*Several days later…*

I returned to Avenadyn alone because Akisma and Corinth stayed behind and I could only assume that he’ll be a vampire next time I saw him.

Before I even made it into the city, I heard, “Yyrdra!” while passing by siege engineers working on their weapons of war at a military camp near a large field laden with trees and catapulted rocks.

I looked around and to my delight, spotted Velador. I steered my horse over and called out, “My beloved ...