Fire exploded across the night sky.
The Flame-Tip Lance came screaming in like a living serpent of molten iron, its blazing edge tearing heat through the clouds. Kael reacted on instinct. His sleeve snapped outward and the Eight-Claw Flamescourge burst free in a whirl of crimson scales and snapping dragon-links.
Steel met divine fire.
The collision shrieked hard enough to stab pain through his ears.
Prince Thalven's weapon thrust again and again in blinding streaks, over a dozen killing strikes flashing toward Kael's throat, chest, eyes, and heart in less than a breath. Yet every thrust slammed against the writhing body of the Flamescourge and ricocheted away in showers of sparks.
The divine prince's eyes narrowed.
His lance recoiled.
The golden fire beneath his feet spun sharply as the Sky-Wheels screamed through the air, carrying him into a circling assault instead of a frontal one.
Kael stared in shock for half a heartbeat.
Then exhilaration hit him like strong liquor.
I can fight him.
The realization struck so hard it almost made him laugh.
The power surging through his Channels felt violent and immense, the corrupt strength of the Sevenfold Shroud flooding every limb with terrifying force. His grip tightened around the Flamescourge.
"So this is what real strength feels like..." he muttered.
His confidence surged.
The Eight-Claw Flamescourge cracked through the air in blazing arcs, switching from long-range sweeps to vicious close strikes with startling fluidity. The weapon moved like a living dragon in his hands, coiling, twisting, lunging. Crimson fire spread through the sky in burning pillars until, for moments at a time, the sheer pressure of his attacks actually overwhelmed the radiance pouring from Prince Thalven's lance.
Nearby, Lyra suddenly lifted two pale fingers.
Her lips moved soundlessly.
A dim yellow glow gathered around her fingertips before she traced symbols through the air over Kael's body. The yellow light sank into him—
—and instantly turned vivid violet.
The glowing sigils struck his shoulders, spine, chest, and lower abdomen one after another.
The Tempest Ward.
Flashstep Art.
Power slammed through him.
Kael felt lighter. Faster. Stronger.
The wind itself seemed to bend around him.
He laughed aloud.
"Ha!"
The Flamescourge erupted into motion with renewed fury, fire twisting around him like a storm of red serpents. Each strike cracked loud enough to shake the night air. The prince's divine attacks suddenly no longer seemed untouchable.
Prince Thalven rode the blazing Sky-Wheels around the Griffin Carriage in scorching circles, assaulting from every angle with relentless precision. Again and again he attacked. Again and again Kael held him back.
No opening.
Not one.
A flicker of surprise finally entered the prince's face.
Who is this boy?
The thought struck him harder than he expected.
What hidden master trained him? What forgotten hell did he crawl out of?
Kael, meanwhile, felt almost drunk on triumph.
By the Abyss... I'm actually fighting the Third Prince of the Empyrean Throne.
He nearly grinned himself stupid.
When I get back to the Jade Peaks, Grimhog's never hearing the end of this.
The battle raged across dozens of exchanges.
Prince Thalven still failed to gain the upper hand.
Frustration finally flared in his eyes.
"Enough!"
His roar exploded like thunder.
Lightning cracked across the sky.
Then his body changed.
Kael's confidence vanished instantly.
The prince's divine form erupted outward with terrifying force. Three savage faces emerged above armored shoulders while six additional arms tore free in flashes of gold and fire. Each hand wielded a different divine treasure—rings of lightning, burning blades, chains of scarlet cloth, crackling relics that radiated ancient heavenly power.
The air itself trembled beneath him.
Kael suddenly felt as if an entire mountain range had fallen onto his shoulders.
The pressure was unbearable.
The prince attacked.
Everything became chaos.
Eight arms struck at once.
Fire.
Lightning.
Metal.
Explosions of divine force hammered Kael from every direction. The Flamescourge snapped wildly as he desperately defended himself, but the difference in power became obvious immediately.
His arms started going numb.
His bones felt ready to split apart.
Every breath burned.
The Tempest Ward shuddered under repeated impacts, cracks of purple light flashing over his skin. Kael staggered left, then right, nearly getting skewered through the ribs by the Flame-Tip Lance twice in rapid succession.
Panic finally hit him.
