“I expected a monster,” a deep callous voice stated coldly above me, dark, seasoned. “Instead I find… a child.”

I forced my eyes upward to see who.

The woman standing before me had silver hair pulled into a crown braid, strands of it fluttering like ribbons in the wind. Her skin was earthen-dark and smooth, ageless in a way that made you forget what time meant.

Her robes were black with lacey lines of royal blue, embroidered in patterns that resembled sigils. Power radiated off her ...