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The Summit gathered at the Sacred Vale, each member in their usual chairs, including Alvar.

He looked exhausted but determined, his arm cleared of the blight.

Others who were not part of the Summit also joined.

Everyone needed to be here for this, including Maddock.

I’d gone to his cell and told him he could come if he kept a low profile.

Nepta had called off his security detail since he helped bring water back to the village, but still, I didn’t want to push it.

Everyone gathered around the stone table, its smooth surface reflecting the anxious faces of those assembled. Among us was Dyani. Her nostrils flared, and her chest heaved beneath her jerkin, betraying the turmoil within.

I had just returned from where her brother was last seen, but during my time in the crevice, I hadn’t seen Demil. It pained me that I didn’t bring better news for her, for everyone. At least the roaring waterfalls had returned.

Once everyone settled, I took a deep breath and recounted the harrowing events of the last twenty-four hours.

I explained how I’d fallen into Erovos’ trap and faced his new breed of demons.

I described the earth-shaking tremor that had allowed a demon to slip through the crevice, attacking our scout party and nearly transforming our war captain into a Voro-Kai.

“While I battled the demons,” I continued, choking down the tremor in my voice. “I discovered a slumbering Voro-Kai army waiting to mature.”

“The Voro-Kai?” Driskell, Nepta’s second in command, questioned in disbelief.

“It is true, and a miracle I escaped with my life,” Alvar said as murmurs of shock rippled through the crowd. “Our weapons would slice and cut their hide, but it did little to stop or slow them. We didn’t stand a chance.”

“They are astral demons, but the horrors they inflict crossover into our dimension,” I confirmed as the Vale fell silent.

“These astral demons are shades upon the earth,” Driskell said, his expression filled with horror. “If they escape, there are no weapons to stop them, nothing to prevent the darkness from consuming us all, and?—”

“Driskell,” Nepta interjected firmly, raising a withered hand to silence him. “My child, what else did you learn?”

“While I was in there, I gained control of my powers,” I said, shifting my gaze from the second-in-command to Nepta. “They couldn’t touch me when I was aglow with the Alcreon Light.”

Driskell’s face lit up. “Of course!” he exclaimed, a broad smile lifting his features.

“You are our weapon. We need to learn how to harness your power and use you.” A chill ran down my spine, and my nerves tightened.

The thought of facing the Voro-Kai again, and possibly losing myself while in my astral form, filled me with dread.

“The Synodic Prophecy may yet come to pass. You will bring light and life back to the dying lands.”

Rowen’s powerful grip found my hand under the table. “Keira Copeland, the bearer of the Alcreon Light, will not be referred to as an object that needs to be used,” he said with utter disdain .

“It is true. She is a powerful woman, not a tool for us to wield as we please,” Alvar said, shocking us all. Especially me.

“To make matters worse,” Takoda said, his expression drawn. “One bite from these creatures will turn you into a Voro-Kai. It nearly spread to Alvar’s heart before Keira incinerated the blight.”

“Can anything be done to safeguard ourselves from such an affliction?” Nepta asked the healer, calm as a raging undertow. “There must be some cure you know of, Takoda."

“There are no precautions of which I know,” Takoda replied regretfully.

A heavy silence fell over the Sacred Vale. Nepta’s discomfort was palpable, yet she didn’t shift in her seat. Her composure was a masterclass in restraint, power, and poise, and I made a mental note to school my body and face to betray nothing, just as she did.

“Driskell is right,” I said, meeting the eyes of those around me. “The only defense against the Voro-Kai resides in my veins, a force that I alone wield.” Even now, it pulsed within me as if it agreed. “I am a weapon.”

“See?” Driskell beamed. “She understands her place. We can use her to draw out the army, gather them all in one place, and destroy them.”

“We will not lay her out like a piece of meat. Besides, relying on one weapon to defeat an entire army is a poor strategy,” Rowen continued as he scanned the faces around the table, his gaze connecting with each person in turn, and I saw the commanding war general he had once been.

“If the dark army escapes the crevice, they will indeed be starved, trampling these lands until nothing is left,” Alvar said, the scar on his chin white and prominent.

“How many of these darkened wombs did you see?” Nepta asked, her aged voice unwavering .

I recalled the endless rows of dark chrysalises, the horrifying sight seared into my memory.

“Not all of them have reached full maturity, but I’d say thousands upon thousands,” I admitted, my voice trembling.

