POV: SERAPHINE
The messenger arrived at dawn, his dragon exhausted from the flight, his face grim.
"The Stone is neutralized," he reported to the assembled council. "The threat is ended."
Relief flooded through the room. Nobles who'd been holding their breath for days finally exhaled. Reborn who'd feared erasure from existence wept openly.
But the messenger wasn't finished.
"Casualties are severe. Both sides. The mountain collapsed during the final battle. We're still counting bodies."
The relief died as quickly as it had come.
I stood from the regent's chair—Kael's chair, which I'd occupied in his absence—and forced my voice to remain steady.
"How many?"
"At least three hundred confirmed dead. Maybe twice that buried under rubble. And..." He hesitated. "Lady Morgana sacrificed herself to override the Stone. She's gone."
