Draven rose to his feet, moving to Sean's side. Together they watched as the guards, pale with fear, stumbled back and hurried from the chamber.
Lilith turned then, her eyes falling on Draven. "You are the one we have been waiting for," she whispered.
A tense hush lingered. Aiden remained where he stood, his expression guarded, watching the exchange unfold.
Draven's gaze drifted to Sean, and his breath caught. A thin line of crimson trickled from Sean's nose. Alarm surged through him. He knelt at Sean's side, gripping his shoulder.
"What is happening to you?" he demanded.
Sean looked at him in weary surprise, as if unsure the question was real. His lips curved in a faint, bitter smile.
"Since when do you care?"
Draven gave no answer. Instead, he wiped the blood away with his hand, his eyes flickering briefly toward the black cat crouched in the shadows before returning to Sean. He made to rise, but Sean's hand shot out, catching his wrist.
"Not once, in all the time I've been here, has this happened." Sean said, his voice unsteady. His gaze locked onto Draven's, searching for something within him. "She walked into my dreams."
******
✦IN ASHVALE✦
Vashti stood at the edge of the bed, her gaze fixed on Ethan as he slept. His chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, his face softened in rest. Beside him on the table, a cup of wine lay half-finished, the crimson liquid catching the faint light.
"Forgive me, my love, for I must go," she whispered. Bending low, she pressed her lips against his forehead.
In her left hand she held a folded letter. Her brow tightened, and her eyes darkened with a shadow of resolve, as if her soul had been carved from grief and sharpened into something harder. With quiet steps, she moved to the hearth, where fire glowed within the stone brazier. She held the letter above the flames, released it, and watched as it curled, blackened, and turned to ash.
Straightening, she turned toward the door. Sunny and the waiting maids lowered their heads in reverence as she passed. Her voice rang with authority, cold and final.
"Leave this place. Or you lose not only your fortune, but your families as well."
The chamber emptied at her command, and Vashti disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.
******
Moments later, Ethan awoke to the sound of chaos. Shouts and crashing steel filled his ears. Forcing his heavy eyelids open, he sat up, scanning the room. Vashti was gone. Staggering from the bed, he steadied himself and reached for his sword.
He stepped into the hallway. The palace trembled with violence. Soldiers of Vanilor clashed with intruders in steel and blood.
Sunny rushed through the corridors, his chest heaving, his face pale with dread. When he saw Ethan gripping his sword in both hands, his eyes widened.
"Your Majesty, no," he muttered under his breath, breaking into a run. He reached Ethan, panting, pain etched across his features.
"Your Majesty, we must leave. The secret passage is our only chance," Sunny pleaded, desperation cracking his voice.
Ethan's gaze lifted past him. Through the great doors of the palace, he saw the people scattering, fleeing in terror. Corpses littered the steps. Flames licked the sky.
"Who dares this?" he growled, anger flaring in his eyes.
"Soldiers of the Northern Clan," Sunny answered grimly, placing himself between Ethan and the doors, ready for whatever came next.
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Where is my wife?" he demanded as he advanced.
Sunny faltered. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty," he tried to hold him back. "She left hours ago."
Ethan spun toward him, rage rising like a storm. "To where?"
"The Forest of Ereb'Dar," Sunny stammered, taking a step back as Ethan's burning gaze bore into him.
"Ereb'Dar!" Ethan roared, seizing Sunny by the front of his tunic and lifting him from the ground. The air vibrated with sudden power, and soldiers nearby collapsed as though crushed by an unseen hand. Dust billowed from the floor.
From within the haze of smoke and shattered stone, a figure emerged.
A young man stepped forward, his beauty otherworldly. Golden hair fell in long braids, bound neatly along the sides and trailing behind him. In his hands, he wielded a chain sword that shimmered with a cruel brilliance, its links glimmering like ice forged from the heart of a glacier. The weapon pulsed with supernatural force, its rattling echo cutting through the silence.
"Sebastian," Ethan breathed, his voice low, his eyes narrowing.
