Chapter 4

The East Wing of the Obsidian Court was as bleak as a mausoleum.

Stripped of the ambient magic that warmed the rest of the palace, the stone walls radiated a damp, bone-deep chill. Kaelia sat on the edge of a stiff, narrow bed, her teeth chattering uncontrollably as she pulled a thin wo

Chapter 5

The icy stone of the East Wing floor offered no comfort as Kaelia Vance lay curled on her side, her breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.

The Aether-burn was no longer a creeping, insidious decay. Without the Sun-Tear Amulet shielding her womb, the disease had erupted into a roaring i

Chapter 6

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 spa