Airovale Episode 7: Deceptive Time

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Deceptive Time begins as a hunting trip and blossoms into forbidden romance. Aden and Kira, the fae elder's daughter, share banter that disarms defenses, then a kiss that literally unlocks magic. She reveals how fae control the island's savage beasts—why guardians patrol the jungle, why every creature bends to their will.

Beneath the waterfalls, Kira dares to invoke an ancient human-fae spell. The underground river carries them through darkness to a lost city glowing with mosaics and glyphs—truths buried by centuries. Here, among crumbling domes and luminous inscriptions, they discover the island's devastating secret encoded in stone: one day on the island equals one year beyond its shores.

Suddenly, everything makes terrible sense. The villagers' urgent insistence on swift departure. Their pitying silences. Every moment Aden and his crew linger is theft from loved ones back home—days for them, decades for family. The crew's parents age into elders. Children grow unrecognized. Entire lives slip away while they argue over fire-stone and treasure.

Aden races back to warn the crew, but Barra—wounded in pride and fury—demands a duel. Aden has kissed his betrothed, violated sacred custom, dishonored their host. In the clash of love, law, and vanity, the stage is set for tragedy. What was once a story of treasure becomes a countdown. The cost is no longer gold—it is years. This is Airovale, where time itself becomes the enemy, and the clock has already stolen more than anyone knows.

About Airovale: Airovale is a sweeping tale of marooned aeronauts, forbidden love, and an island where time itself demands its due. Fans of steampunk fantasy, forbidden romance, and mythic world-building will be swept away into a story where every kiss, every betrayal, and every choice echoes across generations.

When a storm maroons a zeppelin crew on a forgotten island, they believe survival means food, fire-stone, and a way home. But Airovale is no ordinary island. Here, fae walk beside mortals, beasts bend to their guardians, and a single day lingers as a year beyond its shores.

The villagers warn: 'This island never gives—there is only exchange.'

Drawn into the mysteries of the canyon city and the glowing ruins beneath the river, young aeronaut Aden discovers more than danger. With Kira, the fae daughter of an elder bound by duty to another, he learns the island's hidden law of time, love, and consequence. Every choice exacts a price, and desire itself can tip the balance.

As greed devours his crew, as war stirs between human and fae, Aden and Kira must decide whether to return to a world that has already aged beyond them—or risk everything in a portal that could cast them centuries into the past.

Continue with Airovale Episode 8: The Crescent Islands.