"I can't block this bastard—"
Another impact nearly tore the Flamescourge from his hands.
Kael yelled instantly.
"WAIT!"
Prince Thalven did not stop.
He merely slowed slightly, sneering down at him through three grim faces.
"What?" the prince mocked. "Ready to kneel?"
Sweat poured down Kael's face.
"You're supposed to be some mighty god of the upper realms!" he shouted. "Don't you feel ashamed?"
One of Thalven's brows lifted.
"Ashamed of what?"
Kael pointed furiously.
"We're men! Real men settle things with skill and guts! But you pull out all this extra-arm garbage and magical junk the second things stop going your way! Cheap tricks! Coward's tricks!"
Prince Thalven barked out a laugh dripping with arrogance.
"Idiot."
The divine prince spun the Flame-Tip Lance once, fire roaring from its edge.
"You think I've even begun using these treasures properly? If I unleashed the true power of the Crimson Bindings alone, the entire Eastern Coast would tremble tonight. You should be grateful you're still breathing long enough to babble nonsense."
His attacks intensified again immediately.
Kael nearly screamed.
Invisible forces yanked at his body from every direction. The Crimson Bindings writhed through the air like giant blood-red serpents, trying to drag him into the prince's killing range. Kael stumbled wildly as divine pressure crushed him from all sides.
One more exchange nearly drove the lance straight through his chest.
Desperate, he glanced toward Lyra.
She stood pale and trembling beside the carriage, one hand hidden near her sleeve.
The Violet Aurochs Pin rested between her fingers.
She gave the tiniest flick of motion.
Hope ignited inside him instantly.
Kael immediately started shouting again.
"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be some grand divine war god? Fighting me one-on-one already makes you look pathetic enough, but now you're using three heads and eight arms against one guy? Got no shame at all?"
Prince Thalven snarled.
"I am not fighting with numbers!"
Kael pointed furiously.
"You've got three heads! That counts as three people!"
The prince actually froze for a split second in disbelief.
"You brainless little animal," he snapped. "This is a divine manifestation!"
At that exact moment—
Kael saw a streak of violet appear behind the prince.
Silent.
Fast.
Deadly.
It shot through the darkness like judgment itself.
Kael immediately started yelling louder.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT! Fine! I surrender! You can have the treasure!"
Prince Thalven laughed triumphantly and halted in place.
"So you finally understand the might of—"
His expression changed.
Something was behind him.
He twisted violently sideways—
Too late.
The violet streak punched clean through his left shoulder.
The prince screamed.
The Violet Aurochs Pin burst through divine flesh in a spray of blazing blood and lightning. The impact hurled Prince Thalven completely off the Sky-Wheels.
He crashed through the air.
The divine prince's body had been forged from celestial lotus flesh, nearly indestructible by mortal standards, yet the Pin tore through him as though his body were rotten wood.
Lyra's face had gone completely white.
She was already badly wounded, but she still forced together the last scraps of Aether inside herself and made another hand sign.
The Violet Aurochs Pin curved through the darkness and attacked again.
Prince Thalven clutched his ruined shoulder in horror.
His Vitae was pouring out of the wound uncontrollably. It felt like a shattered dam inside his body. No matter how desperately he circulated power, he could not stop the leak.
Fear hit him for the first time.
Then he saw the violet streak coming back through the darkness.
His remaining Aether erupted violently.
"The Cosmic Ring!"
Golden light exploded outward.
The divine ring slammed into the incoming violet streak.
CLANG.
The sound rang sharp and metallic through the mountains.
The Violet Aurochs Pin bounced away—
—but the Cosmic Ring dimmed instantly.
Prince Thalven stared.
A section of the supposedly indestructible divine weapon had been chipped clean away.
The prince's blood ran cold.
Impossible.
That should have been impossible.
He snatched the damaged ring back instantly, horror flashing across all three faces. Without another word he formed a sigil with shaking fingers.
His body dissolved into smoke.
The smoke shot away across the horizon.
Kael instantly started screaming after him.
"Run faster, you cowardly fake god! Come back and fight your Little Saint-Lord for another three hundred rounds!"
He swung the Flamescourge overhead noisily while yelling obscenities into the night.
