The descent into the Sunken City of Solis felt less like a discovery and more like a fever dream. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of ancient jasmine and scorched amber. Unlike the freezing, salt-laden depths of Athalassia, the city of the sun was a cathedral of dry, radiating heat. Every step Elara took in her shimmering silk boots felt like a walk across a bed of coals.
Beside her, Kaelen moved with a predatory grace that set her teeth on edge. He had discarded his heavy wolf-furs, leaving his broad, obsidian-furred chest bare. The sight of his muscles rippling under the golden light of the city made Elara’s breath hitch—a physiological betrayal she despised. She was the Tidal Luna, a queen of frost and moonstone, yet here she was, flushing like a human girl under the gaze of the
