جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 350

ARAHEENShe sat in the interrogator’s chair positioned beside the cell door.Her eyes drifted over Kohina, noting that the seer no longer showed any visible distress. Her hands had fully healed, both through her salamander physiology and the restorative magic of the sylphs. No trace of the horrific Devil Star damage remained.Kohina had been given a simple white dress. Among the sylphs, it was meant to be degrading—a symbolic stripping away of the enemies’ barbarity, replacing it with something the sylphs considered purity and dignity.Lately, the practice had begun to feel strange and wrong to Araheen.Much like many of their customs.“I trust this accommodation is better than the one you recently had,” she said, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her lap.Her eyes roamed around the chamber. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all forged from silver, every surface etched with dense layers of sigils.The

ARAHEENHer father had once told her that only a handful of people had ever descended to the lowest level of the Crescent Tower. Most sylphs did not even know it existed.The secrets of the Pits had always been kept by the Warden—who had served since the tower’s founding—and by whoever bore the title of Army General.Araheen followed the Warden down a narrow corridor that ended in a recessed alcove carved into the stone wall. Suspended within it was a bronze falcon.The statue hovered motionless in the air. Its eyes, forged from a darker shade of bronze, seemed to watch them as they approached.The moment they stepped onto the platform, the falcon’s wings slowly spread.She glanced up at the Warden, faintly surprised that the broad-shouldered man could fit within the narrow alcove beside her. Or perhaps it was simply that she herself was smaller and lighter by comparison.The Warden suddenly went still. His eyes turne

GILDEONWeeks passed.They secured three more Vulkar’s Rod fragments. The sylphs chose to house them in the war command chamber.Gildeon had initially wanted them assembled in the High Council chamber to make a statement. But when he realized this room sat directly beneath the Great Hall, where the sylphs were preparing a victory party, he let it go.All their highest-ranking officials would gather above this room that night, making it the perfect time to carry out his plan.“This is perfect,” he said aloud as he finished arranging the four calcified fragments on the table.He positioned them carefully—each piece angled inward, their broken ends facing one another to form a rough circle at the center.“How is this supposed to reveal Pyrehead’s location?” Feviel asked, skepticism plain on his face.“I need to activate the enchantment with my fire,” Gildeon replied. “But it won’t work until we have two more fragm

ARAHEENShe stared at her reflection in the tall mirror lining the wall of the Great Hall, her expression distant.Her curls were gathered into an elegant bun at the back of her head, pinned in place with her sigil needle, shaped like a delicate ornament among the strands. A few loose curls framed her face, softening her otherwise composed appearance.She wore silver-strapped heels and matching dangling earrings. Her emerald dress clung to her form, a long slit running up one side to reveal her smooth leg, and the fitted holster that secured her phoenix dagger.Since her father had given it to her, she had not parted with it once.In the mirror, she saw Feviel approaching from behind, carrying two glasses of sparkling wine—similar to the kind lower mortals often drank in celebration.He smiled as his gaze moved over her reflection.“You look beautiful, as always.” He handed her one of the glasses. “But you seem troubl

ARAHEEN“Open the roof,” her father commanded.At once, the guards moved. Mechanisms groaned to life as hidden latches disengaged. The domed ceiling of the Great Hall split along its seams, metal segments sliding apart in smooth arcs. One by one, the panels folded outward like unfolding petals, until the ceiling gave way to the night.A vast, starless sky opened above them.While the structure shifted, Araheen descended from the stage—quick, but measured, careful not to draw attention.“Father—”But Lothair had already moved, drifting beyond her reach.Her focus snapped instead to Gildeon, who was watching the opening above.“You’re not seriously going to shift here, are you?” she said under her breath.He lowered his gaze to meet hers and gave a slight shrug. “I’m a prisoner,” he said. “I don&rsq