Far away, Prince Thalven's furious voice echoed back through the sky.
"The wrath of Heaven reaches everywhere! You will not escape!"
Then he vanished.
Silence finally returned.
Kael exhaled hard.
"We actually drove him off!"
He turned eagerly toward Lyra—
—and immediately saw how pale she looked.
Her lips had lost all color.
Kael rushed forward and grabbed her before she could stumble.
"Shreve Lyra! What's wrong?"
"I'm fine..." she said weakly. "Just spent too much Aether..."
She recalled the Violet Aurochs Pin with trembling fingers before continuing softly:
"We need to go. Quickly. Once we enter Vessel Town's territory, the heavenly soldiers won't dare follow."
"Right."
Kael moved toward the Griffin Carriage—
Then suddenly paused.
Two spinning masses of fire still floated in the sky nearby.
His eyes widened.
"Oh, no you don't."
The Flamescourge snapped outward instantly, coiling around both blazing objects. Fire scattered apart, revealing two golden wheels covered in glowing runes.
The Sky-Wheels.
Prince Thalven had abandoned them during his retreat.
Lyra stared at him in disbelief.
"We're fleeing for our lives and you're still stealing things?"
Kael grinned shamelessly.
"Waste not."
He yanked the wheels toward himself.
The instant his fingers touched them, agony blasted through his hands.
"FUCK!"
The wheels burned like miniature suns.
Kael nearly dropped them immediately.
Cursing violently, he hurriedly opened the Wardian Satchel and stuffed both Sky-Wheels inside before they could melt his palms off.
Only then did he sigh happily.
"Worth it."
Lyra rolled her eyes weakly.
"Move."
Kael guided the Griffin Carriage downward toward the valley below.
As they descended, the sprawling settlement beneath them gradually became visible beneath the moonlight.
Canals.
Bridges.
Rows upon rows of tiled rooftops.
The place was enormous.
Kael blinked in surprise.
He had expected a hidden refuge.
Not a city.
As they neared the ground, Lyra spoke quietly.
"Land somewhere secluded. No need to attract attention."
Kael nodded and guided the carriage toward the forest near the mountain base. The beast carriage settled among dense trees with a low creak of wood and leather.
The moment they landed, Kael stored the carriage inside the Wardian Satchel and helped Lyra forward.
She leaned lightly against him as they walked.
After a while, she suddenly frowned.
"That's strange..."
Kael glanced sideways.
"What is?"
Lyra's brows remained furrowed.
"You've been away from the Jade Peaks for quite some time now. So why did the Empyrean Throne only discover you recently?"
Kael scratched his head.
"Didn't that prince mention divine calculations or something? Besides, they've got all kinds of heavenly tracking methods."
"That isn't what troubles me," Lyra murmured.
She looked toward him carefully.
"The Primordial Sigil has always existed inside you. Why only now were they finally able to sense it?"
Kael slowed.
"That... actually makes sense."
Lyra continued thoughtfully.
"When your Third Elder-Uncle and I visited Vane's Summit before, we found a strange Ward-Barrier around the mountain. At the time I assumed it had been placed there by the Covenant Founder to prevent the Dream Nest's energies from leaking outward."
She paused.
"But now I suspect your Master created it herself."
Kael stared.
"To hide me?"
Lyra nodded slowly.
"To prevent anyone from detecting the Primordial Sigil."
Kael swallowed.
"Is it really that easy to sense?"
"The Sigil carries a very unique presence," Lyra said quietly. "When your Third Elder-Uncle and I first met you, we both sensed something strange immediately. We simply didn't know what it was."
Her expression darkened slightly.
"But your Sixth Elder-Uncle remembered that aura far too well. That's how he eventually uncovered your heritage."
She fell silent again.
Then frowned harder.
"Still... something doesn't add up."
"What?"
"The first time he met you, why didn't he notice it immediately?"
Kael froze.
Then his eyes suddenly widened.
"The sash!"
Lyra blinked.
"What sash?"
Kael hurriedly opened the Wardian Satchel and summoned out the skeletal dragon construct. He practically threw himself across its seat cushions, digging wildly through scattered belongings until he found a strip of crimson cloth stuffed into one corner.
The Emberseal Sash.
He snatched it up and shoved it toward Lyra.
