This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.
Seraphina had always been different, though she couldn't quite understand why. Born in the remote village of Aethermoor, nestled between rolling emerald hills and ancient stone circles, she possessed an unusual gift that manifested in childhood. While other children played with wooden toys and chased butterflies through meadows, Seraphina found herself drawn to the night sky with an intensity that worried her grandmother, Morwyn.
"Child, you spend far too much time staring at the stars," Morwyn would say, her weathered hands guiding Seraphina away from the window. "There are earthly matters that require your attention."
But Seraphina couldn't help herself. When darkness fell and the celestial tapestry unfurled above, she felt a pull so strong it seemed to resonate in her very bones. The stars spoke to her in whispers only she could hear, and sometimes, just sometimes, she could swear they moved in response to her thoughts.
On her eighteenth birthday, as autumn painted the landscape in shades of gold and crimson, everything changed. Seraphina had ventured to the ancient stone circle that crowned the hill overlooking their village, a place locals called the Crown of Aether. The standing stones, worn smooth by countless years of wind and rain, formed a perfect circle around a raised dais where druids once performed sacred rituals.
As midnight approached, the stars above began to pulse with an ethereal light. Seraphina gasped as constellations she had memorized since childhood suddenly rearranged themselves, forming new patterns that hurt her eyes to look upon directly. The air around her shimmered with an otherworldly energy, and she felt a warmth spreading through her chest, as if something long dormant was finally awakening.
