding anymore."

"Kaya—" Veer started.

"No," she interrupted. "They’ve seen. Everyone’s seen. There’s no point pretending." She looked at Veer’s father. "I don’t know what I’m becoming. I don’t know how to control it yet. But I’m not leaving. And I’m not letting anyone use this as an excuse to hurt the people here."

Veer’s father studied her for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, he nodded. "Fair enough. But you’ll train. Learn to control it. Because if you don’t, and someone gets hurt accidentally, I won’t be able to protect you from the council’s judgment."

"I understand," Kaya said.

"Good." He turned to leave, then paused. "And Kaya? For what it’s worth—I’m glad my son chose someone strong. Even if you’re... unprecedented."

It wasn’t approval. But it was close.

After he left with the elders, only the family remained.

Talon was the first to speak, grinning. "So. My sister-in-law can fly without wings. That’s actually incredible."

"Talon," Raven said warningly.

"What? It is!" Talon looked at Kaya. "Can you do other things?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Despite everything, Kaya’s mouth twitched. "I can lift things I shouldn’t be able to. And apparently float in my sleep."

"Amazing," Talon breathed.

"Dangerous," Raven corrected. "If word spreads beyond the tribe, others will come. Some to study you. Some to use you. Some to eliminate the threat."

"Then we make sure she’s ready," Veer said firmly. "We train. We prepare. Together."

Kaya looked around the room—at Veer’s determined expression, Cutie’s steady presence, Sparrow’s nervous but loyal stance, and Veer’s brothers standing ready to help.

Her secret was out.

The whole tribe knew.

And she had no idea what happened next.

But for the first time since the changes started, she didn’t feel alone.

"Alright," she said quietly. "Let’s figure this out."

Because hiding was over.

Now came the hard part—learning what she was becoming, and whether she could control it before it destroyed everything she’d started to build.