ZION EMBERTHORN

The night had settled over the stronghold, wrapping the world in a heavy, oppressive silence. After the ritual's intensity, the council members had retired to their chambers, leaving behind an air thick with the echoes of what had just transpired, leaving the rest of us in the echoing silence of Barron’s chamber. My mind was a blur of exhaustion and lingering adrenaline, but I couldn’t rest, not yet.

I leaned back in my chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, ...