The freezing isolation of the East Wing was almost a relief after the suffocating heat of the Spire.

Kaelia sat on the edge of her narrow, uncomfortable bed, a small leather satchel open beside her. Her movements were slow, entirely mechanical. Every time she reached for an object—a spare woolen d

The creeping dawn brought no warmth to the East Wing. It bled through the frost-rimmed windows, casting a sickly, pale light over the desolate stone corridors.

"You have to hold on just a little longer," Kaelia whispered, resting a pale, trembling hand over the swell of her stomach. Beneath her pa

"Guards!"

Rhydian’s roar shook the very foundations of the East Wing, rattling the glass in the high arched windows and sending a tremor through the marble floors.

Within seconds, half a dozen heavily armored Obsidian guards flooded the landing. They froze at the sight of their King kneeling on