The war was over, but the scent of blood still lingered in the air.

The ash from Alira’s body had soaked into the ground, darkening the soil around the Blood Ravine. Her crown of thorns, now broken into sharp fragments, had been buried deep sealed under moonstone and sacred spells. But everyone knew…

She was only the beginning.

I sat beneath the old Crescent Tree; its silver leaves had turned gray. My body still ached from the blast that came from within me. The power I’d summoned ...