The False Star
"
My voice carried clear into the monster's mind.
It scrambled away in a panic, dissolved into a streak of black smoke, and vanished into the distance a hundred times faster than it had come.
The black clouds scattered, the thunder fell quiet, and the night sky cleared once more.
It was as if that world-ending disaster had been nothing but a dream.
Inside the hall and out, every member of the Ashveil Order—the three elders and Lyra among them—stared at me, struck dumb.
Their faces were full of shock, awe, and the wild joy of having lived through the storm.