"Look at this. Tell me if anything feels strange about it."
Lyra accepted the sash carefully.
The moment she touched it, surprise flashed across her face.
"This material..." she murmured. "Firelight beast fur. Extremely rare. It enhances fire-aspect Vitae."
Then her eyes narrowed further.
"And there's a curse woven into it."
Kael leaned forward immediately.
"What kind?"
Lyra looked up slowly.
"The Spiritual Concealment Curse."
Everything clicked into place.
Kael suddenly felt as if someone had punched him directly in the chest.
"Master..." he whispered.
Images flooded back into his mind.
Isara standing silently before him before his departure.
Her cold face.
Her warning.
Never remove it.
No matter what.
Kael's throat tightened painfully.
Lyra watched him carefully.
"What happened?"
Kael explained in a rough voice how Isara had personally given him the sash before he descended from the mountain, insisting that he always wear it tied around his waist.
Understanding dawned across Lyra's face immediately.
"So that morning..." she said quietly. "The morning you forgot to wear it. That must have been when your Sixth Elder-Uncle finally sensed the Primordial Sigil."
Kael nodded slowly.
Regret hit him like a blade.
That night.
The pleasure.
The carelessness.
He had ignored Isara's warning for the sake of lust and comfort.
And now—
He had been cast out.
Hunted.
Forced into exile.
Kael lowered his head hard enough that his hair shadowed his eyes.
"If I hadn't been fooling around that night..." he muttered bitterly, "none of this would've happened."
Lyra continued quietly:
"And these past few days, you haven't been wearing the sash either. That allowed the Empyrean Throne's diviners to track you no matter how far we circled."
Cold sweat broke across Kael's back.
Lyra exhaled softly.
"Your Master truly went to great lengths for you."
Kael's chest hurt.
Without another word, he untied his belt.
Moonlight spilled through the trees as he loosened his robes and wrapped the Emberseal Sash tightly back around his waist.
His eyes burned hot.
He refused to let the tears fall.
Lyra glanced at him once.
Then politely pretended not to notice.
"Well," she said lightly, "that solves one problem at least. With the sash back on, we can finally breathe easier."
Kael tied the knot firmly.
This time he pulled it tight enough to hurt.
He was never taking it off again.
The two of them continued walking beneath the moonlight into Vessel Town.
Kael quickly found himself staring around in fascination.
The place felt nothing like the towns beneath the Jade Peaks.
Canals crossed everywhere through the settlement like silver veins beneath the moon. Stone bridges arched over dark water. Black-tiled rooftops and pale walls reflected lantern light in soft gold ripples while lush gardens crowded between elegant homes.
The entire town carried a strange, dreamlike beauty.
Kael immediately liked it.
"This place is incredible," he said honestly. "Even the towns below the Jade Peaks look shabby compared to this. Hell, even Mirekeep wasn't this pretty."
Lyra looked exhausted now.
"We should find somewhere to rest first," she murmured. "Tomorrow we can start looking for help."
Kael rubbed his stomach.
"Good idea. I'm starving."
They followed one of the canals deeper into town until lanternlight appeared ahead near a bridge.
An inn stood there beside the water.
Warm light spilled from its windows. Bamboo lamps swayed gently in the breeze while polished red railings framed the entrance. The place looked elegant enough to belong to some wealthy noble district.
Lyra nodded faintly.
"This will do."
As they approached, Kael noticed a pair of poetic lines hanging beside the entrance:
Why wander a thousand miles seeking paradise?
By chance alone, one may stumble into it here.
Kael smirked.
"Fancy place."
Then he looked upward toward the signboard above the door.
His expression immediately twisted.
"The Boar's Hollow?"
He burst out laughing.
"What kind of name is that? Does the owner actually look like a pig?"
The Boar's Hollow was quiet enough that Kael could hear the canal water moving beneath the floorboards.
Maybe it was the late hour. Maybe most of Vessel Town only truly woke after midnight. Either way, the common room sat half-empty beneath warm lanternlight, all polished wood and drifting steam. Kael picked a table beside the window and pulled a chair out for Lyra before dropping into his own seat.
Nobody came.
He glanced toward the counter.
"Anyone alive over there?" he shouted. "You've got customers!"
