Seraphina had always known she was carrying two children. From the moment the life within her stirred, she had felt the distinct energies of both souls—one tethered to Vaelith and the other to Azrael. This pregnancy was no accident, nor was it the result of fleeting passion. It was fate, a carefully woven thread in the grand design of the cosmos.
The war had not ended, merely paused, and Seraphina knew that the fragile peace she had bought would not last forever. She had given a quarter of her life force to freeze the Elementals and Onyxa, forcing them into an unnatural stillness, but she had weakened herself in the process. Carrying two powerful children only drained her further. If she stayed on the battlefield, she would not survive long enough to bring them into the world.
Anaxia had
