Adrian's pov
The wind tore through the kingdom's outer walls, carrying the acrid scent of smoke and burning wood. Every step I took sent ripples through the earth beneath me, and I could feel the air bending, warping, around the raw power coiling inside me. The forest was behind me now, the shadows I had mastered trailing me like loyal hounds, stretching, twisting, and whispering my intent. I had no time for hesitation.
Lucien was here, somewhere, and I could sense the malignant surge of his darkness, mingled with something… familiar. Dangerous, cunning. Calculated.
The moment I crossed the outer courtyard, the kingdom itself seemed to recoil. Soldiers froze mid-step, eyes wide with terror, swords trembling in their grasp. Flames erupted from the broken banners, the sigils scorched into the marble glowing faintly silver, reacting to the storm inside me. I did not look like the Adrian they had known, not anymore. I was something else, half light, half shadow, entirely unstoppable.