"Coming, honored guest. What'll it be?"
The voice came from right beside him.
Kael nearly jumped out of his chair.
He whipped around and found himself staring directly into a pig's face.
Not a man with pig-like features. Not some ugly bastard with a fat nose.
A real pig-headed creature.
The thing wore a waiter's robe stretched tight over a round belly. Coarse black bristles covered its cheeks. Long ears drooped sleepily beside its head while a heavy snout glistened wet beneath half-closed eyes.
The pig-man blinked at him slowly.
"What'll it be?" it repeated in a thick, sleepy grunt.
Kael stared.
Then he barked out a laugh.
"Sel used to call me pighead all the damn time," he muttered. "Now this… this is a real pighead."
The waiter yawned loud enough to shake his jowls.
"You ordering or not?"
Kael rubbed his chin and tried not to laugh again.
"What do you even serve here?"
The pig waiter immediately began rattling off dishes in a droning monotone.
"Braised Boar's Hollow trotters, wrapped river crab, fried spiral snails, wine-braised shrimp mash, three-flavor dumplings, peanut cakes, claypot porridge…"
"Hold on." Kael pointed. "What the hell are 'Boar's Hollow trotters'?"
He glanced suspiciously at the creature's feet beneath the counter.
The waiter looked offended for the first time all night.
"It's braised ox hoof," he said proudly. "Cooked slow over a low fire day and night with our secret sauce. Star anise, ginger slices, brown sugar, yellow wine, twenty different spices. Tender but chewy. Rich but not greasy. Famous across all Vessel Town."
The pig-man puffed his chest out with obvious pride.
Kael nodded slowly.
"So not actual pig feet. Good to know."
He turned toward Lyra.
"What about you, Shreve?"
Lyra sat with one elbow on the table, looking pale beneath the lantern glow. The exhaustion from their escape had finally caught up to her. Even sitting still seemed to take effort now.
"Something light," she murmured. "I don't care what."
Kael looked back at the waiter.
"You've got lighter dishes?"
The pig-man listed several vegetable plates and clear-broth sides.
"Fine. Bring those. One order of the famous trotters. Claypot porridge." Kael thought another second. "And a jug of wine."
The waiter gave a sleepy grunt and wandered off like a man still trapped inside a dream.
Kael watched him go.
"That bastard looks half-dead. What if he forgets everything I ordered?"
Lyra gave a faint hum.
"You're surprised a spirit-town inn is run by pig spirits?"
"So they really are pig spirits?"
"In this town?" She rested her chin against her hand and gazed out the window toward the canal. "You could run into the Bull Tyrant himself and nobody would blink."
Kael froze.
"The Bull Tyrant?" he asked. "Wasn't he captured by the Empyrean Throne? I heard they dragged him west in chains."
"He escaped long ago," Lyra said quietly. "Now he serves Sovereign Vaela."
Kael leaned closer immediately.
"The Sovereign?"
Even after everything he had seen recently, that name still carried weight.
Sovereign Vaela.
The ruler the Empyrean Throne itself avoided provoking.
"The Throne can't do anything about her?" he asked.
Lyra shook her head.
"She rules much of the Fell Realm. Tens of thousands of monster-kings answer to her. Even the heavens have limits."
Moonlight rippled across the canal outside.
The waterway stretched into the distance between elegant bridges and quiet houses painted gold by lanternlight. Vessel Town felt unreal. Too beautiful. Too calm.
Kael found himself imagining what sort of woman could command monsters, defy heaven, and still force even divine princes to keep their distance.
"I thought beings like that only existed in old stories," he admitted.
Lyra's lips curved faintly.
"There are more monsters in this world than you realize."
Before long, the food arrived.
The porridge steamed gently before Lyra while Kael attacked the rest of the table like a starving wolf. The braised hoof practically melted apart beneath his chopsticks, thick sauce dripping across tender meat rich with spice and wine.
His eyes widened.
"Damn." He tore off another mouthful. "This really is incredible."
He gulped down wine afterward and let out a satisfied breath.
"You sure you don't want any?"
Lyra shook her head.
"Too heavy."
"It's not heavy at all." Kael pointed with his chopsticks. "Looks greasy, tastes perfect."
