***Cadiz***
The call came in the middle of the night.
I was already having trouble sleeping, my mind too full of calculations about eight thousand soldiers and three days to prepare. So when pounding came at the door, I was awake before Raizel even stirred.
"My lord!" A guard's voice, urgent and frightened. "The underground chamber, something's happening again!"
Raizel and I dressed quickly and ran toward the west wing.
By the time we reached the entrance to the underground chamber, Duke Magnus and the elders were already there. Lord Corvin held a regular oil lantern, one of the few light sources still working.
"It's the boy," Lady Brenna said tersely. "He's waking up, and he's pulling magic from everything nearby."
I could feel it now that we were closer, a hungry, desperate void opening up beneath us. Not the controlled drain I'd learned to create, but something wild and unfocused, like throwing a net into water and catching everything instead of choosing your target.
