The path wound downward into the Vale of Vires, a place neither mapped nor spoken of in common tongue. The trees grew sideways here, twisted into knots of root and branch, and the sky always looked like it had been drawn in charcoal.
Veylan's grip on his staff tightened. "We're being followed."
Roen glanced over his shoulder. "I counted two. Maybe three. Shadow mages."
Kael huffed. "Great. Creepers with fashion sense."
Aeren's hand rested on the hilt of his new weapon—a blade shaped from starlight and memory, still humming with the echoes of the Echoed Flame.
"We're not turning back," he said. "They want us to feel cornered."
"And are we?" Kael asked.
He looked at her. "Not while you're here."
She blinked once, then grinned. "You're getting better at this hero thing."
---
Their pursuers made their move at dusk.
Out from the twisted forest came masked figures draped in cloaks of night-silk, blades curved like fangs. The leader stepped forward, a woman with hair made of silver wire and a face that shimmered between forms.
"Hand over the Hollow-Bearer," she said.
Kael stepped in front of Aeren. "Try it and see how many ribs you leave with."
The silver-haired woman smiled. "Ah. The thief. The little spark."
Aeren spoke before Kael could react. "We don't want a fight."
"Then surrender."
"No."
The battle erupted like a storm.
Magic cracked the ground. Elira's arrows flew in arcs of fire. Roen summoned a shield of frost and thorns. Veylan's spells lit the air with runes that screamed.
Aeren met the silver-haired woman in the center of the chaos.
Their blades clashed with a sound like shattered memories.
"You don't even know what's inside you," she hissed.
"I know enough," he growled.
The fight was brutal—but quick. When Aeren disarmed her, she smiled.
"You're changing," she said, before vanishing into shadow.
Kael limped over. "Okay. I vote no more enchanted knife ladies for a while."
"You okay?" Aeren asked.
"Got stabbed. Twice. Nothing vital. Except my sarcasm gland."
He helped her sit, then knelt beside her.
"You could've run," he said.
Kael frowned. "So could you."
They stared at each other.
Then she kissed him.
It was fast, awkward, half-laced with adrenaline—but it was real.
When she pulled back, she smirked. "That doesn't mean I like you or anything."
"Of course not," he said, smiling.
---
Far above, in a hall made of lightless crystal, Aris stood before the true Hollow Crown.
It pulsed. Waiting.
"The world begins to bend," she whispered.
She placed a second shard of power onto its surface. It sank in.
"Soon," she said.
"Soon."