Then noise erupted near the entrance.
"Innkeeper! Feed us! We need rooms too!"
The quiet common hall instantly shattered into chaos.
Voices boomed through the doorway. Heavy boots stomped across the bridge outside.
Several figures crowded in at once.
Kael turned toward the entrance and blinked.
Spirit beasts.
Two dozen at least.
Some were massive and broad-shouldered. Others lean and wiry. One had blue skin and curved tusks. Another bore wolf ears atop a scarred face. Several carried axes or hooked blades while others wore scale armor over thick furs.
The room filled immediately with the smell of steel, wet leather, meat, and alcohol.
Pig-headed servants appeared from nowhere carrying tea and cups.
At the center of the chaos waddled another pig spirit even fatter than the waiter. His silk robes strained against his enormous belly while sweat rolled down his face.
The innkeeper.
Hog Grinnard.
He hurried forward bowing constantly.
Kael watched the spirit beasts laughing and shouting across the room.
Oddly enough, instead of feeling threatened, he felt homesick.
The Jade Peaks flashed through his mind.
Grimhog stuffing his face.
Lady Perelda sipping wine while pretending not to smile.
The others bickering around a fire.
His chest tightened unexpectedly.
Then a bright female voice rang out from outside.
"This place! Sister, hurry!"
Two girls swept through the doorway like bright birds entering a slaughterhouse.
The entire room shifted.
Even surrounded by snarling monsters and armored killers, the two girls drew every eye instantly.
One wore purple silk. The other green.
Both were stunning.
Not in Lyra's untouchable, breathtaking way.
These girls looked younger. Wilder. Softer around the edges.
The green-clad girl had lively eyes and a small sharp mouth made for mocking people. The purple-clad one moved with lazy confidence, openly aware of how beautiful she was.
Jewelry glittered at their wrists while pale legs flashed beneath flowing skirts as they walked.
"Where's the owner?" the girl in green demanded.
Hog Grinnard called back distractedly, "Coming, coming—"
A giant brute suddenly grabbed the pig spirit by the chest and hauled him halfway off the ground.
The man was nearly seven feet tall, thick with muscle, beast fangs jutting from his mouth.
"You deaf?" he snarled. "Didn't you hear our ladies calling?"
Hog Grinnard squealed immediately.
"I heard! I heard!"
The brute dropped him.
The pig spirit rushed toward the girls bowing so low his forehead nearly hit the floor.
"What can I do for you, honored ladies?"
The purple-clad girl looked him up and down lazily.
"You own this place?"
"Yes, yes. Hog Grinnard at your service."
"I heard your famous trotters are worth eating."
Grinnard's eyes lit up instantly.
"The best in Vessel Town!"
"Good." She waved one slender hand carelessly. "Bring huge portions to every table. And whatever else tastes good."
The monsters immediately began cheering.
The two girls headed deeper into the hall while the spirit beasts cleared space for them like attendants escorting royalty.
One wolf-headed brute leaned toward Hog Grinnard with a vicious grin.
"Serve them properly," he growled. "If our ladies are pleased, you'll be rewarded."
He bared long yellow fangs.
"If not, we'll tear this inn apart plank by plank."
"Yes, yes, of course!"
Hog Grinnard practically ran toward the kitchen.
Within minutes the common room transformed completely.
Plates slammed down nonstop. Wine jars appeared. Monsters roared with laughter. Meat vanished by the pound.
Lyra frowned slightly and lowered her gaze back to her porridge, clearly annoyed by the noise.
Kael barely noticed.
His attention kept drifting toward the two girls.
Who were they?
They looked soft enough to belong in some noble garden, yet every monster in the room treated them with obvious fear and respect.
Soon the famous trotters arrived at their table too.
The girls didn't bother with manners.
They rolled up their sleeves high above pale smooth arms and grabbed the meat with bare hands, tearing into it greedily while grease shone across their lips and fingers.
Wine followed.
The purple-clad girl drank deeply and laughed loud enough to turn heads.
The green-clad one slammed cups with the monsters around her.
Not a trace of noble-lady grace remained.
Kael found himself grinning despite himself.
"They eat like Sel," he muttered under his breath.
The thought hit harder than expected.
