Elsbeth.
I could feel it. The weight of the world—the kingdom, my child, Fen—pressed down on me. But there was something darker beneath the surface, something lurking in the shadows, pulling at the very fabric of reality. I was no longer the same woman who had stood in front of her people, the queen who had vowed to protect them all. I could feel the power that surged through me, raw and untamed, and it was a constant reminder that nothing would ever be the same again.
I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the heat of my flames settle, the crackling fire that had once been my fear now burning with purpose. I could feel the fire in me, like a part of my soul—a fierce, untameable force.
But as the flickers of flames settled, something else took root. A deep, gnawing presence—an unrelenting coldness that grew stronger the more I tried to push it away. It wrapped itself around my heart, twisting like a shadow creeping up from behind.
I forced my eyes open.
