As though the mountain itself objected to the intruder's presence, snow pelted the stronghold windows.
But Draven didn’t move.
His eyes, still burning, stared at the man he believed he would never see again as his body shook, caught between instinct and fear.
“Valec.”
Like a reopened wound, the name broke out of his throat.
Elaria’s heart hammered as she stepped instinctively closer to Draven. She felt the way his entire energy shifted. Not fear. Not submission.
Raw, ancient rage.
The stranger smirked. “Still remember me, little brother.”
The Forgotten Blood
Valec Kaelith.
The name came to Elaria in a whisper from the shard memory.
The exiled heir. The first-born. The one cursed by the Elders for the darkness in his blood. Draven had never spoken of him—not once.
“You were bani