His smile faded.
For a moment he could almost picture Selene glaring at him across the table while secretly stealing the best cuts for herself.
He wondered where she was now.
What she was doing.
Whether she was safe.
A dull ache settled in his chest.
Then suddenly the girl in green looked over.
Her eyes locked onto him.
Her expression hardened immediately.
Kael blinked, confused.
The girl in purple followed her gaze and looked him over openly from head to toe. Her eyes lingered shamelessly for a moment before she smirked and whispered something to her companion.
The green-clad girl burst into laughter.
A second later both girls were openly laughing at him.
Not playful laughter.
Mocking laughter.
Kael's face instantly heated.
The hell was that supposed to mean?
He glared at them furiously.
What was so funny?
In his head he immediately snapped back.
My Shreve Lyra's prettier than both of you put together. So is Sel. So are half my Elder Sorors.
Still angry, he turned away and ignored them.
Hog Grinnard soon returned carrying fresh wine personally for the girls.
"Are the honored ladies satisfied?"
"Not bad," the green-clad girl answered casually.
"Good, good." Grinnard smiled nervously. "If you need anything else, just say the word."
The purple-clad girl wiped grease from her fingers.
"I heard crystal mire has gone up in price again."
Kael's ears twitched immediately.
Crystal mire.
The refining material used in high-grade forging.
Hog Grinnard sighed.
"You came to buy it? Then your timing's terrible. Prices jumped again yesterday."
"Again?" the purple-clad girl frowned. "Production dropping?"
"That too." Grinnard nodded. "But there's another reason."
"What reason?"
"Lord Voss's people arrived yesterday and bought enormous quantities."
Kael nearly sat upright.
Lord Voss.
Selene's father.
He sharpened his hearing instantly.
The green-clad girl frowned.
"Who's Lord Voss?"
Hog Grinnard stared at them in disbelief.
"You're outsiders and don't know that?"
The girl in green lifted one brow sharply.
"So what if we don't?"
Kael almost laughed.
Definitely mountain spirits, he thought.
Hog Grinnard hurried to explain.
"Lord Voss commands one hundred thousand troops in the Central Provinces. One of the Four Pillars of the Empire."
The two girls barely reacted.
The purple-clad girl only took another sip of wine.
"Why's he buying so much crystal mire?"
"War," Grinnard answered immediately. "Lord Nangrave's rebellion in Driftmarch grows worse by the day. Lord Voss is leading the suppression campaign."
Kael slowly lowered his cup.
Driftmarch.
The Twin Pass.
The rebellion.
Every word dragged his thoughts back toward the world he had fled.
Hog Grinnard kept talking eagerly.
"Both sides are gathering wanderers, adepts, hunters—anyone useful. Strange tactics, hidden formations, slaughter everywhere. Whole provinces near Driftmarch are panicking from shortages."
The green-clad girl clicked her tongue impatiently.
"You still haven't explained why he needs crystal mire."
"Oh!" Grinnard bobbed his head quickly. "Word is Lord Nangrave hired experts to build a terrifying formation at the Twin Pass. Lord Voss can't break through it. Lost troops every assault."
He lowered his voice dramatically.
"So he summoned Lady Rendeth Voss herself. They say she plans to forge an army of arcane weapons strong enough to destroy the formation."
Both girls suddenly stiffened.
"Lady Rendeth?" the purple-clad girl blurted.
"She's Lord Voss's wife?"
Kael froze too.
His thoughts stumbled.
Selene's mother was there too?
And then another realization struck him.
Wife?
As in singular?
"No," Hog Grinnard said proudly. "Lord Voss has five wives. All beautiful. All important."
Kael nearly choked on his wine.
Five?
Selene's father had five wives?
He tried imagining Lord Voss surviving arguments between five women at once and immediately decided the man truly deserved his reputation.
The green-clad girl muttered quietly to herself.
"So the outside world's become this chaotic…"
Hog Grinnard leaned closer eagerly.
"That's not even the biggest news lately."
The purple-clad girl waved lazily.
"Go on then. We're listening."
The pig spirit lowered his voice theatrically.
"The first great matter…"
He paused dramatically while the entire nearby table leaned in.
"…is that the Sevenfold Shroud has appeared again."