Chapter 52: The Golden Cage

The border was no longer silent. The air crackled with the sound of burning ozone as more Sun Guards descended, their light-discs illuminating the canyon like a dozen miniature suns.

Killian stood over the fallen guard, his claws dripping with a mixture of blood and molten brass. His golden eyes were fixed on the ridge above, where a single, blinding figure stood, radiating a heat that made the very air tremble.

"Enough!" a voice boomed—not with vocal cords, but with the resonance of a thousand trumpets.

The guards immediately froze, dropping to one knee.

The figure descended slowly. He wasn't on a disc; he was walking on a staircase of solid, crystallized light. He wore armor of white gold, and his hair was a literal mane of flickering fire.

Solas, the Solar King.

He landed gracefully on the scorched earth, his gaze ignoring the carnage and landing directly on us. He didn't look at Killian first. He looked at Lucian.

"A child of the sun," Solas whispered, his voice vibrating with a terrifying mix of awe and possessiveness. "Carrying the pure brilliance of the first dawn... and yet, he stands in the shadow of a Blackwood."

"He is my son," Killian growled, stepping in front of Lucian. "And we are here for the Healer. Nothing more."

Solas finally looked at Killian, a small, condescending smile touching his lips. "The Alpha King of the North, hiding in the dirt like a rogue. And your Queen..." Solas looked at me, his eyes narrowing. "She is not ill, Blackwood. She is an abomination. A host for the Void."

"She is the Mother of my heirs!" Killian’s aura flared, a shockwave of silver and gold that actually managed to push back the intense heat of the Solar King for a second.

Solas didn't flinch. He raised a hand, and the sunlight in the canyon suddenly solidified, forming walls of amber-colored light that trapped us in a triangle.

"You seek the Tear of the Sun," Solas said, it wasn't a question. "But that crystal is for the pure. Not for those who harbor the Destroyer."

He looked at Nyx, who was baring her small, sharp teeth, her shadows lashing out at the amber walls.

"The girl must be purged," Solas declared. "But the boy... he is a miracle. He belongs with his own kind. He belongs in the Temple of Light."

"Touch him, and I will tear your sun out of the sky," I whispered, my voice raspy. I felt the Shadow-Mark on my chest screaming in the presence of so much 'purity'.

Solas looked at me, his expression turning cold. "You are dying, Vessel. Every second you spend in my domain, the sun burns your shadow-heart. You won't last three days."

He turned to his guards. "Take them to the Gilded Spire. Killian will be our 'guest'—in chains. The girl will be put in the Sun-Cell for observation. And the boy..."

Solas reached out, his hand glowing with a warmth that seemed to hypnotize Lucian for a moment. "The boy will sit beside me on the throne."

"No!" I screamed, but the amber walls closed in.

A blast of blinding white light hit us, and the world vanished into a void of heat and gold.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in a canyon anymore. I was in a room made entirely of glass and gold, suspended thousands of feet in the air.

I was alone.

I rushed to the glass wall, looking out. The Forbidden Peak was below us, glowing like a forge.

"Killian? Nyx? Lucian!" I pounded on the glass, but it didn't even vibrate.

“They can’t hear you, Sister.” > I spun around. In the corner of the room, sitting on a golden divan, was the sister-witch from the nursery. But she wasn't smoky or tattered anymore. She was wearing a dress of white silk, her green eyes shimmering with a victory I hadn't expected.

"Welcome to the Spire," she smiled. "The King thinks he caught a monster. He doesn't realize he just brought the match into his house of straw."