CHAPTER 23 : THE PACT OF ASHES AND THE AWAKENING OF THE VOLCANO
PART I : THE SONG OF THE SUN IN THE FROST
Silence reigned in Astrild’s cathedral of blue ice, a silence broken only by the incessant scratching of the Stardust Scribes. Elara and her warriors waited, frozen like statues, as the Silver Witch weighed every word from the messenger. It was at that precise moment that a golden glow, warm as a first summer's morning, pierced the crystalline vault of the refuge.
A bird of light, a pure creation of the Sun-Bearers’ royal magic, descended in a spiral. It did not come from just anyone; it carried the vibratory signature of Prince Ian. The bird landed not on Elara, but on the edge of the ice table, right before Astrild. Its voice, clear and imbued with a sincerity that made the frost-
