Elara grinned. “I told you. Engineering.”

She named her price: “In return, you will teach me the old magic of the Silverwood—the kind that grows in roots and sings in running water.”

Months passed. The King grew worried. Suitors came and went, but Elara only had eyes for her strange, croaking companion. The court whispered: The princess has lost her wits.

Panic seized the court. But Elara did not panic. She looked at the frog on her shoulder.

The frog, stunned but intrigued, agreed.

The ruby blazed. The brass cage sang like a struck bell. And a wave of light—not pink or gold, but a deep, intelligent blue—swept through the room.