LOGINGILDEONWhen Taeran told him Zephyr had handed Lothair over to the salamanders, Gildeon hadn’t believed it at first. The man had once been a general. Worse, the kind of bastard even his own people kept an eye on—ruthless, feared. And now he’d been delivered like an animal dragged in for slaughter.As they moved through the tunnel, the heat pressed in hard. Vents carved into the black rock exhaled sulfur and furnace air, and every few steps, the walls gave off a dry hiss. It suited the place. The outpost had been carved into the upper throat of a dead volcano, where the stone still held old fire and the mountain never truly cooled.Even through the hiss of steam and the scrape of boots against rock, Gildeon could hear them ahead—hundreds of salamanders roaring for Lothair’s execution.The tunnel opened into a vast basin of cracked obsidian and smoke-dark stone. Heat shimmered across the ground. Thick banks of
GILDEONHe woke in a place that felt too familiar.Stone walls boxed him in, close and suffocating. The only light came from a narrow, barred window high above. He tested his body—steady, recovered, as if he’d slept for days. But his power… it was muted. Restricted.The moment his eyes landed on the steel door, recognition hit.He snapped upright.The seer sigil carved into it pulsed faintly—designed to keep him contained, to stop him from shifting into his dragon form.His pulse picked up.This was the cell General Markaus had thrown him into before—back when he’d lost control of his dragon beast.Which meant he was on one of their important bases.His thoughts shifted instantly to Araheen. Where was she? What about Kohina, Eitan, Yadira?The last thing he remembered was the old outpost—the dizziness, the collapse.Had Markaus found them?He rose from the stone bed and crossed the r
ARAHEENThat afternoon, she returned to Lothair’s estate under the pretense of visiting her mother’s tomb again. Zephyr suspected nothing, though Hedda had given her a sharp, sour look and said nothing.Lady Vaelina was absent from the castle, but Isalee was there. A servant directed Araheen to the garden.Isalee was pacing in front of the twin-dove fountain, her face tight, her mouth drawn thin, her hands restless at her sides. Araheen was certain her stepsister wasn’t sleeping with any Fractured, yet her emotions had grown bolder of late—not just hers, but the sylphs’ during the battle earlier… Feviel’s, and even the servants’, here in the citadel.Perhaps the Shining Keeper’s absence was loosening the shackles on their spirits little by little as time passed. It was a thought worth keeping.For now, what mattered was speaking to Isalee.Her stepsister was so lost in w
ARAHEENShe woke alone in bed, though she dimly remembered Zephyr pressing a kiss to her forehead before slipping into a robe and leaving the room.The first thing she checked when she sat up was her belly. The power of the Containment Sigil pulsed faintly beneath her skin, proof that it had done what it was meant to do. It had activated the moment Zephyr was inside her last night. For a second, she had feared he might notice, but he had been too lost in pleasure, too deep in that mindless rush, for his guard to stay fully up.Now that the deed was done, all she had to do was wait. And that depended entirely on her allies outside the citadel.Her mother had said the sigil’s full function would only unravel if Zephyr was engaged in battle. Only then would they have any real chance of bringing him down.She climbed out of bed, pulled on her dress, and opened the door, only to start at the sight of Hedda standing outside.
ARAHEENThe dining hall was quiet, save for the soft clink of her utensils and the occasional scrape of steel against porcelain. She sat alone at the table, eating her dinner, while Zephyr stood on the balcony, watching the citadel below.She hadn’t realized how famished she was until the servants laid a spread of food before her. After her long rest, and the power drained by her visit to her mother’s mausoleum, she needed to restore enough strength to sustain the Containment Sigil she had etched into her belly, concealed beneath a powerful masking sigil.Not even Zephyr would detect it… unless he knew exactly what to look for.“You’re not going to eat?” she asked casually, lifting her wine glass for a generous sip.“I have no longer use for food,” Zephyr replied without turning. “You’ll understand when you reach my state.”“What if I don’t want t
ARAHEENCatheria and Zephyr moved through the same narrow tunnel. Shadowy arms reached from the walls, grasping for them, but they avoided the touch—just as Araheen had during her own passage through the Dark Plane.They emerged into a white room, which dissolved in an instant into a vast cosmic expanse surrounding them.Golden streaks threaded through the fabric of the universe, interwoven with drifting stars, gas, and dust suspended in the void.Catheria approached a silvery structure resembling a vast spider’s web. She pressed her hand to its center, only to recoil moments later, tears streaming down her face.She then stumbled back, finding Zephyr still standing before his own web, his hand pressed firmly at its core. His eyes had turned white. His body was completely still.Catheria approached him slowly and, without a word, placed her hand over his.Her head snapped back. Her eyes turned white as wel
ARAHShe felt everyone’s attention on her, confusion and silence swallowing up the crowd. Even her friends whispered her name in surprise. Her fingers pressed hard against her collarbone, the heel of her palm catching the strong vibration of her amulet.What was she s
GILDEONStrong magic surrounded him, pulsing from the fog. It thickened, humming with energy until he realized he was no longer in the churchyard, nor was it a night.He stood slowly, finding himself inside a grander church. Tall, arched windows let sunlight stream in
GILDEONHe watched the next scene unfold. Young Vergilius, now a vampire, stood in the old priest’s depraved chamber. The sick bastard had gathered another group of young women, some already naked on his bed.The old man paused halfway through removing his robe and tu
ARAHShe staggered back, heart pounding as Lokius shifted from one cat form to another. Alaunus’s fingers curled, and suddenly, scratches and stab wounds appeared on Lokius’s feline body—likely old scars that had reopened. Alaunus moved in, fists flying, landing punch after







