But Maris walked away from it.
She left Alarik where he knelt beside Elenwe’s corpse, his sword bloody, his shoulders shaking, but still alive.
She did not look back.
Because ahead of her stood the thing that had haunted every step of her path.
Eiren.
The damned goddess stood atop stone at the heart of the ruined field, framed by a sky torn open by divine war. The clouds boiled behind her, and fire writhed at her feet like a living thing. Her armor was soaked in blood. Her smile was still sharp.
But her eyes were no longer sure.
Maris climbed the hill slow, steady. Each step cracked the earth. The gods had peeled off, deflecting terrors for all edges of the field. Letting her move alone now.
This was not their war anymore.
This was hers.
Eiren tilted her head as Maris approached, dragging the tip of her sword through the dirt.
“Look at you,” the goddess purred. “So brave. So broken. Did the little boys finally earn your confession of choice? Or are you still playing queen between the shadows of two kings?”
Maris didn’t answer.
She reached the top.
And stopped.
Only ten paces stood between them now.
Eiren’s smile twitched. “Still silent? Come now, girl. Surely you have some clever line, something about justice, or destiny, or—”
“You should run.”
The words came quiet. Calm.
Maris lifted her gaze. The power glowing behind her eyes made even the goddess still.
Eiren blinked. “What?”
Maris stepped forward, her sword raised. “Run. Because I’m not just here to fight you.”
Her voice dropped.
“I’m here to end you.”
Eiren’s lips curled. “Oh, darling. You think you’re the first little fire to threaten me? I’ve been worshipped for ten thousand years. Burned cities. Broke kings. Bled continents dry. What are you?”
Maris’s crown flared behind her like a halo of bone and starlight.
“I’m the reckoning built from their collapse.”
Eiren snarled and lunged.
Their blades met in an explosion of power. The impact cracked the hilltop beneath them, sent shockwaves through the air. Stone shattered. Wind howled. Sparks flew as steel clashed again and again.
Eiren fought mercilessly — swift, beautiful.
