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I reach out and stroke a finger along the blade, careful not to touch the edge. It responds instantly, tendrils of black curling up my wrist, and crawling over the lines of my palm. Ellie gasps beside me.

I forged this weapon at the height of the war. I used it to channel and magnify everything the Authority feared.

“How?” I always assumed the blade was captured with me, or destroyed in the battle.

“Kelren recovered it. He led a team back onto the battlefield while the Authority was still securing the area. It cost the lives of two good fighters, but he got it out.”

I turn to look at him. He doesn’t speak, just inclines his head in acknowledgement of the dangerous mission he carried out.

My grip closes around the hilt. Power to power. The blade pulses blue-black, and shadows flow along its length. My familiar responds with equal intensity. The void whispers words of welcome.

I’m three-quarters whole. But one final piece still remains out of reach.

“The prophecy.” Nevik’s whispered words fill the silence. “It’s happening. Exactly as foretold.”

Varam gives him a warning look, the expression of a leader who’s learned to mistrust hope. He doesn’t speak, but the rebuke is clear.

But my interest is piqued. “What prophecy?”

Varam sighs, the sound so familiar it sends me back into the past. Long nights at planning tables, firelight on stone, his face exasperated while I laid out strategies no one else would dare attempt.

“Not long after Thornreave, strange stories began circulating. Dreams, whispers, premonitions. At first, we thought it was grief. People trying to make sense of what we lost. But the accounts kept coming—too many, too consistent to dismiss outright.”

He pauses, his tone still laced with doubt. “Most of the inner circle called it desperation dressed as faith. I agreed. But the patterns didn’t fade. They spread. And over time, they changed.”

“The return of the Shadowvein Lord.” Nevik bursts out, leaning forward, voice filled with conviction. “And with him, a stranger from beyond our lands.”

I glance at Ellie, who seems to have picked up on the change in atmosphere. Her eyes dart around the room.

“There is a prophecy.” Nevik clears his throat. “When shadows lengthen and dawn falters, the Vein will flow once more.” His voice drops, full of belief and reverence. “Where shadow leads, storm will follow, awakening that which lies dormant in the void.”

A strange sense of familiarity moves through me, though I’ve never heard those words before.

I’ve never placed value in prophecy, not in riddles or mysticism. Strategy has always served me better than faith. But I’ve seen enough of magic’s strange behaviors to avoid dismissing such things outright.

“An interesting coincidence. But our immediate concern must be to reestablish ourselves, not interpret vague words that could mean anything.”

Varam nods, visibly relieved by my response. “Your old quarters are still below. You’ll be safe there while we gather what you’ll need to understand everything that’s changed in your absence.”

I rise, unwrapping the leather belt looped around my shadowblade, and secure it at my hip where it belongs.

“My companion needs to rest. The past week has been difficult on her, and has taken its toll. Tomorrow, we will start planning.”

“If the Authority still believes you are imprisoned, that gives us an edge,” Mira says quietly.

“The tower collapsed after our escape. It won’t take them long to discover that. They may not understand what it means, but they’ll know something has changed, and will report it.”

“Even so, no one will expect your return,” Varam says. “That confusion will work in our favor.” He stands. “Come, I’ll take you to your quarters, and see to food for you and … the girl.”

I turn to Ellie. “We will stay here tonight. It’s safer than the inn.”

Varam leads us toward a concealed door I remember. As we walk I feel the others watching me, their expressions caught between awe and fear, and something more dangerous still. Hope.

These people have carried on a fight they believed claimed my life. They’ve suffered losses, adapted strategies, and transformed what I once led.

While the Authority believes they have eliminated the threat I posed, they have no idea that I walk free again, my power almost fully restored, and my purpose honed to a new lethal edge.

I catch Ellie watching me from the corner of her eye.