Daybreak painted the Ember Guard's camp in hues of gold and crimson as Kael emerged from his tent, the shard still warm against his skin. The training had left him exhausted, but there was no time for rest. Merek had called for departure.
"The Ember Isles await," the captain had said. "Queen Amara will not remain patient forever."
They rode hard, crossing the Cindermarch and entering the volcanic lowlands that led to the Ember Isles' hidden port. The landscape twisted into blackened rock and steaming fissures. The shard in Kael's arm thrummed harder with each mile.
As the sun sank behind the jagged peaks, a sudden tremor shook the ground. The company halted.
"What was that?" Lysara asked, hand to her blade.
Thalen knelt, pressing his palm to the earth. "Something ancient… awakening."
A guttural roar echoed from the chasm ahead. From beneath the ash-ridden soil, obsidian-scaled beasts clawed their way free. Lava-born drakes creatures long thought extinct.
"They're drawn to the shard," Merek growled. "Protect Kael!"
The battle erupted in a storm of flame and fury. Kael tried to summon his magic, but panic fractured his focus. One of the drakes lunged and Nyra leapt, blades gleaming, carving deep into its throat.
Thalen cast a barrier, deflecting fire, while Merek dueled the largest beast head-on.
Kael found his feet, breathing deep. Will, not rage. He focused.
Flame surged from his arms clean, white-hot. The drake nearest him recoiled, screeching. With a roar, Kael launched a spear of fire that pierced its heart. The shard glowed brilliantly.
The surviving beasts fled into the fissures.
Silence fell. Merek turned to Kael, a rare smile breaking through his usual sternness.
"You're learning."
That night, they made camp by the ruined ash altar that had once belonged to the Pyrelords. Kael sat beside Thalen, who held an old journal, the leather scorched.
"These creatures were guardians once," the mage murmured. "But now corrupted. The shard's call may stir worse things yet."
Kael stared into the dark, flame dancing on his palm.
"How many more will I have to fight?"
Thalen's voice was quiet. "Until the Crown is whole or the world burns."
Kael looked to the horizon, where the sea shimmered faintly under the moonlight.
Next stop: the Ember Isles.
And the queen who held more answers than any of them.