Parker straightened his navy Tom Ford jacket one final time as they gathered in the main hall. The palace buzzed with the organized chaos of a cosmic family preparing for what might be the most important social event in universal history.
Ere padded into the room on silent paws, her sleek black form moving with predatory grace that seemed more pronounced than usual. The magical cat's golden eyes held an intensity that made Parker pause.
"Ere? You feeling alright?"
She sat primly and tilted her head, but there was something different in her gaze. For just a moment, Parker could have sworn he saw something ancient flicker behind those golden orbs—a recognition, a memory trying to surface.
"My liege," she said in her normal voice, but it carried an odd weight. "I find myself... remembering things. Fragments. A great ocean, endless depths, power that could swallow galaxies..."
The hall went dead silent.
Then Cassidy snorted with laughter. "Did the Ere I know just call you 'liege'?"
