[Kael — The March Begins]
The Shadow King didn’t walk from Hollowshade.
He rose.
The ground bent where he passed. Not from weight but will. His new armor, forged from soulsteel and bound shadowglass, shimmered like a moving night sky.
Behind him, the rebellion had become something more.
Not just soldiers.
Disciples.
Those who had seen him survive the Tribunal. Felt the wave of truth ripple through the system. Every Shadowmarked within fifty leagues had felt it like the divine exhaling in grief.
The gates to the surface were open.
Kael stood at the threshold, Solmere in the far distance, its towers glowing with holy flame.
A city of gold.
Soon to be ash.
Arin stood beside him, armor fitted, eyes unflinching.
“You’re really going to burn it,” she said.
Kael didn’t look away fro
