Six months had passed. Winter was beginning to thaw.
A lone caravan of heavy wagons trudged up the road to Axiomra. The young guard at the gate raised his spear. "Halt! State your business!"
The lead driver wore a heavy, travel-stained cloak, the hood pulled low over his face. The man reached into his tunic and handed the guard a piece of paper.
The guard looked at it. It was Rag Paper. Stamped with green wax. Written in the cipher of the Royal Family.
The guard's hands began to shake. He dropped his spear. He looked up at the hooded man, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
Bilal reached back and pulled the hood down.
He was thirty-seven now. His skin was deeply tanned from the desert sun. He held a small, dark-haired four-year-old girl in his arms.
"Open the gate, son," Bilal said softly, offering his famous, perfect smile.
The guard screamed. It was a sound of pure, hysterical joy. "THE GIANT! THE GIANT LIVES!"
The shout ripped through the city. Hammers dropped. Looms stopped. People poured out of the stone houses.
Runa burst out of the Great Hall, her hand on her sword hilt. She froze at the top of the stairs.
Bilal stood in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by massive wagons of grey volcanic dust. He looked up at his twenty-three-year-old daughter.
He saw the dark circles under her eyes. He saw the coldness in her posture.
Runa didn't walk. She vaulted over the railing, sprinting across the courtyard. She crashed into his chest with the force of a battering ram, letting out a sob so loud and broken it silenced the crowd.
She buried her face in his neck, her iron armor digging into his skin.
"You left me," she wept, hitting his shoulder with a trembling fist. "You left me alone in the dark."
"I am here, my little sparrow," Bilal whispered, crushing her in a massive hug, tears finally spilling down his own face. "I am so proud of you. I am here."
Astrid walked slowly through the parting crowd. She looked at the wagons of dirt. She looked at the little Arab girl clutching Bilal's leg. Then, she looked at the man she loved.
"You made us mourn for six months," Astrid said, her voice shaking between fury and overwhelming relief, "for dust?"
Bilal laughed, a deep, booming sound that made the entire city realize they were safe again. He reached out and pulled Astrid into the embrace, kissing her deeply in front of the entire city.
"Not dust, my Queen," Bilal said, his eyes shining. "Immortality. By next winter, our walls will be made of a stone that no fire can burn and no ram can break."
The world had thought the Giant was dead. But as the people of Axiomra cheered, a new, terrifying rumor began to sprint across the trade routes of Europe.