PROLOGUE
Kahssiel
End of the First Age
The sky was burning.
Smoke wafted over the barren ground, charred black from scattered fires and littered with burnt feathers. Kahssiel’s chains clinked as he lifted himself up on his knees. The dried blood on his lips cracked as he coughed and pressed on his aching ribs.
TheHyalustree’s leaves rattled softly, and he briefly closed his eyes as he heard her faint voice in the wind. It echoed back the promises they made right here.
Sheli…
The back of his eyes ached with unshed tears, and his veins hummed with his trapped flame.
My Sheli … can you feel me? I’m here.
But there was only a vacancy in his chest. It had been empty since the day she was cut out of him. His heart thudded weakly.No more,it begged. It didn’t want to keep beating. Not without her.
“All this death and bloodshed, only to end defeated. All for what? For some witch?”
Kahssiel lifted his tired eyes to where Raziel stood before him, clad in armor. His white wings looked gray in the dull dawn. “Am I defeated?”
“You are in Skath chains, Kahssiel. You have no power now.”
He laughed, enjoying how stupid they really were. “They will not hold me for long, Raziel. As soon as I am free of these chains, I will come foryou. For all of you.” He snarled at the traitors standing with him and lurched at them. The guards held onto his chains, jerking back his manacled arms. “Each of you has betrayed me, and nothing will inhibit me until I have melted the flesh off your bones. I will return you to the Gates and raze the Realms to the ground. As soon as I am free, I will fill this world with a sea of flame and consume it all until there is nothing left of it!”
Seraph fire blazed in his eyes, searing them with his promise.
“I WILL BURN IT ALL!”
CHAPTER 1
Dynalya
Much could be said about one’s name. It marked where you came from, where you belonged, and where you may go. As the sound of Klyde’s true name settled in the silent room, Dyna knew what it meant.
Canting her head, she studied the Captain of the Skelling Mercenaries hovering in the air in nothing but his trousers, bound in purple magic. Klyde’s dark blue eyes looked back at her calmly. The sunrise shone through the windows, highlighting the edge of his jaw and dark blond hair. Now that she knew who he was, Dyna could see past his thick beard to the face he had tried to hide.
He was a Morken, brother of her enemy. And he had hidden his identity from them the entire time they were in Skelling Rise.
The air in Klyde’s bedchamber charged with electricity. It prickled against Dyna’s skin, and she glanced at Lucenna beside her. The furious sorceresses’ lilac eyes glowed brightly as her Essence wound tighter around Klyde, making him grimace.
“Easy.” Zev crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned against the wall. “You’ll kill him before we can learn anything useful.”
Lord Norrlen’s kind gaze fell on her. “We owe the captain a chance to explain himself, my lady. He has done much for us in our time of need. We very well may not be alive if not for him.”
Hmm, Dyna supposed he had a point. He had come to their aid with the trolls and against the Vanguard.
“We don’t owe him anything,” Lucenna hissed. “Everything out of his mouth has been nothing but lies.” Her eyes flared brighter as she glared up at him. “I told you what I would do to you if youliedto me.”
Klyde’s brow tightened. He didn’t seem afraid of her, but he did seem regretful. His eyes flickered to Dyna next, and she read his silent request for a chance to be heard.
Leader to leader.
The bedroom door slammed open. Eagon and Tavin burst in, armed.
The boy aimed a loaded crossbow at her face. “Put him down or this bolt goes straight through your eyes.”
