The Price Of Fate
Gold-threaded banners hung between carved pillars, each bearing a symbol I did not know but felt in my blood: a golden dragon wrapped around a silver wolf beneath a burning crown.
Dragon and Phantom wolf. Tobias’s blood. My blood. The floor was polished black stone veined with cream and gold, reflecting us faintly as we entered. Heat moved under it, not uncomfortable, but alive. Along one side of the hall, water flowed in a narrow channel bordered by pale stone and green moss. Along the other, thin lines of controlled fire glowed behind glassy rock. Fire and water in the same hall. Living side by side. Watched. Balanced. Ruled.