"I cannot sleep," Jacob admitted, staring at the ceiling while Anna lay beside him. "Every time I close my eyes, I see it.""See what?""Our children. Growing up with powers they cannot control. Making choices that lead them down the same path as the First Betrayer or Bishop Nico or any of the other people who started with good intentions and became monsters."Anna rolled onto her side to face him. "It is three in the morning. You need rest.""How can I rest knowing what we might be bringing into the world?" Jacob sat up, running his hands through his hair. "Elder Thorne said they will either save the world or destroy it. Those are the only options. No normal, peaceful life. No simple happiness. Just enormous responsibility and potential catastrophe.""You are catastrophizing.""Am I? My family was murdered because we held artifacts too powerful for any family to control. Your mother died fleeing assassins who wanted to use her bloodline for evil. Now we are combining both those legac

"This is ridiculous," Anna protested, examining the elaborate wedding dress laid out on her bed. "We are already married. Why do we need another ceremony?""Because the first one was an arranged transaction and the second was interrupted by a battle," Jacob replied from the doorway. "This time we do it properly. For us, not for politics or survival.""I am six months pregnant with twins. I look like I swallowed a watermelon.""You look beautiful."Anna made a face but could not hide her smile. Despite her protests, she wanted this. A real wedding, celebrated properly, surrounded by people who genuinely cared about them rather than political necessity.The preparations had taken weeks. The rebuilt Temple of Light was decorated with flowers and banners. Invitations had been sent to allies across Seron and Argo. A feast was planned that would feed five hundred guests. Nothing extravagant or wasteful, but proper acknowledgment of their union."Are you nervous?" Roseline asked, helping Ann

"Stop running!" Anna called out, chasing her son through the palace gardens. "Marcus, you cannot keep escaping during bath time!"The one-year-old giggled and toddled faster, his unstable legs making his escape more adorable than effective. Anna caught him easily, scooping him up as he squealed with delight."Gotcha.""No bath!" Marcus protested in his limited vocabulary."Yes bath. You have mud in your hair somehow."Jacob appeared from around the hedge carrying their daughter. "Mei was trying to eat flowers again. How do they find trouble so quickly?""They are our children. Trouble finds them."The twins had grown rapidly over their first year. Born premature and glowing with mystical power, they had terrified every doctor and specialist who examined them. But after those first chaotic weeks, something unexpected happened.The glowing faded. The visible power manifestations stopped. The twins became... normal babies.They cried when hungry, slept erratically, and produced an alarmi

"Show me what they can do," Elder Shen commanded the next morning, sitting cross-legged in the palace garden with Marcus and Mei playing nearby.Jacob and Anna exchanged nervous glances. "Should we encourage them to use their abilities?""I need to see their current capability level. Call Marcus over."Jacob knelt beside his son. "Marcus, can you make the candle flame bigger?"The boy nodded eagerly and reached toward a lit candle on the nearby table. The flame immediately doubled in size, then tripled, growing until it was a foot high before Anna quickly pulled Marcus's hand away."Enough, sweetheart."Shen made notes on a small scroll. "Impressive control for his age. Most children with fire affinity cannot affect existing flames until age three or four. Now the girl."Anna brought Mei to a wilted plant. "Can you make the flower pretty again?"Mei touched the plant with glowing hands. The transformation was instant and complete—not just healing but enhancement. The plant became more

"No fire until you ask permission," Jacob said firmly, placing an unlit candle on the garden table. "Show me you can wait."Marcus stared at the candle, his little hands twitching with the desire to light it. But he kept them at his sides, looking up at his father. "Permission?""Permission granted. Light it carefully."The candle flared to life with a controlled flame. No excess heat, no wild surges. Just steady, purposeful fire."Good. Now extinguish and wait again."They had been doing this exercise for thirty minutes. Teaching patience alongside power. Marcus was improving, though his natural enthusiasm for fire made waiting difficult for a toddler.Across the garden, Anna worked with Mei on selective healing."This plant is healthy. Do not touch it," Anna explained, pointing to a thriving rose bush. "This plant is sick. You may heal it. This plant is dying of old age. Leave it alone. Can you tell me why?"Mei studied each plant seriously. "Healthy plant happy. Sick plant needs he