It began as a whisper.

Soft. Hollow. Almost tender.

“Do you remember who you were before the fire loved you?”

At first, I thought it was memory, some echo of the goddess’s voice lingering in the ruins of my blood. But the air around me grew colder each night. My dreams, once golden, turned gray. The Ashborn whimpered in its sleep, and Kael’s flame dimmed even further.

Then the bones beneath Iron Howl began to hum.

At first, faintly. Then louder. Like an enormous creature stirring ...