The terror I felt wasn’t for myself. It was for the Wyn people, the inhabitants of Luneth, and the countless distant worlds that would be threatened if we failed to stop them.

The crowd stiffened in horror, but no gasp left a single mouth.

“It is . . . it is beyond our numbers,” Alvar pushed the words out, his face paling as he gripped his blades. The war captain’s gaze was distant, as if his eyes could already see the outcome of this war. “Three of us alone could not defeat one of them.”

“What happened to the demon you fought?” I asked.

“It escaped,” he replied with pain in his eyes. “There was no destroying it.”

“I will search for it, along with the other warriors,” Rowen said, and fear gripped my spine at the thought of him seeking out Erovos’ demons.

“What about my brother?” Dyani asked, her muscular shoulders squaring with fierce intensity.

My soul flame’s gaze shot to Dyani, two emotions warring in his eyes. He respected the warrior, but the man in question had been responsible for my three-month disappearance. “I will search for Demil, too.”

Dyani appeared surprised yet impressed, and I noticed she was wearing silver armbands in honor of her twin. “I will go with you.”

“Me too,” I agreed. “I can’t let you go without a weapon.”

My soul flame’s eyes met mine. “If the Voro-Kai’s weakness is the Alcreon Light, maybe there is a way for you to infuse our weapons with it. You can’t be everywhere at once. ”

“I’ll try,” I said, even though I had never attempted such a thing.

Rowen nodded before turning his attention back to the crowd. “We need to establish a multi-faceted strategy. Some of us will need to search for allies to aid us in this war. Others need to fortify our position here, preparing defensive wards and barriers.”

“A reminder of the prophecy might do us all some good,” Driskell said, clearing his throat to recite what he’d likely spent years studying, working to decipher every word.

“ The lost light of Luneth shall return to its synodic beginning when the first six stars align with the stones of shattered ruin. Through blood, bone, and crystal, the marked son, or sun, depending on your translation , will breathe life anew unto the deadened lands of darkness. Keira is clearly The Marked. She bears the ears of the Ancients, and her body is covered in Alcreon Light tattoos.”

I wanted to wrap my arms around myself. I didn’t appreciate how much attention Driskell paid to my body, but I schooled my expression, just like Nepta.

“There’s more to the prophecy,” I said, not betraying a single emotion. “ Shall the lost light fall unto those who feast, darkness will reign an unending beast. Worlds have fallen and so they shall remain as a Sylvan door opens to a universe unrestrained .”

Driskell’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “It . . . it could mean?—”

“It means ,” I cut in. “Erovos will return to the Sylvan Mother Tree to finish what he started. But who’s to say if that’s before or after he ravages the world with his astral demons.”

“I will return to monitor the crevice,” Alvar volunteered, and despite his recent brush with death, every scar on his body spoke to his bravery. “If he or any of his demons escape, I will know about it, and track wherever they head.”

Rowen nodded, his commanding tone never faltering. “They will try to overpower us with their numbers. We cannot let that happen. We must find allies.”

“Indeed,” Nepta said, her muted eyes landing on every soul. “This is not our fight alone. The Wyn may have been the protectors of the Alcreon Light, but now this fight affects us all.”

“It will take armies to defeat what I saw in that crevice. What about the Stonefist Giants?”

“They have retreated far into the mountains. If you ever did manage to find them, you would have another war on your hands,” Nepta replied, her mouth forming a thin line.

“What about the souls we freed from the Crystal Crypts?” Dyani asked, one white eyebrow shooting up. “This is their world, too, and a favor is owed.”

I hated the thought of putting all those who suffered beneath the rule of Aliphoura through more trauma, but we’d need every ally we could find.

“The people have scattered to the winds,” Alvar remarked with a wave of his hand.

“I knew many of the people trapped within the Crypts. Most of them were from Viltarran,” Rowen said as his eyes filled with longing. The pride he held for his destroyed citydom was palpable. “If we could find them, I know they would be willing to fight.”

Suddenly, a warm glow flashed in the darkest part of my memory, and I gasped.

“Rayal, a woman who helped me while I was imprisoned in the Crypts, mentioned help amongst friends.” How could I have forgotten Rayal?

She’d smuggled food into my cell, beaming like the sun in the dark prison I thought would be my grave.

Even the memory of her smile warmed my skin.