Before leaving the cave, Cithara took the enchanted candle—the fragile, flickering flame that bound Lucian’s youth to its light—and hid it deep within her chambers. She protected it as though it were a treasure, shielding it from the wind, from water, from anything that could extinguish its glow. She told herself it was simply to fulfill her duty, but her heart knew otherwise.

Lucian, now restored to his youth and overflowing with a newfound arrogance, wasted no time. He went ...