Time had stretched into a quiet torment. Each day crawled by like a year. And when the leaves started changing hue to a fiery orange, she felt it even more. Without Kai, life had dulled to a pale shadow of what it once was. The Southern borders trembled with unrest, minor rebellions flared like sparks on dry wood, and Kai's generals and butler Siamon were left to extinguish them alone. With the devil prince gone, greedy eyes turned not only toward the gold of Thegara but toward his wife as well.
Ren stood on the top of a golden plain, fingers tangled in the thick feathers of Ogain's neck.
"Ogain," she whispered, her voice carried by the wind, "why did you linger in the Cave temple, in the Veil Valley? Did you sense something there… something strange that was u know to me? I felt your suspicion."
