Azrael felt the disturbance before the warning reached him—divine essence within his Dominion, not hostile but fundamentally wrong. Out of place. Like a droplet of pure light in shadow-threaded water.

He was already moving when the runner arrived, black flame wreathing his arms as he descended from the command tower. The relic at his hip pulsed in recognition of celestial power nearby, its rhythm quickening with each step.

Sariel met him in the courtyard, her expression caught between ...