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“As many of you have already noted,” Varam continues, “Authority forces have increased security measures along major routes. Their response suggests they suspect something has happened, but not necessarilywhat.”

He taps the corner of the map. “TheVareth’elhas been briefed, but firsthand reports will help us prepare for the decisions ahead.”

“Ashenvale has changed.” His finger traces the outer rings. “The city remains open to merchants and citizens, but it no longer breathes freely. Garrisons at the gates. Soldiers in the markets. Checkpoints at every main crossing.”

“Movement is permitted,” Isara adds, “but only underwatch. The inner circle is closed. We’ve lost six trying to get close to the Spire.”

I study the layout, noting the location of new walls wrapping around a city that was once open and free. Ashenvale still lives, but her heart no longer beats.

“And the Lirien Spire?”

The silence gives me my answer before anyone speaks.

“They moved their High Commander in not long after Thornreave. A message. To us, and to every Veinblood still alive at the time,” Varam says quietly.

“Did any escape the purging?”

“None. Even the children were rounded up and taken to Blackvault.”

Beneath the table, my fingers curl into a fist. Not even the innocent were spared from the Authority’s purge.

Ellie’s door opens, silencing the room. She hovers in the doorway, clearly uncertain whether to join us or not. Every eye turns to assess her, the stranger whose arrival coincided with my return.

I break off long enough to explain that Mira will be helping her, and then return to the table.

“Is she the one who helped you escape?” Galern’s gaze doesn’t stray from her as he speaks.

I nod, but offer no further explanation. I don’t like the way he’s looking at her. She isn’t a tool to be assessed by them, and her connection to me isn’t something I’m ready to explain.

“We heard rumors of her arrival with you,” Damen says. His expression shows open curiosity. “They say she’s from beyond the mountains, even beyond the mapped territories.”

“Her origins aren’t relevant to our immediate concerns.” I redirect attention back to the maps, though my awareness of her movements across the room doesn’t diminish. “What matters now is understanding our current situation. The Veinbloods … what happened to the others after my capture?”

Another silence falls, heavier than before. The air in the room thickens with unspoken grief.

“Tell me.” I brace myself against the table, knowing the answer will cut deeper than I’m prepared to let them see.

After a couple of minutes, Ferrin speaks, voice steady but grim. “The purges were already devastating before Thornreave Pass. You and the Veinwardens were the only thing preventing complete annihilation. After you fell, there was nothing left to stand in their way.”

“The Flameveins held out longest,” Varam says quietly. “Their sanctuary in the volcanic chain withstood Authority forces for nearly three years.”

“Until they blocked off all the tunnels leading to their caves, and they burned in their own flames.” Rera’s voice is hard, but her eyes shimmer with unshed tears. “Varel et’Solven Hallia Lamek and forty-three others, including seventeen children.”

Hallia. My eyes close briefly, while I build up the image of the Flamevein Varel in my mind. Red-hair. Freckles. A voice always raised, either in laughter or in fury.

“Earthveins scattered through the mountain regions,” Isara says. “Many villages sheltered them at first, but?—”

“The Authority implemented collective punishment,” Galernfinishes, his voice bitter. “Entire communities executed for harboring a single Veinblood. It didn’t take long before even longtime allies turned against them.”

“And the Tideveins?” I’m sure I can guess their fate from the grim expressions surrounding me.

Varel et’Lureth, Meren Sorla, who once shaped tides with a flick of her fingers. Gone.

“They were the first to fall,” Varam confirms. “With their home being near coastal waters, the Authority simply blockaded every port, and patrolled the coastlines. Those who surrendered were publicly executed. Those who resisted died fighting.”

I’m not surprised by the news, but knowledge doesn’t soften the blow. The Authority’s brutal beliefs that anyone with magic in their blood did not deserve to live was the reason we fought so hard, but the confirmation still settles heavy nonetheless. The systematic elimination of magical bloodlines was already well underway when I was taken.

The purges are no longer in progress. They arecomplete.