The ow Hall was silent, except for the sound of Alera's breathing.
Mother Vess had left her with a prophecy that felt more like a curse. "Your child is not just the heir of prophecy. He is the one who will choose which prophecy comes true."
And Alera scarred, betrayed, hunted was expected to raise him without turning him into a weapon or a monster.
She sat at the center of the sanctum, legs folded beneath her, hands on her belly. Her child stirred, calm in a way that gave her comfort.
But something was changing. In her. Around her.
She could feel it.
Outside the Hollow Hall, in the scorched remains of the tunnels, Kieran limped through smoke and rubble. His arm bled from the clash with the Scorcher, and part of his mask was cracked, revealing a sliver of the man beneath.
He hadn't just fought a Scorcher. He had seen something something ancient in its eyes.
The Order of Flame had evolved. They weren't just zealots now.
They were believers. And that made them deadly.
He stopped when a raven landed before him, its wings ink-black, its eyes glowing red.
A message.
He held out his arm. The bird landed and whispered words in a language only highborn shadows could understand.
His eyes widened.
And then narrowed.
The second heir had surfaced.
In the North. In a temple buried in frost and magic.
They would make their move soon.
And if Alera wasn't ready… they'd take her child and spill his blood to crown their own.
Alera didn't sleep that night. She watched the city from the upper chamber of the Hollow Hall as fire rose in the east. The slums were burning. Again.
Chaos was coming faster than expected.
Cayle appeared beside her, silent for once.
"You don't need to say anything," she said.
"Good," he replied. "Because I have nothing useful to say."
She almost laughed. Almost.
Then he asked, "Will you leave the city?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. There's something here I need to find."
"Another prophecy?"
"No," she whispered. "A name."
In the heart of Dravenfall, behind sealed doors and forgotten catacombs, there was a name that could shift everything.
A mage who had once served the Old King.
One who had vanished after the siege.
A traitor. A visionary. A man feared by both the Order of Flame and the Syndicate.
His name was Kael Morren.
And he knew how to break prophecy.
Kieran appeared in the Hollow Hall without warning, cloak singed, eyes burning with fury.
"You need to leave now," he told Alera.
"Why?"
"Because they're not coming for you anymore. They're coming to burn the entire Hollow Hall. You're a symbol, Alera. And symbols are dangerous."
"I'm not leaving," she said.
He growled. "You're stubborn."
"I'm a queen."
He stepped closer. "You're the mother of something that can reshape the world."
"And you're the man who almost let it be destroyed."
That cut deeper than any blade. Kieran's jaw clenched.
She continued, softer this time, "We don't have to keep fighting each other."
"I'm not fighting you," he said. "I'm trying to keep you alive."
Their eyes locked.
The tension between them cracked like lightning. And then, like always, they both looked away before the storm hit.
The attack came at dawn.
Not from the front, but through the ground. A chasm ripped open beneath the Hollow Hall, and from it poured ash-demons creatures shaped by fire, stitched by old spells, and controlled by the Order.
Kieran and Alera fought back to back.
His blades of shadow. Her rings of flame.
Cayle joined, tossing knives and curses alike. "Do you two flirt like this during every battle?"
"Shut up!" they both shouted at once.
Alera's magic surged with the pulse of her child. Every strike was instinct. Every flame was guided. She was not just defending herself.
She was protecting the future.
But it wasn't enough.
The demons kept coming.
Kieran's arm faltered.
Cayle was dragged down.
Alera screamed as one of the demons lunged for her belly
And then the world froze.
Literally.
Time cracked.
The air turned blue.
And standing at the edge of the battlefield was a boy. No older than fifteen. Skin pale as frost. Hair white as snow. Eyes glowing silver.
The second heir.
Reader's Note:
What do you think of the second heir's sudden appearance? Is he a savior… or something far more dangerous?
Drop your thoughts below!
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