Pain.Not the kind that seared.Not the kind that poured like blood.This pain was profound. Chilling. Eternal.Like something had plunged into his soul and attempted to rip him asunder.Kael's hands clasped the hilt of the Blade of Oblivion.And the world splintered.Kael was not in the ruins.Not in the forest.He was nowhere.A chasm stretched in all directions, infinite and black.And before himA figure sat on a throne of cracked obsidian.Not human.Not divine.Something between.The voice thundered like a storm."You are not worthy."Kael gasped. "Then kill me."The figure laughed."You cannot be killed, Shadowborne.""That is your curse."Kael's heart rate decreased.Because secretly, he already knew that.And that was why the architects feared him.The throne room shook.The figure stood up, stepping down towards Kael.It was tall. Cloaked. Unseen.And in its handA sword exactly like the one Kael now clutched."You have taken a sword not for mortals."The being lifted its swo

It was a cold night.Kael sat by the fire alone, honing his blade in slow, careful strokes. The ring of steel on stone rang out in the stillness.The rebels who had managed to escape from the fall of Emberhold were resting or attending to their injuries.Dain sat closer by, arms folded, gazing into the fire, as Calia murmured orders to the injured.Selene hadn't said much since their flight. But Kael sensed her regarding him. Waiting.ThenFootsteps came.One of their scouts, a young woman named Ryn, emerged at the edge of the camp, her face white. "Kael. A rider arrived."Kael's hand on his sword tightened. "Where from?"Ryn hesitated. "Emberhold."The camp came alive. Selene stood at once, her golden eyes blazing. "House Vaelor?"Ryn swallowed. "They delivered a message for you."Kael rose. The whole camp felt the gravity of the words as Ryn handed Kael a sealed document, the red wax stamping an all-too-familiar sigil.The sigil of House Vaelor.Kael ripped it open.Kael,I have your

The iron shackles dug into Kael's wrists.They marched him through the destroyed city like a trophy.Emberhold, the battlefield it had once been, was now a conquered city under the flag of House Vaelor.Smoke drifted up into the air, the smell of ash and blood hanging in the air.His people his soldiers were brought to their knees behind him, their swords taken from them, their heads bowed.Selene knelt between Calia and Dain, her face in shadow, her golden eyes blazing with something treacherous.Kael felt her glare burning his back.Her anger was heavier than his chains.But she didn't know.None of them did.This wasn't the end.This was the beginning.Veyna believed she had won. That she had shattered him.But Kael was not broken.He was waiting.Lord Cassian Drayke stood by Veyna's side as they approached the great hall of Emberhold's keep.Cassian was looking at him once more. Quiet. Pensive.Kael still didn't know where Cassian's allegiances lay.A man without a cause is more de

The evening air was heavy with the smell of blood and smoke. Kael's own breath was rasping gasps as he rode into the forest darkness, the wound a steady, burning pain that reminded him all too vividly that he still lived. Cassian and Lord Saren rode ahead of him, their shadows mere blurs in the moonlight.The trees stretched tall around them, their twisted limbs casting eerie shadows. Every rustle of the leaves, every crack of a branch, sent Kael’s instincts into overdrive.They weren’t safe.Veyna wouldn’t let them escape so easily.Cassian slowed his horse, glancing back at Kael. "We need to stop. You’re bleeding too much."Kael clenched his jaw. "We keep moving. They’ll send more."Lord Saren spun around in his saddle. "You've made yourself the enemy of the most deadly woman in the kingdom, boy. That wound will kill you before she even gets the chance if you don't stop and clean it."Kael knew they were correct, but each second they lingered was another second Veyna's army closed in

The journey to the Ironwood Mountains was harsh.Cold winds buffeted the rebel company as they ascended icy paths. The forest grew sparse as the height increased, and the sun hid behind bruise-colored clouds. There was no song of birds. No calls of animals. Only the crunch of boots on frozen earth and the far-off howl of something worse than wolves.Kael strode at the lead, jaw clenched, cloak blowing out behind him. Selene stayed close on his left, breath misting in white, eyes searching the line of trees for signs of life.The rear of their group consisted of the survivors of Raven's Hollow, trudging in somber silence. The loss of their village rested heavy on them like a second skin.But they weren't alone.Reinforcements had come two days earlier: three dozen of the Freeholds' finest, led by Commander Tarek, his left eye an empty socket.They'd heard whispers of Emberhold's defeat and came looking for the only man they thought might be able to strike back.Kael.And now, they came