Chapter 15: Milo’s Discovery

I had always known Mo was different.

Not in the way people said it to be polite. Not in the way teachers labeled her “gifted” or classmates called her “weird.” He knew it in his bones. There was something about her—something ancient, something wild. Something that didn’t quite belong in the world they shared.

But he hadn’t known she wasn’t exactly human.

Not until the signs became impossible to ignore.

It started with her sleep. The way she drifted off like she was being summoned. The way her skin glowed faintly in moonlight. The way her hair, once just red, now shimmered like flame. And her eyes—those emerald eyes—had begun to reflect things he couldn’t name. Stars, maybe. Or memories.

She spoke in her sleep sometimes. Names he didn’t recognize. Places that didn’t exist. Words that felt like echoes from another world.

I had been researching in secret, but in old books, forums, and libraries tucked away in the city's corners. Places where people whispered about the veil between worlds. He found stories—of fairies who crossed over, of children born with elemental gifts, of guardians who watched from the shadows. Ever since Aine told me the truth, I had been devouring any knowledge there was to help figure out how I could help Mo.

And then he found a name.

Emberleaf.

It was in a fragment of a poem, buried in a forgotten archive:

“When flame meets flesh and stars align,

Emberleaf shall cross the line.

Born of wing and mortal thread,

She walks where others fear to tread.”

I stared at the words for hours.

It was her.

Mo.

My sister.

My best friend.

A fairy.

The realization hit me like a bolt from the blue. It explained everything—the fire, the dreams, the trials. But it also terrified me. Because if Mo were a fairy, then she didn’t belong here. Not really. And the more she slept, the more she slipped away.

I wanted to scream at her to wake up, I wanted to beg her to wake up and stay with me. But I couldn’t, I couldn’t risk Aeloria for my own selfish need.  But I am not ready to be alone, and I don’t want her to leave me.

I waited three more days before Aine showed again. When she walked through the door, the need to vent took hold.

“You’re not human,” I say with a tight voice.

She looked up, startled. Then, slowly, she nodded.

“If Mo isn’t human, am I human?” I mutter.

“You're in a fine mood today, as for what you are, you don’t need to know just yet,” Aine responds as she passes by me to check on Mo.

“Why can’t you tell me?” I yell.

“Your time hasn’t come yet,” she whispered. “I know that makes you scared, but you need to be patient.”

“I’m not,” I say.

“Clearly,” Aine responds as she finishes taking Mo’s vitals.

I smirk and shrug my shoulders.

“How is Mo doing in Aeloria?” I ask as I continue to watch Aine.

“She is ok, she is scared but ok,” Aine responds as she finally stops checking Mo.

“I need more,” I growl as we both take a seat.

“Mo’s body is changing, since she has undergone the trials, she is struggling to deal with all the change and the powers that are now coursing through her body.  I am trying to help her, but this isn’t a journey that anyone can do for Mo; this is something that she has to learn and do herself.” Aine replies sadly.

“What do you call her, Emberleaf or Mo?” I asked. For some reason, it was important to know what Mo was being called. I felt that if she was being called Mo, she was having some sense and wanted to stay with me.

“Both, really,” Aine replies as she continues to stare at me.

“How is the veil?” I ask

“The veil is breaking every day; it is getting weaker and weaker,” Aine responded sadly.

From the day Aine told me everything, I had been researching and sitting with Mo, reading to her, telling her stories about our childhood and what was happening at school. Doing everything possible to keep her connected to this world as much as she was connected to Aeloria. I became more than a guardian. I became a bridge. Hell, I even researched rituals, tracked ley lines, and mapped the thinning places between worlds. I kept Mo grounded.

But the more I learned, the more I realized how deep the danger ran.

One night, Aine found him in the sanctuary library, surrounded by scrolls and maps.

“What are you doing?,” she said.

I looked up. “I need to know everything I can.”

Aine scowled. “This isn’t what I said or meant about keeping loyal and keeping her grounded. Learning about this puts you in danger. This is stupid, Milo, very stupid.”

“I can’t find much on the  Hollowborn,” Milo said.

Aine’s wings shimmered. “Yes. They were sealed beyond the veil after the First Breaking. But the seal is weakening. The trials Mo completed—fire, water, air, and earth—were meant to restore balance. But they also stirred the ancient force. But Milo, you need to stop looking into this. This isn’t something that you are meant to know yet. I can tell you that on your sixteenth birthday, you will find out what you need to know.”

“That is too far away.” I shout.

“Milo, you are currently twelve. It is only a few years away, be patient,” Aine says calmly.

“What about the Eerie?” Milo asked.

“Fragments of corrupted magic,” Aine said. “They slipped through the cracks. They feed on fear, on forgetting. They’re drawn to imbalance. Milo, stop asking me. I will not tell you anymore. I am leaving, take care. I will come again.”

My voice was quiet. “One last question, and I will let you stop talking about it. What of the veil?”

“It’s not just a barrier,” Aine said. “It’s a living force. A membrane between realities. When it fails, the Hollowborn will return. And they will consume everything.”