"I'd prefer if you joined us rather than brooding up there," Ethan said suddenly, his golden eyes glowing faintly, as if peering through the mountain itself.
A deep rumble answered him. The mountain shuddered—not in fear, but in recognition—as something massive and ancient landed atop it with a quiet finality. The weight of its presence lingered for only a heartbeat… and then vanished.
In that same instant, a gust of warm wind swept through the chamber, carrying with it the scent of ash, cinder, and dragonfire.
And then she was there.
Empress Caldessa—known to her family as Barki, the Dragon Ruler of Flames—stepped into the room.
Her arrival was silent, but impossible to ignore.
