The silence after the Great Reckoning was unlike anything Michael had ever experienced.
For weeks, he had waited for the next attack, the next messenger, the next prophecy. But nothing came. The continent was at peace. The darkness was sealed. The cycle was broken.
And yet, Michael couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
He stood on the walls of Ashenford, watching the sun rise over the mountains. The city below was waking up—children running to school, workers heading to their jobs, families beginning their daily routines. It was everything he had fought for. Everything he had sacrificed for.
But the weight in his chest wouldn't lift.
Mira appeared beside him, her hand finding his. "You're thinking about it again."
"I can't help it." He looked at her. "It's been three m
