The first to answer the summons was House Virellian, Lords of the Eastern Peaks.
Not with banners or welcome but with blades drawn.
Seraphira and Elena rode into the Vale of Echoes escorted by witches in flame-painted armor. The wind that swept through the trees carried more than chill, it carried the scent of burning metal.
They're waiting for us, Elena said, watching smoke rise in the distance.
They mean to test me, Seraphira replied.
đ At the gate of Virellian Keep...
A war-host waited.
Three hundred armored soldiers, steel glinting in the cold sun. Their commander, Lord Halric Virellian, stood with sword unsheathed and teeth clenched.
I thought I summoned peace, Seraphira said as she approached.
You summoned demands, Halric growled. A cursed exile wearing old flame and speaking of unity? This is a bluff. A trick of the Underworld.
I summoned choice, Seraphira corrected. You are free to refuse.
Halric sneered. And be consumed?
She met his gaze without flinching.
If you force my hand, she said, there will be nothing left of your hand.
The flames beneath her boots stirred.
The spiral on her wrist flared.
And the stone archway of the gate carved centuries ago with Virellian pride cracked.
Just a fracture.
But enough.
Halric's eyes widened.
You would threaten me?
No, Seraphira said softly. I would warn you.
She lifted her hand.
And ash rained from the sky.
Not natural ash. Not from fire or forge. But summoned ash, drawn from the depths of her memory from a time before kings, when the world still remembered what true fire was.
It swirled through the air like snow.
It fell upon banners. Blades. Helmets.
And where it landed, it burned not hot, but hollowing. Steel rusted. Banners turned to thread. Sigils faded.
The message was clear.
The old power had returned.
đ That nightâŠ
Seraphira sat by a quiet fire at the base of the ruined gate. Elena brought her tea but said nothing.
They won't be the last to test me, Seraphira murmured.
No, Elena said. But you passed.
They'll think I'm like him.
Elena hesitated. Are you?
Seraphira looked up, her gaze distant. He's in my blood. But I'm not him.
I know, Elena whispered. But he's not finished with you.
Far off, thunder rolled. But the sky was clear.
The storm wasn't above.
It was beneath.
đ In the UnderworldâŠ
Kaelreth stood before a brazier of shadowflame, watching the embers rise.
She has broken her first gate, Malkor reported.
Kaelreth nodded.
She leads, Malkor added, almost unsure. Not as your shadow... but as her own.
Kaelreth didn't reply for a long moment.
Then,
"Let her lead."
"For now."
He closed his hand, extinguishing the flame.
"She must walk as Queen... before she chooses what kind of goddess she'll become."