The wind shifted.
High above the cliffs of Blackhollow, Kael stood alone on the edge, staring into the night sky. The sea below churned restlessly, slapping the rocks like it bore a grudge. His cloak flapped behind him, and in his palm rested the only clue they had—the bloodied pendant torn from Veyron's robes. Still warm. Still humming with something foul.
A raven landed silently beside him.
He didn't startle.
It watched him with one eye, black as ink and old as grief.
"You followed me all the way from the castle, didn't you?" Kael said softly.
The raven didn't answer. But something about the tilt of its head… it wasn't just a bird. Not tonight.
Kael crouched slowly, holding out the pendant. "You know what this is."
The raven stepped forward. And then—its beak cracked open, but what came out wasn't a caw.
It was a whisper.
Words, guttural and strange. Ancient. And somehow… familiar.
Kael's chest tightened. "Speak clearly."
The whisper grew louder, until the words finally shaped themselves into meaning:
"Blood of the betrayed... throne of thorns... mother's curse... awaken what sleeps beneath."
Kael's fingers curled around the pendant as the wind howled louder. His thoughts spiraled. Blood of the betrayed. Could it mean him? His father had abandoned him, yes—but the deeper sting came from a mother whose name was never spoken. And yet this raven… it knew her curse.
Lyra's voice rang out from behind him. "Kael!"
He stood, turning just as she approached with urgency in her steps.
"I found something," she said. "In the archives. An old scripture. It speaks of a hidden sect. They were cast out centuries ago, accused of poisoning the bloodlines of kings."
Kael's heart pounded. "What were they called?"
Her eyes met his.
"The Thornbound."
Thunder rolled across the sky.
The raven spread its wings and launched into the night, vanishing like a shadow cut loose. Kael watched it disappear, then looked down at the pendant once more.
Blood of the betrayed.Throne of thorns.Mother's curse.Awaken what sleeps beneath.
A puzzle was unfolding and Kael was at its heart.