Valerius Ravencrest stood at the cliff’s edge, the sea crashing below and his fortress humming behind him—soldiers drilling, lieutenants pouring over maps, black-sailed ships rocking in the harbor.
He hardly noticed any of it. What mattered was the echo he had felt the night before.
Two lives. Two flames across the sea.
Not one heir. Two.
The thought lingered like wine. His lips curved into a faint smile. The bridge has awakened.
⸻
The War Hall
Inside, the war hall buzzed with tension. Maps sprawled across the table, candles burning low. His lieutenants waited, silent until he spoke.
Severin broke first. “We felt it again, my lord. Stronger this time.”
Valerius gave a short nod. “Good. Then we know it’s real.”
Petra, his strategist, pushed a folder forward. “The humans widened th