Sunny blinked in confusion, his gaze darting between them. "Sebastian?" he whispered, as though the name itself carried venom.
"Surprise," the young warrior said, his lips curling into a smile as sharp as a blade.
Ethan's voice dropped to a growl. "What brings you here, boy?"
Sebastian's smile widened, though his eyes burned with malice. "The ashes of Ashvale call me, and I have answered."
Ethan's chin lifted in defiance. "Your mother never taught you to tread carefully."
Sebastian's expression twisted. His smile vanished, replaced by fury. Power surged through his frame. His body lifted from the ground as light burst around him, coiling and writhing like serpents of fire and frost. The chain sword ignited, every link glowing with a deadly radiance.
Ethan and Sunny exchanged a glance, unspoken understanding passing between them.
Sebastian lunged, the chain sword cracking like thunder as it lashed toward them. Ethan caught the strike with his blade, sparks erupting as steel clashed with otherworldly metal. The impact sent a shockwave through the corridor, shattering pillars and hurling dust into the air.
Sunny charged from the side, his sword gleaming as he aimed for Sebastian's flank. But the young warrior's weapon uncoiled with serpentine speed, deflecting Sunny's strike and wrapping around his arm with a burst of light.
Ethan roared, breaking the chain's hold with sheer force, and together he and Sunny pressed forward. The palace thundered with their clash, steel and sorcery colliding in a storm that shook the very walls.
******
✦IN VANILOR✦
"Darkness," Torin muttered as he rose to his feet, turning away from the two guards kneeling before him.
"Brother," he breathed inwardly, his mind fixed as he turned sharply to Ermac with command in his tone.
"Ermac, prepare the chariots at once. And when I return, have that sorceress brought before me."
Ermac bowed low. "At once, my king," he answered with solemn reverence, then departed, the guards hurrying after him.
Torin strode down the shadowed corridors until he reached a chamber that only he dared to enter. From a distance, Victor spotted him and followed in silence, stopping at the corner as Torin pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside.
"What lies in that room that he guards so fiercely?" Victor whispered to himself, glancing warily about to see if anyone else was near.
******
✦THE FOREST OF EREB'DAR✦
The ancient woods of Ereb'Dar stretched before her, dark and endless. Shadows shifted silently, and the presence of spirits lingered among the branches.
A voice hissed from the darkness. "You should not be here, Vashti."
She did not waver. Her steps carried her deeper into the forest, undeterred by the unseen warning.
A slithering sound followed her movement. From the soil, a figure began to rise, shaped from bone and drifting ash. Smoke coiled from its form like the last breath of a dying fire. Kael'thos, Warden of Ash, revealed himself.
"Curiosity draws many here," his voice boomed, ancient and eternal. "Their screams still thread through the roots."
Vashti stopped and lifted her head slowly, her gaze steady. "I seek justice."
"You reek of vengeance," Kael'thos said, hollow eyes piercing her very soul. "This path leads to Ereb'Dar. If you continue, you will lose more than your way. You will lose yourself. Beyond this point, even the shadows forget their names."
He observed her in silence before adding, "What you call justice may become a curse. Ereb'Dar demands more than he returns."
Vashti's voice cut sharply through the gloom. "Then let it take what it will."
Kael'thos recoiled, his form unraveling into ash. His final words echoed through the forest as he vanished. "May your bones remember this choice."
******
She kept moving. Thorns scratched her skin, roots tried to trip her, and eerie voices murmured all around, uttering harsh, mournful words that called her name or echoed Ethan's.
When the wind stilled, Vashti stopped. Her body trembled, though her voice remained steady. "Show yourself."
A low groan answered. "I can sense your fear."
From the darkness emerged a towering figure. Its skin was ash-gray, stretched tight over a starved, monstrous frame. Two faces crowned its head, one looking forward, the other backward, both grotesquely elongated. Hollow eyes bled smoke, and each mouth was torn wide, jagged teeth revealed. Blood crusted the wounds, as though it had screamed until the flesh gave way.
Morvakar.