CHAPTER 103The wind snapped unnaturally around Elias as he staggered forward, the world tilting.Something inside him tore open.“No—” Elias grunted, clutching his chest. “Serros.”His magic surged unbidden, the ground beneath his feet fracturing with white-hot glyphs. Light—not gentle but angry—spilled from his hands, forming cracks in the air itself. The sky above trembled. Birds screeched and scattered.Lucian was beside him in an instant. “What’s happening?”“I don’t—” Elias hissed, voice shaking, Kairis and Dorian arrived from opposite ends of the ruined encampment, soldiers pausing mid-order as the air thickened around them like molasses.Kairis frowned. “His magic’s spiking. It’s not normal—”“Nothing’s ever normal around him,” Dorian muttered, though his tone lacked sarcasm. “Back away. Now.”“I’m fine—!” Elias tried to say, but his voice was no longer just his own.A second voice rose inside him, low and velvet-dark.“You are not fine. You never were.”“Thal’rean,” Elias wh
CHAPTER 102"Amaria? The bulb—it’s glowing."Luthiel’s voice cracked through the Hall of Ascendancy like a whip. Amaria, standing at the high end of the chamber, turned immediately. The crystal bulb, nestled in the mouth of the sacred basin, pulsed with an unnatural crimson light."That’s a death flare," Samael whispered from the shadows, his wings folding in tight. "Only one person had a tether to that bulb."Amaria was already descending the steps."Serros," she murmured.The moment her fingers touched the rim of the basin, the bulb flared brighter and cast a ghostly projection into the air—Serros, bloodied."Oh gods," muttered Zevran."Silence," Amaria ordered.Serros staggered forward in the projection, glancing toward them as though he could see through time."If this reaches you," he said, voice wet and broken but steady, "it means I failed. He’s not coming. He’s already here."The air behind him rippled—dark, almost alive."Who is he talking about?" one of the younger scribes a
CHAPTER 101The cave was hidden deep within the mountains, a place even angels dared not tread. The wind howled outside like dying things, but inside, all was silent. The walls pulsed faintly with ancient glyphs, inked in forbidden script. Every inch of the stone was laced with magic from an age long buried—older than even Erethar’s dominion.Serros stood at the center of the sanctum, barefoot, shirtless, arms marred with fresh cuts. Blood streaked down his chest, dripping into the runes he’d carved into the stone floor.He was mumbling.A chant. A plea. A curse.“Chains of the Hollow, Eyes of the First Flame, Guardians of the Echoing Gate—bind what rises. Seal the hunger. Seal the hunger.”His voice was raw.His body trembled.“You’re late,” he whispered, half to himself, half to the shadows. “I thought I had more time.”Behind him, the candlelight flickered. A whisper of breath stirred the air—but when Serros turned, nothing was there.He inhaled sharply.He stepped forward and knel
CHAPTER 100“He’s late.”Samael’s voice cut through the silence like a blade.The Hall of Ascendancy shimmered in quiet anticipation, the council seated on their raised thrones. Golden light bathed the space, making every movement look slow, deliberate. Victory was rare here, and today, they had won without dirtying their own hands.“Let him come,” said Zevran lazily, one arm draped over the side of his throne. “He’ll be furious someone else finished the job. I’m honestly looking forward to it.”“He’s not going to like it,” Seraphiel added, dry amusement coloring his tone. “Good,” muttered Luthiel. “That blade belongs here, not in the hands of that deranged exile.”There was a shift in the atmosphere then. A breeze that came from nowhere. Cold. Ancient.The doors at the far end of the hall opened without sound.And Serros stepped in.Barefoot.Blood still on his robes.In his hand, he dragged the sacred blade—its tip scratching faint lines into the crystal floor. He looked hollow, li
CHAPTER 99The estate had settled into a rare silence.The training courtyards were empty for the evening, and the light from the moons bathed the halls in soft silver. Isara moved through the corridors.She had watched Elias train that morning—watched the way his movements had grown sharper, faster, as if something buried was clawing its way to the surface. She’d made careful notes, observed everything down to the tremble in his fingers when he thought no one was looking.And she had seen the black flicker in his eyes again.Now, with her shift over and no prying eyes around, she finally allowed herself to ascend.Her door shut softly behind her. She locked it, lit the seven ceremonial candles, and knelt in the center of the sigil drawn across her floor in powdered silverroot. Her voice was steady as she chanted the invocation.Light cracked through the air—sharp and silent.In a blink, she stood within the Hall of Ascendancy.Above her, light poured down from unseen heights. Pillars
CHAPTER 98The instant Elias stepped into the chamber, the book snapped shut.Hard.The force sent a gust of air through the room, snuffing out two of the candles near the altar and throwing Kairis’s hair across her face.Elias stopped mid-step, his eyes narrowing. “What was that?”Lucian exhaled slowly, gaze fixed on the ancient tome. “It... didn’t do that earlier.”Kairis stepped forward, one pale finger reaching for the cover again. “It senses him.”Before anyone could speak, the book shuddered.Then flipped itself open again—pages flying violently, as if hands far stronger than theirs had seized it. Shadows bled from the text, curling like smoke, spilling off the table and crawling along the ground.Elias instinctively took a step back.“Kairis,” Lucian barked. “What the hell is that?”She didn’t answer right away. Her pupils were dilated, black eating at the whites of her eyes as she stared into the center of the book.“It’s reacting to Valarieth,” she said softly.Elias’s breath