As the first light of dawn slipped through the heavy curtains of his chamber, Heiko’s mind stirred not from the natural pull of morning or the rustle of servants in the halls, but from an irritating buzz at the edge of his consciousness, sharp, persistent, like a fly that refused to die. The voice came through the mind link, crisp and composed, with a thread of unease tightly wound beneath the surface.
“Son… is everything okay?”
Heiko groaned quietly, the voice of his father slicing through the comforting haze of sleep like a blade. For a moment, he didn’t answer, didn’t move. He didn’t even know where he was exactly, his body was warm, cradled in something soft, a sensation rare and unfamiliar to him. His mind was still buried in the rare tranquility of rest, lulled by something he coul
