"You're certain of what you saw?" he whispers. "The elven queen has Firstborn magic?"
"I have never been more certain of anything in my life. She raised her hand and the flames answered her," I reply.
A slow tide of grey drains the warmth from his face.
"I heard this queen is different," he says after a moment. "She's not without sense. I hope she chooses peace."
Hope?
Something inside me hardens.
"That's naïve, Finn," I say, pulling my arm free. "We just challenged a queen who commands the Unyieldings."
I resume walking, leaving him standing there with his fragile little hope clutched to his chest. The absurdity of it almost makes me laugh.
As if hope has ever shielded a kingdom from annihilation.
Well I hope it keeps him warm when the Unyieldings come through our lines.
We are marching to war against a power we don't understand, led by pride and blinded by ambition. Somewhere in Aelfheim, the silver-haired queen waits. Her ancient magic coils like a sleeping behemoth.
The taste of ash fills my mouth as I walk back to my wyvern.
Dorcha waits with restless wings on the landing platform. I take another look at the Palace of Bones against the dark sky.
Soon the slaughter will begin. I feel it in the very marrow of my being. Death approaches on swift wings and we're flying straight into its maw.
2
Chapter 1 Rhianelle
Celestria is not what I expected. The ancient stronghold was once the pride of the Elven Southern Garrison. That was a long time ago. Decades of neglect followed by orc occupation have stripped it of anything resembling dignity. The black stones weep moisture and moss. Tattered cloth snaps from the battlements where banners once flew.
The main gate hangs askew on rusted hinges, revealing glimpses of the courtyard beyond. These stones have absorbed years of cruelty and violence. The very air around the fortress seems to thicken with malevolence.
Svenn is not beside me and I feel the hollow of his absence with every breath. But I do not feel fear. I stand with my three most trusted knights before the fortress gates. We pick our way across the courtyard, avoiding the obvious traps and invisible tripwires stretched between posts. The orcs have turned this stronghold into a maze of death for any who would dare intrude. Bones litter the ground we walk. Some still bear scraps of clothing that might once have belonged to travelers who wandered too close to this cursed place.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I wish the vampire were here with us," Aelfric mutters. A leather eyepatch covers the socket where his left eye once resided, a souvenir from his fight with the Bödvar Bjadki.
Garrett shifts beside me, his golden hair pulled back in a warrior's knot. "He must be going mad out there. All that power and he can't even touch the gate. The rebels played this perfectly when they got the half-dead merchant to sign the deed."
The law is absolute.
A vampire cannot enter a human dwelling uninvited. Someone clever among the rebels has claimed human ownership of the fortress. Svenn's frustration had been palpable. He despises being separated from me during a dangerous mission. But not even his vampiric strength or will can overcome the mystical laws that govern his kind.
"The eastern wall shows signs of recent repair," Darstan observes, his towering frame encased in dark plate armor. The helm conceals his features completely, leaving only the glow of his eyes visible through the visor slits.
"Crude workmanship. The orcs have patched several breaches but they’ve left obvious weak points," Garrett says. "We should split."
"Bad idea." Aelfric turns to me, his good eye hard with concern. "It leaves you vulnerable."
The tracking spell pulses against my palm. Blaire lives, but the pull grows weaker by the hour.
"Blaire has been their prisoner for months," I say, dread settling in my heart. "Every moment we delay is another moment she suffers."
Aelfric's jaw tightens, but he knows I'm right.
"Then we move fast." He exchanges a look with Darstan. "We'll circle east and find whoever holds the deed. The human's probably tucked away somewhere safe, away from the fighting."
